I would like to say "thank you" to everyone who took the time to vote for the Lamb Check Off. The Check Off passed by a large margin nation wide (80% to 20%). This shows the importance of promoting our product, American Lamb. Through this promotion we can promote our high quality product and show the difference between imported and domestic lamb. Remember, average consumption of lamb is over a pound per person. If we can increase this by even a small margin, it will keep our markets strong for time to come.

One of our concerns in the industry is finding quality replacement ewes. This gives me a chance to promote our annual Ewe Sale on the first Saturday of October at Bowman. NDLWPA is starting to work on putting the sale together to make a successful sale. If you have questions about consigning or buying, just call Harry Kerr at 701 -523-5922 or 1-800-211-0600. I hope everybody is able to take advantage of the high lamb prices and the good wool market and use it to make our industry grow.

The sheep extension position is still vacant. We've hit some bumps in the road with this one. NDLWPA is working with extension and research at NDSU to get it filled. If you have questions, let NDLWPA try to help you out. You can contact me at stroh@bektel.com. Thank you.

Dr. Jim Clement and Becki Bass have been hired by the BAH as Animal ID Coordinator and Animal ID Technician, respectively. The BAH will be working together with the ND Stockmen= s Association (NDSA) on premises registration. By law, the NDSA shall serve as the administrator and allocator for the portion of North Dakota= s animal ID program which pertains to cattle, horses, and mules. The NDSA= s premises registration efforts will intensify as they begin to renew brands in July 2005. The BAH will share cattle, horse, and mule information with the NDSA.

NAIS database will store information necessary to trace animal and group identification numbers from premises to premises. Information stored in the database will be the name and address of the operation, the premises number, contact names and information, type of operation, species of livestock, date the premises number was activated or retired, the reason retired and all animal or group identification numbers associated the premises. Access to the NAIS database will only be granted to state or federal animal health officials for disease tracking purposes. Experts state that if US livestock, susceptible to foot and mouth disease, were ever exposed to the virus, all exposed animals would need to be identified and destroyed within 48 hours. Failure to contain a foot and mouth disease outbreak at the onset would most likely result in catastrophic losses to the US livestock industry.

The goals of the NAIS are 48 hour trace-back in animal health emergencies, minimizing financial losses due to animal disease, improving access to export markets, and maintaining public confidence in animal agricultural products. As the program becomes implemented, individual animals such as cattle and sheep will be assigned unique individual 15 digit numbers. Swine and poultry will be assigned group identification numbers. No proprietary or production information will be stored in the NAIS database. Legislation is currently pending at the state and federal levels to exempt the NAIS database from freedom of information requests, and access by anyone except state or federal animal health officials in pursuit of official duty. This would mean federal agencies such as the IRS, BLM, EPA, etc. would be denied access.

Application for a NAIS premises number can be accomplished by calling the BAH or by returning a completed NAIS Premises Registration form. To request a NAIS Premises Registration form, please call the BAH at 701-328-2350 or email. The form will also soon be available at the BAH link at ._ Producers will be notified of their new premises number by mail. For questions about the NAIS or registering your operation, please email or call the BAH.

Purpose of the creep - First of all, creep feeding introduces lambs to the feed that they will consume to market. The earlier that we can encourage lambs to consume creep the faster they will convert to getting the majority of their nutrients from grain rather than from the ewe. Secondly, creep feeding provides a protected area for the lambs to loiter or sleep. This area should be cleaner, warmer and more enticing than the ewe pen, thereby protecting the lambs from injury and exposure to weather and pathogens. Thirdly, creep feeding begins the weaning transition. If we can encourage gradual transition to weaning we will avert some of the stress to the lamb that is present at weaning.

