Assistance Program helps American sheep industry

The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program was announced by President Donald J. Trump. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will play a key role in getting the American sheep industry back on track, starting with lamb feeders who were particularly hard hit by the recent crash in lamb prices.

And while the announcement was welcome news for many in the sheep and wool industries, even better news came late when Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue acknowledged that additional support will be necessary.

For now, however, sheep producers are looking at payments of $33 per head for lambs and yearlings that were marketed between Jan. 15 and April 15 of this year. That number is $7 per head for lambs and yearlings in inventory on hand between April 15 and May 4.

Payments for wool producers will be based on inventory subject to price risk held as of Jan. 15. In other words, USDA wants to address unsold wool from 2019 shearing in this assistance package. The department estimates 25 percent of last year’s wool was still unsold as of this January.

“We welcome the announcement of the administration and look forward to helping with information dissemination on the application and payments,” said ASI President Benny Cox of Texas. “We will gear up the rest of the spring to keep the administration informed on our supply lines and market conditions with the goal of ensuring our products remain eligible for future assistance.”

It is clear that USDA aimed this first COVID-19 assistance package at the impacts on 2019 production and ASI will be pushing for future instalments to pick up the impacts on the 2020 wool clip and lamb crop. Additionally, the updated payment limits and wool portion were advantageous to lamb feeders caught with expensive lambs in the wrecked Easter market and who have been storing lamb wool for many months.

The American Sheep Industry Association joined with its state affiliates and the National Lamb Feeders Association to plead the industry’s case as USDA was developing the parameters of the direct payment program. USDA began accepting applications for CFAP payments on May 26 through its Farm Service Agency offices all across the United States.

Source: ASI