ASI WEEKLY

News for Sheep Industry Leaders

February 12, 2026



American Sheep Industry Association

9785 Maroon Circle, Suite 360, Englewood, CO 80112

Phone: 303-771-3500 -- Fax: 303-771-8200 -- Sheepusa.org

Graphic Designer: Parand Malekani, parand@sheepusa.org

ASI is an equal opportunity provider and employer

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Winner Announced for the Reimagine Wool Poster Contest

Wool is the Miracle Fiber! Right now, there is untapped potential with millions of pounds of American wool being underutilized. Through this poster contest, the ASI Wool Council searched for the most innovative ideas for 25+ micron wool. 

Congratulations to the Center, CO Conservation District!

Their winning poster highlighted the potential of wool pellets for use in agriculture. By showcasing a prototype for turning underutilized wool into a powerful soil amendment, they’ve demonstrated a perfect "new twist" on how we use this miracle fiber and a future vision for agriculture. 

As the winner, the Center, CO Conservation District has been awarded $1,000 along with exclusive networking opportunities to help bring their vision to fruition.

View the winner and all of the finalist posters at www.sheepusa.org/reimagine-wool-digital-poster-contest

Interested in showcasing the posters at an event? Visit the webpage above for more details or contact heather@sheepusa.org

Legislative Update from Washington, D.C.

The American Sheep Industry Association’s lobbying firm – Cornerstone Government Affairs – offered an update this week on legislative issues in our nation’s capital.

USDA Announces Completion of the Sterile Fly Dispersal Facility in Texas 

On Monday, February 9, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the completion of the U.S. based sterile fly dispersal facility in Edinburg, Texas. This facility, located at Moore Air Base, is part of Secretary Rollins’ five-pronged plan that she announced in June 2025 to combat the spread of New World Screwworm (NWS) in the U.S. The completion of this facility expands the network of operating disposal facilities through Central America and Mexico. This comes after USDA’s earlier announcement in January to shift 100 million sterile flies per week to cover the U.S. boarder and into Texas. For the official announcement of the sterile fly facility, please see the press release here. 

Date Set for Farm Bill Markup:

On February 4th, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-PA) announced the Committee’s plans to markup their farm bill framework February 23-25. While the Committee has not yet released bill text, it is likely to be released later this week. The Committee has announced that this bill will look similar to H.R. 8467, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 along with a few key updates for 2026. Ahead of the markup, the legislative committee staff will be hosting a listening and discussion session to engage with agriculture industry stakeholders.  

Source: Cornerstone Government Affairs

USDA Announces Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework to End Agricultural Lawfare

On February 11, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the launch of the Farmer and Rancher Freedom Framework (PDF, 11.4 MB), a bold initiative to protect America’s agricultural heritage and defend farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers from politically motivated lawfare. Secretary Rollins was joined by U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner, country music artist and songwriter John Rich, Representative James Comer, and several farming families who have been targets of agricultural lawfare.

Click Here to read the full article. 

The Australian wool market

The Australian wool market has risen again in this selling series, recording overall gains across both selling days. There was a total of 37,301 bales available to the trade. Of this total 35,417 bales were sold, again showing the willingness of sellers to accept the prices on offer, as only 5.1% was passed in. On the opening day the movements in the Micron Price Guides (MPGs) for merino fleece ranged between minus 4 and plus 32 cents. The skirtings were irregular, while the crossbreds recorded modest falls. The benchmark Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) finished the day 12 cents higher. The second day recorded very little change across all three centres, the EMI rose by 4 cents. This pushed the EMI up to 1,693 cents. This is the highest the EMI has been since August 2019. The EMI has been trending higher since the beginning of November. There have been 22 selling days since the 4th of November, the EMI has risen on 19 of those days. The EMI has added 276 cents across these sales, an increase of 19.5%. When viewed in USD terms the increase is even more substantial. Since the beginning of November, the EMI has gone up by 272 US cents, recording a decrease across only three of those days. This equates to a 29.7% rise. The EMI is now sitting on 1,205 US cents, the EMI in USD terms is at its highest point since July 2019. Some large gains in the oddment market, particularly in the West on day one, have helped to push the Merino Carding Indictors (MC) up again, continuing the upward trend. Across the three regions the MCs climbed by an average of 28 cents. Next week the wool market heads into a recess for Chinese New Year. Sales will resume in the week beginning Monday the 23rd of February.

