Sheep Industry News November 2024

Young Leaders Attend Global Sheep Forum AMERICAN LAMB BOARD

Y oung leaders of the American sheep industry – selected through a competitive application process sponsored by the American Lamb Board – partici pated in the 2024 Global Sheep Forums NexGen Program in Australia earlier this year. The NexGen Forum was held in conjunction with the annual LambEx educational conference. The program is designed to create a global forum of young producers and leaders to share ideas, network and to broaden the un derstanding of new innovations and technology in sheep production practices around the world. Jake Benson, 33, of Utah, Isaac Matchett, 36, of Michigan and Kyle Hurley, 31, of Iowa, were the young leaders that represented the United States at the forum. The three Amer ican representatives joined young sheep producers from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Canada to explore sheep and wool production in Australia. ALB Chairman Jeff Ebert and ASI Vice President Ben Lehfeldt chaperoned the three young leaders. “Participating in the Global Forum was important be cause the U.S. sheep industry must stay innovative and pro gressive to increase our production efficiencies and improve our competitiveness,” said Ebert. “Educating our producers about the newest technologies and global opportunities is critical.” The program included tours of farms focused on genet ics, sustainability, traceability and innovation. The group

learned about the use of genetics in feeding efficiencies, new designs in shearing facilities, and efforts to enhance land stewardship, such as eliminating erosion from animal traffic and overgrazing, fencing protected areas, and planting trees for shelter and shade. Following the tours, the group attended LambEx, where the young leaders learned about the amount of work and analysis that has been done to try to understand both the production process for the sheep industry in Australia and how that relates to lamb and wool customers worldwide. Some observations from the American young leaders: “Australian producers have been, and continue to make, genetic progress within their flock a top priority,” observed Matchett, who has used his life-long passion for agriculture and innovation to help grow his family’s sheep operation from 100 acres and 140 ewes to 1,400 acres and 2,000 ewes. “Eating quality, taste and tenderness was another key takeaway. Carcass traits are a high priority to producers and are part of the genetic selection process for many. Meat pro cessors, industry professionals and producers alike are all focused on improving the quality of the eating experience for the end consumer in an effort to be highly competitive in the global market.” “What stood out to me the most was how much Sheep Producers Australia is educating all producers about con sumer trends,” said Hurley. “Whether that be improving or changing genetics or starting to pay attention to their farms’

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