Sheep Industry News July 2024

Reverse Trade Missions Spur Wool Sales

O ne of the best ways to market American wool is to bring buyers straight to the source. ASI uses funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service to do just that nearly every year. And 2024 is shaping up to be especially busy. “These trade missions play a vital role in promoting American wool, educating buyers and facilitating introduc tions to the U.S. exporters, warehouses and growers,” said ASI Director of Wool Marketing Rita Samuelson. “Most importantly, they result in the purchase of American wool.” A wool buyer with Marzotto Wool in Italy traveled to the United States in mid-May to take part in the first reverse trade mission of the year. He was accompanied along the way by ASI Wool Consultant Bianca Losekoot and ASI Wool Production Program Manager Heather Pearce. Marzotto specializes in luxury fibers and is a top maker and spinner. The company uses approximately the same amount of wool in a year that is produced in the United States each year – approximately 22 million pounds. On this trade mission, the buyer met up with Terry Martin of Anodyne Wool in Salt Lake City before traveling to Park City, Utah, to visit the Osguthorpe family’s Red Pine Land and Livestock Company. “This helped them understand the expanse of the United States and its grazing lands,” Samuelson said. Will Griggs of Utah Wool Marketing hosted the next stop on the tour. Griggs was preparing for a wool sale and domestic buyers were on hand to examine the available lots

and prepare to bid on each of them the next day. The inter national buyer got a firsthand look at each of the lots and the wide variety of American wools that would be offered dur ing the sale. It also provided an additional opportunity for the Marzotto representative to interact and build relation ships with domestic wool buyers, including Rick Powers and Jason Bannowsky of Wool Partners Inc. Because the buyer was interested in certified wool, ASI partnered with Oregon sheep producer and Shaniko Wool’s Jeanne Carver to arrange a visit with Colorado producer Julie Hansmire. Both produce Responsible Wool Standard certified wool. A past member of ASI’s Wool Council, Hansmire provided insight on her operation. The buyer was able to look across the landscape and see ewes grazing open lands with herders and guard dogs to protect them. This provided a close-up look at how sheep are raised in the American West and allowed Hansmire to share her produc tion practices. Visits to Lazy 3X Ranch and Etchart Sheep Ranch fol lowed. At Lazy 3X, the buyer was able to see how feed is produced for their livestock and at Etchart, the buyer took a tour of the lambing barns and saw how lambing works in that operation. Overall, the buyer was impressed with the high quality of wool in the area and appreciated the oppor tunity to see RWS-certified wool. The second reverse trade mission of the year began two weeks later with a visit by buyers from Golden Sun Wool and Hengtai, both of China. They were accompanied on

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