FY 2005 Sheep & Goat Industry Grant Initiative (SGIGI)
Grant Awardees

Website: http://www.americanlambboard.org  

Scope: National Marketing and Promotion

Objective:

The American Lamb Board (ALB) is the lamb marketing entity for the entire American sheep industry.  The ALB is overseen by a13 member volunteer Board that represents all sectors including six producers, three feeders, one seed stock producer and three first handlers. The ALB is funded by a mandatory industry assessment. For every one pound of live lambs sold, the assessment is .5 cents.   For every head of lamb purchased for slaughter by first handlers, the fee is 30 cents per head.

Objective: Goals of this project are (1) to develop a Meat Goat Production Handbook to serve as a primary, non-internet based information source on basic meat goat management principles for producers and (2) to deliver the Handbook as the focal point of a series of meat goat management training workshops to a number of state meat goat associations in the southeast and midwestern United States. This project is an educational effort of the American Meat Goat Association (AMGA) to provide meat goat producers with information on various basic aspects of meat goat production and marketing. The meat goat is an emerging livestock class offering farmers a new option for on-farm income. Meat goat ranching is also attracting individuals with limited livestock production experience. With the growing number of meat goat farms, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest, there is a need to provide new operators with basic information to assist with management decisions so that these new enterprises have an increased chance of long-term sustainability and profitability. A significant proportion of goat producers do not use computers, thus the necessity for a non-internet based reference source. The structured interaction between AMGA and state associations facilitated by this project may also lay the foundation for future networking among meat goat organizations to strengthen the meat goat industry as a whole.

Website: http://www.asas.org

Title: Integrated approach for controlling nematode parasites in small ruminants

Scope: Production Research

Objective: Every year thousands of animal scientists from the U.S. and around the world gather for the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science. The 2005 meeting will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio between July 24 and 28. The specific objective of these grant funds is to provide for a Symposium to include five presentations from animal scientists and veterinarians currently working in the Parasitology field.  The Sheep Species Program Committee is organizing a symposium, "Management of Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Sheep," with five speakers with expertise in small ruminant parasite control. This symposium is of utmost importance to the sheep scientific community because of the increasing resistance of parasites to available dewormers resulting in a crisis to the sheep industry. The symposium will address emerging techniques to manage gastrointestinal parasites including immunological, the use of forages, and biological. The presentations may be published in the Journal of Animal Science. Scientists will listen and participate in discussion and disseminate practical information to local producers.

Website: http://www.angelo.edu/

Title: Development and Consumer Acceptance of Pre-cooked Lamb Leg Roast and Pre-cooked Goat Products

Scope: National Product Development

Objective: Angelo State University (ASU) has a 8,000 square foot Food Safety and Product Development Laboratory at the ASU Management, Instruction, and Research facility.  San Angelo is located in the heart of the region's goat and sheep industries and the facility dedicates 75% of their activities to the sheep and goat industries.

 Website: http://missourilivestock.com/

Title: Sheep and Meat Goat Training Project

Scope: Regional Producer Education

Objective:  The Missouri Livestock Symposium  is a producer driven livestock educational program. It has a proven track record for success. Last year this event drew over 1,200 producers and associated agribusinesses from eleven states and 59 of Missouri's 114 counties. The program has historically utilized industry icons from coast to coast on horses, beef cattle, SHEEP, MEAT GOATS, forages, swine, stock dogs and more. The Missouri Livestock Symposium is the premier educational event for producers in the Midwest.

  Mohair Council of America                   

 Website: http://www.mohairusa.com/

Title: Strategic Marketing Plan to Increase Sales of U.S. Mohair and Mohair Products

Scope: National Product Development and Marketing

Objective:  The Mohair Council of America (MCA) is the only national organization of mohair producers in the U.S.   Founded in 1966 by producers, the council is a non-profit agency. In the past, a key source of funding was via assessment dollars under the Wool Incentive Act. Since this Act was eliminated in 1995, MCA is funded through a state check-off program for mohair sold in Texas. The assessment is 4 cents per lb. and because almost 100% of the mohair is sold through Texas markets the assessment mechanism is considered by most as inclusive and fair. 

Website: http://www.nlfa-sheep.org/

Title: Product quality and consistency

Scope:

The proposed project is to specifically dedicate a portion of the 2005 Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School to initiatives focusing on improvements in product quality and consistency.

