October 9, 2026

201 TRADE CASE MILESTONES

***JOIN THE HEARING ONLINE***

Over the past year, ASI and our legal team have been working relentlessly behind the scenes—gathering data to build an airtight case, rallying key testimony, and standing up for our industry every step of the way.

The momentum is building as we prepare for the crucial International Trade Commission (ITC) hearing on October 16 to determine injury. 

Now, we’re ready to bring that year of preparation directly to the ITC hearing. See our team in action and follow the proceedings live using the link below.

68 SIGNATURES!

Thank you to all members that answered our call to action to contact their Members of Congress about the 201 Trade Case. Your voice made a difference in the amount of signatures supporting a bipartisan letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC). Here is the full list of senators and representatives that supported our 201 Trade Case.

ASI FUNDRAISING

ASI continues to raise funds through the ASI Guard Dog Fund to support the legal and economic work necessary to pursue the Section 201 case. Producers and industry supporters who want to help strengthen this effort can contribute specifically to the Section 201 Trade Case.

To stay informed of developing information, follow ASI on social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) and on our website. 

Registration is now open for the 2027 Annual Convention in Charleston, SC.

Join us for our annual gathering January 13-16, 2027.

ASI/ALB Cost of Production Survey

In conjunction with the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and the American Lamb Board (ALB), the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC), is conducting a producer survey to collect sheep enterprise costs and production data directly from producers. The survey will generate industry benchmarks and economic insights that help producers compare their operations to regional and national returns, identify opportunities to improve efficiency, and make more informed management decisions. Information gathered through the survey will strengthen cost of production budgets, analytical tools, and reporting resources, ensuring producers have access to timely, data-driven information to support profitability and long-term business planning. The survey results will also support the development of more accurate and representative sheep industry economic benchmarks for producers, industry leaders, and researchers. The survey will remain open through November 30, 2026, with results scheduled to be presented at the ASI Convention in January 2027.

ASI Builds Cross-Border Wool Connections in Calgary

This week, ASI Executive Director Mike Michener participated in Canadian Wool Conversations in Calgary, Alberta, joining producers, processors and other wool industry leaders for a day focused on strengthening the future of the wool sector.

Michener presented “Wool of the West,” an overview of the U.S. wool industry and the importance of maintaining a resilient supply chain that includes strong domestic processing, export markets, military procurement and opportunities for small and midsize mills.

For U.S. wool growers, one of the greatest values of the meeting was the opportunity to build relationships with Canadian producers and businesses facing many of the same challenges. Transportation distances, processing capacity, market development and the need to attract investment are issues that cross the border, making stronger connections throughout the North American wool industry increasingly important.

“U.S. and Canadian growers have a great deal to gain from knowing each other better and identifying areas where we can work together,” Michener said. “The more connected our producers, processors and marketers are, the better positioned we are to develop markets and strengthen the wool supply chain across the West.”

The program also included discussions on export markets, Canadian wool demand, business development and future opportunities for the industry. Michener said ASI will continue looking for ways to deepen relationships with Canadian wool organizations and create connections that can benefit U.S. sheep producers.

North Dakota Certified Wool Classing School

The North Dakota Certified Wool Classing School is a three-day hands-on educational event held in conjunction with the Shearing School November 21-23, 2026, at the NDSU Hettinger Research Extension Center Livestock Lab in Hettinger, ND. ASI is co-sponsoring the classing school with NDSU Extension, the Hettinger REC, and the North Dakota Lamb & Wool Producers Association. The workshop covers essential sheep wool topics including wool growth and measurement, hands-on classing, handling fleeces, and proper packaging and labeling. 
Registration is limited to 10 participants, and offers attendees Level 1 certification. Registration costs $250 and covers tuition, materials, and lunch. Please register by November 2, 2026.

Lamb Industry NextGen Program Accepting Applications

The American Lamb Board is accepting applications for a new leadership program designed to develop the next generation of U.S. lamb industry leaders. The two-year Lamb Industry NextGen Program will combine industry education, travel, hands-on learning, mentorship, and networking throughout 2027 and 2028. Participants will explore best management practices, emerging technologies, innovative businesses, and new market opportunities across the lamb industry. The program will include tours and leadership workshops, virtual meetings, and small-group projects. Participants will also attend the American Lamb Summit, American Sheep Industry Association Convention, and National Lamb Feeders Association Leadership School. Two participants will be selected for the LambEx/Global Tour, providing international exposure and opportunities to connect with sheep industry leaders worldwide. The American Lamb Board says applicants can be producers, students, entrepreneurs, educators, and allied-industry professionals, with preference given to those involved in sheep and lamb production. Applications are due December 31, 2026. The inaugural cohort will be announced February 1, 2027.