Creep construction - Creep construction should be well planned in advance. The creep should be located in the most draft-free portion of the pen. Ideally the creep should allow access from all four sides. This is of course challenging to engineer and most people will compromise by attaching the creep to one wall for support. We need to make certain that the creep is inviting to the lambs. Hanging a low wattage light bulb or heat lamp over the pen will help entice lambs to enter the creep. The light is far more important than heat so the light can be raised high. There should be as many holes as possible in the gating to allow lambs to feel that they are not trapped. A horizontal bar or board that can be adjusted is a must. This will keep ewes from trying to get into the creep. The horizontal bar can be placed low when the lambs are young and raised as they get older. The horizontal bar should not rub the back of the lamb as it runs in and out of the creep. If it does, it needs to be adjusted. The bottom line is that we want to make the creep easily accessible, bright and enticing. If the lambs spend more time in the creep they will consume more feed.

Creep Feed - The primary requirement of creep feed is that it needs to be palatable. If the lambs don't eat the feed, it does no good. Some producers have successfully tried offering soybean meal as an initial creep feed. It is expensive, however the lambs consume a small amount. These producers will move very quickly to a 20% protein creep ration immediately after the lambs start to consume the soybean meal. A 20% protein ration is great until about 40 days of age. The feed should be crumbled or texturized, not pelleted. Coccidiostats need to be incorporated in creep rations as these young growing lambs are at high risk for acquiring coccidiosis. Deccox is the coccidiostat of choice in creep rations. Because Deccox has a high safety index it fits in well to creep diet.
J.L. Goelz ,D.V.M, International Sheep Letter

Governor Hoeven signed a temporary emergency rule that brings us into compliance with Consistent State Status requirements. Because of a paperwork snafu with the traditional rule-making process, we are now going through the traditional process (again) to make the rule permanent. The hearing date has been scheduled for April 12, 2005.

We continue working on Scrapie trace-outs. One animal which tested positive on routine slaughter surveillance in Texas last spring has led to two infected flocks and over 20 potentially exposed flocks. We are still in the process of locating all of the sheep that were exposed and hope to finish soon.

We are concerned about compliance with the scrapie tagging requirement. We have heard reports that auction markets may not be enforcing the tagging requirement. The federal Veterinary Medical Officers (VMOs) are looking into these allegations.

The Voluntary Scrapie Board recently held a conference call to approve a new flock to enter the Voluntary Flock Certification Program. That brings the number of flocks in the program to two, with an additional flock expected to meet the requirements soon.

All flocks which are determined to be source, infected, or exposed are required to have a Post Exposure Monitoring and Management Plan (PEMMP) in place. The PEMMP requires, among other things, annual inspection for five years to ensure compliance with the program. North Dakota flocks which have a PEMMP agreement in place are currently being re-inspected by VMOs, and reports indicate that compliance has been very good.

North Dakota's pride shown as Tricia received an honorable mention hi her hot pink poncho embellished with black mohair yarn accompanied by a gray pin-striped slack. Tricia is a sophomore at Devils Lake High School and a wrestling cheerleader. She is the daughter of Doug and Mary Berg of Devils Lake and the granddaughter of Jean Christianson and the late Melvin Christianson of Devils Lake and the Late Stanley and Alma Berg of Doyon.

Elizabeth was named 4^th runner-up. She also won the mohair scholarship of $1000. Beth's royal blue princess-line boat-neck sheath dress was fitted, lined, and below mid-knee design. The self-designed fitted jacket was constructed of coordinating royal blue mohair that she quilted to 100% worsted wool fabric. The jacket was above the hip in length, had a mandarin collar, and 2-piece sleeves with front and cuff rhinestone zippers. Beth designed and digitized the labels - "EHDL"(Elizabeth Horner Devils Lake) and a fleur de lis type motif embroidered on her garments. Beth is a sophomore at NDSU, double majoring in family consumer science education and apparel and textiles. She is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. Beth is the daughter of Dick and Jane Horner of Devils Lake and the granddaughter of Pete and Rose Horner of Napoleon and the Esther Augustin of Devils Lake and the Late Milton Augustin.