Sheep Industry News May 2025

signed to increase traceability in the event of a disease outbreak. Whether they’re required or not after 2028, many producers will continue to use them as a means for improving their flocks. Regardless of where the scrapie journey goes in the years to come, the forum showed the importance of involving livestock markets in the process. In addition to Tews, Mandy Geistweidt of Gillespie Livestock in Texas and Justin Tupper of St. Onge Livestock in South Dakota were on the agenda to talk about the role their industry plays in traceability. And it was apparent from comments by all three that many sheep producers show up at sale barns unprepared to meet the current tagging requirements. “We are the gatekeepers to a lot of information,” Tews said during her panel discussion. Most markets can help producers meet tagging requirements but charge extra for a service that can be a real strain on their limited labor force. “I’m constantly reminded of how much we need to have good information available to producers, and we have to get more cre ative about how we put that information out to them,” said Wolf. While scrapie materials have been made available to sale barns in the past, the program ran into issues with keeping information current and assuring that it was distributed to producers. “We need to reach all of the industry, and not just the people who are coming to our association meetings.”

Discussions on the future of the scrapie program and where it heads from here will continue in the months – and years – to come. But with estimates that scrapie costs American sheep producers between $10 and $20 million a year in lost exports and increased production costs, there’s no doubt the industry can’t afford to take a wrong turn this close to the final destination.

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May 2025 • Sheep Industry News • 15