I hate to say I told you so, but I did. Think back to my article titled "Science or Politics"(August 2001). In that article I looked ahead at the looming January 1, 2002 deadline for the proposed scrapie regulations. I discussed the shortcomings of the science and the regulators surrounding the proposed rules. It was my belief at the time that to much emphasis was placed on a timeline to put an eradication program in place without understanding the science around scrapie and without the infrastructure to support the required mountains of testing samples this program would require. The current USDA recognized test, known as the third eyelid test, has never been statistically validated. What this means is no approved scientific study has confirmed its accuracy or presence of false negatives. We as an industry are still awaiting the approval of the scientific community for existing studies on this topic. Currently there is a four to five month wait for test results, with only a small fraction of testing being conducted. Hence I concluded the article with a sarcastic prophetic statement that said. "If we put the politics in front of the science, all we will ever get is political science." This is something Washington is awash in and short on substance.

It has been my contention that USDA under estimated the prevalence of this disease from the onset. This is a disease that has been in North America for well over 100 years. Likely brought over with imported sheep from England in the 1800's. It was first diagnosed in this country in the 1940's. This is not to say it did not exist until then only that man and technology had developed tools to recognize it. So it is the same with today's genetic testing and third eyelid test. Technology has afforded us the ability to identify this in a live animal. Before only brain tissue from a slaughtered animal was capable of making a definite diagnosis. Scrapie is not a food safety issue, nor has it ever been. Scrapie is not transmissible to humans either. I view scrapie as no different than any other catastrophic production disease. Except to say this, scrapie is capable of being present with out symptoms or knowledge of the animal husband. Certainly any one who has had a bout with coccidiosis in a herd has suffered losses in life as well gain equal to that of scrapie. One major difference is coccidiosis shows symptoms rather quickly, is much more contagious, and usually effects all animals in a group, with mortalities up to 10% of the herd. Scrapie is only passed from mother to offspring with possible transmission to other individuals in very close contact with parturition fluids.

The recent 201 trade action in which the American Sheep Industry Association was the lead petitioner returned a large sum of money to North Dakota sheep producers. The three wool market loss assistance payments amounted to $718,644. The lamb meat adjustment assistance program consisting of ram payments, facility payments, feeder and slaughter lamb payments amounted to $436,823. Dakota Lamb Growers Coop received a grant of $250,000 as a result of the 201 trade action. The ewe lamb retention program should result in another $300,000. This adds up to about 1.7 million dollars to North Dakota Sheep Producers.

The American Sheep Industry Association spent over a half million dollars on legal fees to obtain these benefits. North Dakota Producers donated $3,530, South Dakota $23,032, Minnesota $6,653, Montana $51,491, with the remaining states bringing the total over one half million dollars. The funds the American Sheep Industry Association uses for legislative work and legal fees is collected from state dues and donations.

Currently, there are 120 producers as members of the North Dakota Lamb & Wool Producers Association, of which 73 are also members of the American Sheep Industry Association. I personally want to thank you for supporting the industry with your dues and donations.

There is one thing that concerns me, we have about 900-1000 sheep producers in the state of North Dakota that are not contributing, but are reaping the rewards of your membership and loyalty. You as current members are supporting the rest of the producers in the state. But you can make a difference by making copies of the membership form included in this newsletter and challenging your neighbors and friends in the sheep industry to become members.

The North Dakota Lamb & Wool Producers Association pays yearly dues to be a member of the American Sheep Industry. We have a unified membership plan, which means for every individual membership we obtain our state dues are decreased by $25. It should be fairly easy for everyone to go out and recruit 1, 2 or even 3 new members. Thanks for supporting our industry.

The annual event will be conducted July 21-24, 2002, in Greeley, Colo. The coordinator for the 2002 program is Dr. Steve LeValley, extension sheep and wool specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University.

To apply, participants must be 20 years of age or older. Once accepted, they are responsible for a registration fee of $100, plus the cost of their transportation to and from Greeley. The event's sponsor, the National Lamb Feeders Association, provides meal, lodging and supplies. Class size is limited to approximately 25.

Applications may be obtained from the NLFA administrative office (503) 370-7024 or by e-mailing info@nlfa-sheep.org.

Elizabeth Horner of Devils Lake represented North Dakota in the Senior Division which is for state winners ages 17-24. Elizabeth received an Honorable Mention award in the Senior Division. She also won a $250 cash prize from the Llama Association of North America, a $150 savings bond from the Mohair Council of America, Woolrich fabric, and a pair of Ginger shears. Danielle Billing of Enderlin represented North Dakota in the Junior Division which is for state winners ages 13-16. Danielle received a length of Pendelton wool. For more information of next year's contest, contact: NDMIYWW@Yahoo.com or Jane Horner, ND MIYWW Director, 341 Old Main, Devils Lake, ND 58301.

Dakota Lamb Growers Cooperative has significant interest from many potential customers, some of whom require a large number of lambs annually. With more than 20,000 lambs now in the cooperative, the company is in a position to meet the demand. Specific names of new customers will be announced in the near future.

The co-op has been created to get its members away from the commodity market and into a profitable niche. DLGC has become the largest provider of domestic natural lamb.

In addition to marketing fresh and frozen lamb, the cooperative has developed a number of further processed products, which will be available in the market within the next thirty days. The new products will provide additional revenue and cash flow, and will enable the company to fully utilize the carcass.

After the success of the equity drive, we are looking forward to focusing on continuing to grow the business for our customers and shareholders. For additional information contact Dave Merwin, CEO at 1-701-567-2723.

Breeding females totaled 102,000 head, down 1,500 from last year. The number of ewes 1 year old and older, at 85,000 head, were down 4,000 head from January 1, 2001. Replacement ewe lambs totaled 17,000 head, up from 14,500 last year. Market sheep and lambs totaled 40,000 head, up 9,000. The 2001 lamb crop, at 115,000 head, was up 5,000 from 2000. Lamb drop was 129% in 2001 compared to 128% in 2000. There were 1,100 sheep operations during 2001, same as 2000. 

The $1.43 per AUM grazing fee applies to lands in the West administered by the BLM and to national forests and national grasslands administered by the Forest Service. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), by which the BLM fulfills its multiple-use mandate, grazing is a recognized and appropriate use of public lands.

NASS reported that five of the 538 plants (USDA inspected) that slaughtered sheep and lambs in 2001 comprised 70 percent of the total head. Although not news to sheep producers, NASS stated that this is the greatest concentration of any red meat slaughter. This percentage compares to 15 plants out of 881 plants slaughtering nearly 57 percent of all cattle killed and 12 plants out of 699 hog slaughtering plants accounting for 53 percent of the total.