USDA Announces $12.65 Million Available to Support Dairy Business Innovation

USDA announced approximately $12.65 million in funding is available through the Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives program. This funding opportunity is applicable to dairy sheep producers. This funding will support the four regional initiatives that provide technical assistance and subawards to dairy businesses working to develop, produce, market, and distribute dairy products.

The fiscal year 2026 funding opportunity is open to the four existing DBI initiatives: the University of Wisconsin, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, the California State University Fresno Foundation, and the University of Tennessee.

The DBI initiatives serve to:

• Diversify dairy product markets to reduce risk and develop higher value uses for dairy products;
• Promote business development that diversifies farmer income through processing and marketing innovation; and
• Encourage the use of regional milk production.

USDA strongly encourages DBI Initiatives to prioritize subaward funding for equipment and infrastructure in their proposals for these funds. Equipment and infrastructure investments are critical to strengthening the dairy industry and overall dairy businesses’ capacity and DBI is currently uniquely positioned to offer such targeted funding.

This funding opportunity requires recipients to fund their projects, in part, with cost sharing funds from non-federal sources in the form of cash and/or in-kind contributions equal to 25% of the amount of federal funds being requested.

Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 1, 2026.

Counting Sheep

In 1893, when the price of silver crashed and the mining boom in Blaine County went bust, a savior of sorts was waiting in the wings: an emerging sheep-ranching industry.

During that era, as miners left and sheepherders and their flocks moved in, sheep soon came to outnumber people in the Wood River Valley. By the 1910s and into the 1920s, Ketchum and the outpost of Hill City on the Camas Prairie each shipped more sheep to market than any other station in the country.

Amid high demand for wool and meat, thousands upon thousands of lambs were transported from regional depots by railroad to markets across the West. A newspaper report in 1905 stated that a shearing plant near Picabo processed 95,000 sheep in one week.

In 1918, the sheep population in Idaho reached a peak of 2.65 million, some six times the number of human residents, with an estimated 1 million of the animals being trailed through Blaine County.

During the Great Depression of the early 1930s, lamb prices plummeted, with a leg of lamb yielding a mere 15 cents per pound. The industry in Idaho endured the drop but a decline was on the horizon.

In January 2026, the sheep population in Idaho was estimated at 235,000, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report states. In Blaine County, the figure is approximately 30,000. The numbers beg the question, “What is the state of the sheep industry in Blaine County and the broader region?”

Boozman, Thompson Highlight Almost $14B in Farm Subsidies

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said late Thursday, the first day of the new fiscal year, that the subsidies to be sent to farmers in October will total $13.8 billion under the Republican-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, noted that states must pay a higher share of administrative costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program under the same bill. 

Boozman and Thompson said that the $13.8 billion to be distributed through the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage by the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency is more than double what farmers would have received before the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the 
Working Families Tax Cut Act. 

Nevada Farmers, Ranchers Can Apply for USDA 
Conservation Funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service accepts applications throughout the year, but applications submitted by the Oct. 15 deadline will be considered for the upcoming funding cycle, according to information released by NRCS.

Programs available to Nevada producers include:

• Agricultural Conservation Easement Program: The program provides options for protecting agricultural land from development through permanent easements. It also provides assistance for protecting, restoring and improving wetlands previously degraded by agricultural uses.
• Conservation Stewardship Program: The program provides assistance to producers who want to expand existing conservation practices while maintaining agricultural operations.
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program: The program provides technical and financial assistance for projects addressing natural resource concerns, including water and air quality, soil health and erosion.
• Agricultural Management Assistance: The program helps producers manage financial risks through practices involving diversification, marketing and natural resource conservation.
• 

NRCS is also offering financial assistance nationally through its Regenerative Pilot Program. The program allows producers to apply for Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program assistance through a single application to implement whole-farm regenerative practices.

Upcoming Sheep Shearing Schools

Shearing schools are getting rolling all across the U.S. and several have let ASI know their plans. 

Reach out to ASI to add your shearing school to our list and to order educational shearing materials at heather@sheepusa.org!

ASI is working year-round to advance producer priorities across the country. 
Here’s what’s happening, what it means, and what’s next.

Trump Nominates Greg Ibach to Serve as Next USDA Under Secretary for TFAA

Last week, President Trump nominated Greg Ibach to serve as the next U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (TFAA). If confirmed, he will succeed former Under Secretary Luke Linberg, who recently became Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome, Italy. The TFAA Mission Area oversees the Foreign Agricultural Service and U.S. Codex Office. Under the first Trump Administration, Ibach served as the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at USDA. Previously, Ibach served as Nebraska’s Director of Agriculture for 12 years. Ibach is waiting for the Senate Committee of Agriculture to schedule a nomination hearing in order to proceed with final Senate confirmation. Given the limited number of Senate session days after the midterms and during the lame-duck period, it is unclear whether he will be confirmed before the end of this Congress.



