American Sheep Industry, Inc. - 2008 Tri-Lamb Meeting
In Sept. 2003, the first Tri-Lamb Summit was held in the U.S. The result of this summit was an agreement between lamb producers from Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. The agreement was formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and the goals are:
· Improve demand for lamb in the U.S. and halt decline in per capita consumption without reducing current farm-gate prices.
· Coordinate activities to maintain the high value of lamb in the U.S.
· Develop benchmarks to measure the effectiveness of the tri-lamb group in terms of cut prices, supplies/volume and promotion activities.
· Strengthen the sheep industries in all three countries by taking whatever actions necessary to ensure that markets in each country are at a level that will be profitable for each segment of the industry, especially the producer (farmer) and feeder.
· Monitor seasonal supplies and evaluate appropriate responses to market fluctuations.
· Enhance export market opportunities for lamb and lamb products.
To meet those goals, representatives from Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. hold yearly meetings on a rotational basis in each country. The formal MOU adopted in 2003 was renewed in 2006. Participation in this meeting is important for the U.S. Lamb industry to meet the goals of the agreement and improve communications of U.S. lamb suppliers. In past years, these communications were minimal. The U.S. has one of the highest valued lamb markets in the world. The goal of the U.S. lamb industry is to build stability in the U.S. market, enhance consumer demand for lamb and maintain its high value. Although the value is high, U.S. consumption is declining. This project will assist the U.S. industry in working cooperatively to increase demand and therefore value, for lamb in the U.S.