Sheep Industry News March 2023

blends wool to meet the demand to deliver wool year round – not just during the wool selling season – for both domestic and interna tional markets. The Wool Council then boarded a bus to Fort Worth to join the rest of the industry at the ASI Annual Convention. WOOL INDUSTRY MEETINGS Before the main wool meeting got rolling in Fort Worth, a few new sessions were held including: an American Wool Assurance Level I training; AWA Assessor Meeting; and a forum for sheep shearers and wool producers.

ing efforts are being made, such as Western Europe, South America, China and South Asia. Through the years, ASI has used $1.5 billion in Ag Trade Promotion funds to bolster export markets. Speaking of marketing, ASI’s Christa Rochford woke everyone up with several short American wool videos being shared on social media. To see these videos for yourself, be sure to follow Experience Wool on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. While these videos and social media are working to intrigue all consumers, small growers and mills are also working to engage consumers. Phil Lindsay with RH Lindsay Wool Merchants explained how there are more than 200 mini-mills located in the United States and the small farmers using these mills are working to share American wool’s story. “Small farmers are billboards throughout the East,” he said. These mills might not run 24/7 and the farmers might not have as many sheep, but they are an important part of the industry. Servicing small grower wool testing and now commercial wool testing, Reid Redden from the Bill Sims Wool lab gave an update on the lab’s progress. Through a virtual tour, Redden explained how the lab is able to provide commercial wool testing for micron, yield and vegetable matter. Currently, it takes seven days for a sample to work its way through all of these procedures, but they are work ing on increasing efficiencies and decreasing that time. Submission forms can be found at SanAngelo.TAMU.edu. Make It With Wool Director Lynda Johnson wrapped up the Wool Council meeting expressing how important fundraisers and other funding are to the program. She offered a sincere thank you for the funding the Wool Council provides. The Wool Policy Forum began the following morning with some surprising information from Ben Hostetler of Mountain Meadow Wool. Hostetler shared snippets of how brands are selling emotion-

Animal welfare was a main topic of discussion during the AWA sessions and resulted in new producers becoming Level I accredited and AWA second-party evaluators becoming recertified. Discussion was abundant at the shearers forum where the Amer ican Sheep Shearers Council shared its newly updated website, in addition to challenges and possible solutions centering on the need for more: shearers and resources for producers; shearing schools; and how wool pool shearings could occur. Wool Council Meetings began in earnest on Jan. 19. In a packed room, ASI Deputy Director Rita Samuelson emphasized how losing the majority of the wool textile industry has led to the necessity to export wool. Wool exports have become imperative during the last 20 years because the domestic textile industry does not have the capacity to consume all of the American wool produced. ASI uses U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service funds to market American wool. Consultants around the world help build these important export markets. Tosha Clark with USDA/FAS further explained how this funding works. The plan for export strategy shows where and how market

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