ASI supports Greg Ibach's nomination to serve as USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.

You can find the official press release here.

U.S. Court Of International Trade Holds Hearing Regarding Section 301 Forced-Labor Tariffs

On September 30, a three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade (CIT) heard oral arguments in Burlap and Barrel, Inc. et al. v. Greer, a pivotal challenge to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) recent section 301 tariffs. Filed by the Liberty Justice Center in July 2026, the lawsuit alleges that USTR exceeded its authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 by imposing broad duties of 10% to 12.5% across 60 economies. These economies collectively account for approximately 99.4% of all U.S. imports. The Administration’s stated rationale for the sweeping action was that these nations failed to enforce prohibitions on goods produced with forced labor.  

During the hearing, the plaintiffs argued that USTR acted arbitrarily and capriciously by treating the many economies as a monolith, failing to conduct country-specific, targeted analysis required by the statute. In response, the U.S. Department of Justice defended the agency by arguing that the broad statutory language of Section 301 provides sufficient discretion to combat systemic unfair trade practices without requiring country-specific analysis.  

The CIT panel is expected to issue a written opinion in the coming weeks. Regardless of the outcome, ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Your weekly snapshot of key market rates and reports (U.S. and global) to help you stay ahead of pricing and demand shifts.

Wool Markets Remain Steady

Overall, the EMI remained unchanged this week. Finer wool saw some slight gains while coarser microns felt some small losses. According to an AWEX report, "The medium to broad microns have lost more ground in recent weeks compared to the finer microns."

About the EMI: The AWEX Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) is the key benchmark index of Australian wool auction prices and is widely used as a global wool market indicator.

Source: AWEX

LDP Payments Available This Week

Ungraded Wool, Grease Prices in $ Per Pound

Unshorn Pelts, Prices in $ Per Pelt

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). 

USDA Weekly Sheep, Lamb, & Wool Market Summary

The report is generally updated on Friday afternoon.

NCAT Wool Quality Improvement Program

The NCAT Wool Quality Improvement Program is a multi-state initiative designed to strengthen U.S. wool markets by supporting sheep producers with direct funding, technical assistance, and market-building resources. The program helps producers improve wool quality, implement on-farm conservation practices, and access new and expanded markets for American wool and wool products. NCAT and its partners, Fibershed and New York Fibershed, will be working to expand wool markets in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New York, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

The program will work with 100 wool producers until March 31, 2028, providing funding and technical support to implement practices, improve fiber quality, and develop market-ready wool and wool products.

ASI is so thankful for our industry partners and magazine advertisers! Their support not only strengthens our work in Washington, D.C. but also supports a number of programs that are important to the sheep industry.

Want to support ASI and reach American wool and lamb producers? Contact our Director of Communications, Morgan Young at Morgan@sheepusa.org.

Oct 9: Wild & Domestic Sheep Film Screenings, Moscow ID - More info

Oct 10: Texas LGD Association Field Day, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame - More info

Oct 10: Sheep, Lamb, Wool, and Ewe!, Univ. of ID - More info

Oct 10: Hoosier Sheep Symposium, Vincennes, IN - More info

Oct 14: Sheep & Goat Nutrition Webinar with UMN and OSU - More info

Oct 15-18: Montana Wool Harvesting Beginner School, Billings, MT - More info
Oct 15: Optimizing sheep nutrition – Virtual Series – Session 2 - More info

Oct 16-17: Sheep IQ: Improving Production Efficiencies, Cedar City, UT - More info

Oct 19-21: Oklahoma State Meat Goat & Sheep Boot Camp, Ada, OK - More info

Oct 22: Optimizing sheep nutrition – Virtual Series – Session 3 - More info

Oct 23-25: Cornell 2026 Sheep & Goat Symposium - More info

Oct 24: Brigham City Sheep Trail - More info

Oct 24: Ohio Statewide Sheep Production Tour - More info

Oct 24-25: Connecticut Advanced Shearing School - More info

Oct 24-26: SDSU Sheep Shearing School - More info

Oct 28: 2026 KY Annual Producer Conference - More info
Oct 29: Optimizing sheep nutrition – Virtual Series – Session 4 - More info

ASI Address Change

We’ve successfully moved into our new office! ASI’s new address is:

American Sheep Industry Association (ASI)

9781 S. Meridian Blvd.

STE 200

Englewood, CO 80112 

New Sponsorship Opportunities Available!

ASI is so thankful for our industry partners and magazine advertisers! Their support not only strengthens our work in Washington, D.C. but also supports a number of programs that are important to the sheep industry. Want to support ASI and reach American wool and lamb producers? Contact our Director of Communications, Morgan Young at Morgan@sheepusa.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.