Source: AWEX

A New Home for the American Lamb Cooking Club

The American Lamb Board (ALB) is excited to partner with Homemade and beloved chef Joel Gamoran to bring lamb lovers together in a one-of-a-kind cooking club. This community is all about celebrating American Lamb through monthly cooking classes, flavor-packed recipes, and a welcoming forum where home cooks can connect, swap tips, and talk all things lamb. Whether you’re new to cooking lamb or already obsessed, this club is designed to inspire confidence, creativity, and a lot of delicious meals.

Now, we’re taking the lamb magic to a brand-new home on YouTube—and it’s better than ever. You’ll find the same chefs and same incredible community, plus more live classes, on-demand videos, and easy access to every recipe whenever inspiration strikes. To watch the live classes, you must sign up to the Homemade Class 

https://www.homemadecooking.com/upcoming-classes/red-wine-braised-american-lamb-shanks.

Tune into our Lamb Lovers Month class on February 26th for a special live cooking experience you won’t want to miss.

Ready to join the club? Subscribe on YouTube so you never miss a class or a new lamb creation. Thank you for being part of this journey with us—we can’t wait to keep cooking, learning, and celebrating American Lamb together.

Check out what ALB did with Homemade in 2025! Click here to view the reel.

Source: ALB

Note: Producers must visit their Farm Service Agency office and fill out the appropriate paperwork before the wool or unshorn lambs are sold to claim the Wool LDP (when available). 

Market Summary

Please use the link below to access to the latest Weekly Sheep, Lamb and Wool Market Summary report.

The report is generally updated on Friday afternoon.

Upcoming Events


Feb 13-14, 2026 - Maryland Sheep Breeders Association Shearing School - Registration closed 

Feb 27, 2026 - Sheep & Goat Genetic Improvement Field Day - More information and registration at: www.uaex.uada.edu/smallruminantgenetics

Feb. 28, 2026 - WY Select Bred Ewe Sale - Contact Alison Crane at alison@wyowool.com 

Feb 27-28, 2026 - TSPA’s annual meeting and educational symposium - For more information and to register visit: www.tennesseesheep.org


Feb. 12-14, 2026 - Texas A&M AgriLife Sheep Shearing School, For more information ontact Jake Thorne at jake.thorne@ag.tamu.edu - (Registration closed)

Mar. 2-4, 2026 - ASI Spring Fly-In, Washington, D.C., Contact: info@sheepusa.org

Mar. 5, 2026 - Missouri Shearing School - For more information contact: BruemmerJ@LincolnU.edu

Mar. 4-5, 2026 - 2026 Sheep Shearing School - Click here to sign up:

https://lincolnu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0dneWaxS3PQryWq?Q_CHL=qr

Mar. 20-21, 2026 -Tennessee Shearing School - For more information visit: https://tennesseesheep.org/shearing-school

Apr. 9-15, 2026 - Oklahama Shepherd's Cross Shearing Schools - April 9, 10 & 11, 2026 - Thursday, Friday & Saturday - April 13, 14 & 15, 2026 - Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday - For more information visit https://shepherdscross.com/sheep-shearing-school.html


Apr. 17-19, 2026 - Moffat County Sheep Shearing School - For more information visti: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-moffat-county-sheep-shearing-school-registration-1979781871873

Apr. 20-25, 2026 - Washington State Shearing School - Beginners School April 20-24, 2026, Advanced School April 25, 2026 - For more information contact Sarah M. Smith, WSU Extension at 509-754-2011 x 4363 or smithms@wsu.edu.

May 1, 2026 - Livestock Guardian Dog Field Day - Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center, San Angelo, TX Info: agriliferegister.tamu.edu

May 2-3, 2026 - MARYLAND SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL - Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD, Info: sheepandwool.org

May 8-10, 2026 - SHEPHERD’S HARVEST SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL Washington County Fairgrounds, Lake Elmo, MN, Info: shepherdsharvestfestival.org

July 26-28, 2026 - SheepEx - National Genetics Conference, Sponsored by Sheep Genetics USA, Utah State University, For More Information visit https://sheepgeneticsusa.org 

ASI operates in accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture civil rights regulations and policies, and complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it under these. ASI is an equal opportunity employer and provider.