Improving Sheep Production and Lamb Quality Focus of American Lamb Summit

August 9, 2022

The goal of the American Lamb Summit underway in East Lansing, Mich. is to share ideas, educate, and provide support to producers  who want to not only survive in the industry, but thrive. The sponsors of this year's Summit are the American Lamb Board and Premier 1 Supplies.

Dr. Travis Hoffman, PHD is the Extension Sheep Specialist at North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota. He says connecting producers with what quality of meat that their animals are producing is vitally important.

"Looking at differences in relation to cut ability because quality means lots of things to different people and lots of spots along the supply chain," said Hoffman. "But if we can make trim, muscular lambs, then truthfully we can have a little bit better idea on matching what our consumers are for expectations and eating satisfaction."

He says that checkoff dollars are helping with educating lamb producers across the entire nation about the importance of carcass quality.

"When we think about it, we can do this from moving forward from the lamb product to our consumers," said Hoffman. "This is also where I'm more passionate about. The American Lamb Board has been truthfully helpful and beneficial in saying it's important that all of our producers in the United States understand what impact we have on the center of the plate protein that is American lamb. If we can combine our supply chain from all of our producers to learn more about their products and the sheep and lamb they're producing, then we can make those strides and make those bonuses forward together as a team and as an industry. And that's just part of it that's helped to be supported by the American Lamb Board and our checkoff dollar."

Jeff Ebert is the American Lamb Board's vice chairman from St George, Kan. He explains why the Summit is so important to both producers and consumers.

"The American Lamb Summit was designed to create more demand for American lamb," said Ebert. "To be able to do that, we've got to get our producers engaged in developing and working together to develop new products, new innovative ways of raising lamb. Here at the Summit, we're really focusing in on the direct marketing of the of the America lamb."

He says it's important that producers keep pushing themselves to be better and to raise a high-quality lamb product. And that's why checkoff dollars are helping to sponsor events like the American Lamb Summit.

"It's critical that that they continue to develop and and educate themselves on what opportunities are out there," said Ebert. "Not everything is going to fit their operation. You've got to come to these kind of conferences and want to take two or three things home that really work to your operation."

For more information about the American Lamb Summit, click here.

Source: Western Ag Network