Objective:

Although advancements have been achieved with respect to improving the quality and consistency of domestic lamb meat products, it is abundantly evident our domestic market must continue to enhance quality and consistency in order to improve its competitive position in the international markets. The domestic industry must confront competitive market forces from foreign imports, but also from other protein sources. Without ongoing advancements in product quality and consistency, the domestic lamb industry will continue to be hampered by these competitive forces and unable to expand or overcome the dynamics of the current market situation.

Update: This grant is in the process of being awarded and no results are available at this time.

Website: www.ohiosheep.org/

Title: Ohio Sheep Producers Educational Programs

Scope: Regional Producer Education

Objective: Sheep producer educational programs are vital to the improvement and profitability of the Ohio and United States Sheep Industry. Several sheep related educational programs are offered each year in Ohio. These educational programs include the Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium, Ohio Sheep Day, and Lamb 509.

Website: http://sanangelo.tamu.edu

Title: Objective Measurement of Mohair Luster

Scope: National Product Development

Objective: Angora goat breeders, textile manufacturers, designers and mohair end-users all agree that the most important attribute of this fiber is its exceptional luster. And yet luster is one of the few physical properties of mohair for which there is not an established method of measurement. Recognizing significant differences among animals, breeders have used subjective assessments of luster in their selection programs from time immemorial to ensure this important property was maintained or enhanced.

Website: http://library.ttu.edu/ul/subjects/sciences/agriculture/internet.php

Title: Development of Value Added Woolen Automotive Interiors

Scope: National Product Development

Objective: The proposal addresses a much needed issue facing the US sheep and wool industry in the current economic and global free trade scenarios. High value and niche woolen products are necessary to survive the severe competition from synthetic fibers and the flood of imports of cheap products from developing nations such as China. The proposed project will endeavor to develop superior quality value-added nonwoven automotive interior fabrics. The research and development endeavor will use the "state-of-the-art" and highly productive nonwoven processing methods such as the H1 needlepunching and through-air thermalbonding technologies. Furthermore, the US is the world's largest automobile consumer society and enabling wool to be an important component in automobiles could significantly enhance the market share and the value of wool. On an average, the amount of textile material used in a single automobile is 28 square yards. The use of wool in automobile interior fabrics could boost its image and enhance its market share and sales value.

Website: http://www.uihome.uidaho.edu/uihome/

Title: Prescribed Grazing for Vegetation Management: A Handbook for Sheep and Goat Producers and Land Managers.

Scope: Regional goat and sheep research and education.

Objective: Traditional efforts to improve the U.S. sheep industry have focused largely on trade, production efficiency, and product demand. New trends dictate that both the sheep and goat industries develop innovative approaches in order to draw new people into the industry and increase demand for sheep and goats. We propose development of a new product for the sheep and goat industry - prescribed grazing for vegetation management. The objective of this proposal is to develop a comprehensive educational handbook that will assist entrepreneurs who wish to create new sheep and goat enterprises based on vegetation management. The handbook will also guide land managers interested in contracting sheep and goat operators for vegetation management.

Website: http://www.utm.edu/

Title: Pasture Systems for Meat Goat and Sheep Production: A Research-Education Model

Scope: National goat and sheep research and education.

Objective: This grant is a continuation of the project that was funded in Fiscal Year 2004.  The primary goals of this grant are to fund a project to develop an infrastructure for developing and providing useful information to goat and sheep producers in the Mid-South.  At the current time there is limited data and resources available to support the small-scale producers that make up the majority of the sheep and goat industry in this region.

Website: http://www.vsu.edu/

Title: Hair Sheep Workshop

Scope: National/ International Hair Sheep Research

Objective:  Hair sheep have made significant contributions to sheep production in the U.S. over the past several years and are poised to expand their role further in the future. Hair breeds successfully address several of the production constraints currently faced by the sheep industry in some regions of the U.S. With the phase-out of the wool subsidy, the harvesting of the medium wools that are typical of farm-flock production has become less economically feasible, and shearing has become a management constraint. The proportion of lamb consumed by ethnic markets is steadily increasing, and these markets generally prefer the leaner carcasses and lighter carcass weights that are typical of hair sheep and hair sheep crosses. Finally, there is a shift in the sheep industry towards 'easy care' sheep that perform well under forage-based systems with reduced managerial inputs. These "easy care" goals are consistent with the production characteristics of many hair sheep breeds. Timely information is needed for U.S. livestock producers on the production potential of hair sheep and the role these animals may play in their operation.