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The long-term outlook i s not very favorable f o r t h e sheep industry wiless it increases e f f ic iency t o become reasonably prof i tab le and com- pe t i t i ve i n the market. Also, due t o i t s r e l a t i v e economic significance t o our national economy, t h e need f o r a sheep industry i s being questioned. The American public could survive very s a t i s f a c t o r i l y without a sheep industry, but t h i s i s aLso t r u e f o r other red meat producing animals. However, I question i f t h i s a f f luent society wants t o deprive i t s e l f of lamb and wool or if it i s log ica l t o tu rn t h i s segment of om animal agr icul ture over t o foreign markets.

Also under present conditions of rapidly expanding population and. food needs i n the U. S., t he significance of the s m a l l ruminant i n convert- i n g roughage t o human food should not be discounted. Sheep are a l so capable of u t i l i z i n g forages not u t i l i z e d by other species of meat animals. Another a t t r i b u t e of sheep which can ' t be overlooked because of po l lu t ion problems facing our society i s t h a t they are not s ign i f icant contr ibutors t o the a n i m a l waste-pollution problem when compared t o c a t t l e , swine, and poultry.

The sheep industry has considerable t o of fe r t o OUT society and i t s survival i s important. fu ture course of act ion must be t o result i n increased re turns t o sheep and lamb producers. Development Program. the program evolved, i t s objectives, and the plan of operation.

However, t he question remains as t o what t he

This w a s t he reason for i n i t i a t i n g the Sheep Industry What I w i l l t r y t o do today i s b r i e f l y l a y out how

F i r s t , however, it i s important t o es tab l i sh where we are and where we are going i n sheep production and marketing. The sheep industry i s faced with declining production and consumption and the problems from t h e consumer standpoint of competing products, t h e fa t and cooking odor problem and pr ice . The slaughter and processor i s confronted with problems of low volume, high costs, and economic technological developments indicat ing geographic s h i f t s i n the industry. The sheep producer i s faced with the cost-price squeeze, t h e import s i t ua t ion and many other problems. Running through t h e e n t i r e industry, a t all l eve ls , are the problems of v a r i a b i l i t y of product qua l i ty and supplies. equal opportunity, then surely the sheep industry i s faced with a bonanza of opportunities.

If wherever there i s a problem there i s an

Certainly there are a number of a l te rna t ives f o r producing, marketing, processing, and merchandising lamb and wool which may have p o s s i b i l i t i e s . and production of a predominantly meat-type lamb, a l te rna t ive methods of cu t t ing and preservation, such as smoking, freezing, canning, and others. Further exploration i s needed of uses of lamb i n sausage products and var ie ty meats and development of new products from lamb and a l te rna t ive methods of organizing lamb processing. industry i s assessing and evaluating the poten t ia l for some of these a l te rna t ives .

Examples of these f o r lamb include such th ings as breeding

O f major importance t o t h e sheep

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Generally, two a l t e rna t ives have been l a i d out f o r sheep and lamb. One i s t o produce a readi ly acceptable competitively priced product f o r t h e consumer t h a t w i l l compete with other m e a t and f i b e r products and r e tu rn a p r o f i t t o t he various segments of t h e industry, including t h e producer.

The second a l te rna t ive i s t o accept the idea t h a t sheep and lamb production and consumption w i U continue t o decline and t h a t lamb and wool w i l l have t o be merchandised increasingly as special ty items. There i s much information needed before these a l te rna t ives can be objectively and cor rec t ly assessed. This includes production economics, marketing e f f i - ciency, and producer, processor, r e t a i l e r , and consumer a t t i t udes and de s i r e s .

Undoubtedly, t he f irst a l te rna t ive t o produce and market an acceptable competitively priced product i s most desirable . Assuming then t h a t t h i s i s our objective as t o where we are going or must go, then how are we going t o ge t there? F i r s t , decisions must be m a d e as t o what has t o be done and who can most e f f ec t ive ly and e f f i c i e n t l y do them. require an economically sound, w e l l coordinated, t o t a l industry endeavor t o ge t t he job done.

It w i l l

The Sheep Industry Development Program i s a cooperative program j o i n t l y financed by the American Sheep Producer's Council and the Federal Extension Service. It i s designed t o examine the known problems of sheep production and marketing, t o assess possible a l te rna t ive solutions t o these problems and provide industry guidelines f o r e f fec t ing a solution.

The program has been divided i n t o a production project and a marketing pro jec t . George Scott , Extension Sheep Spec ia l i s t at Colorado Sta te University, i s giving leadership t o t h e production project and J. H. Armstrong, Extension Economist a t Pvrdue University, i s giving leadership t o t h e mwketing project . However, t he overa l l program i s designed t o involve the t o t a l sheep industry i n the problem solving process and evaluation of materials developed. I w i l l not go in to d e t a i l on the advisory and s teer ing committee s t ructure establish?d and other methods being used i n an e f f o r t t a involve the t o t a l industry i n t h i s program. However, the mater ia ls being developed i n t h i s program are being obtained from numerous sources. These include surveys and symposiums t o co l l ec t data from Sta te and Federal Extension and research services throughout the U.S.; agr icu l tura l census reports ; S t a t i s t i c a l Reporting Service; Consumer & Marketing Service and other USDA Agencies; industr ies , firms, and associations; and from personal interviews with in te res ted and knowledgeable per sons repre sent ing various sigments of the sheep industry.

Those par t ic ipa t ing and ac t ive ly engaged i n the program include all nat ional sheep producer organizations, land grant un ivers i t ies , and F'ES. I n addition, select groups of college, USDA (ARS, CSRS, C W , e t c . ) , and industry personnel are included t o advise on the program i n spec i f ic areas.

The object ives of t h e Sheep Industry Development Program are: 1) Promote grea te r product use and expanded markets through improved consumer acceptance by improving carcass qua l i ty and y ie ld i n terms of trimmed boneless re ta i l cu t s and improving qua l i ty of wool; 2) Overcome problems of uneven supply, s m a l l volume, and promotion by increasing pro- duction of lamb at uniform weights throughout a year and increased production of wool; 3) Increase productivity and reduce cost per un i t of production.

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Materials being developed i n production include: 1) A c l a s s i f i ca - t i o n of producers including breeders, growers, and feeders by type, number, s i z e , and volume (production capacity) throughout t he country; 2) A nat ional inventory and c l a s s i f i ca t ion of important technological and economic trends, along with 5- t o 8-year projections; 3) A nat ional inventory and c l a s s i f i ca - t i o n of problems i n sheep production as generally recognized by industry leaders; 4) An inventory and c l a s s i f i ca t ion of summarized research f indings (technological and economic) t h a t may be a2plied t o sheep production and management problems. A set of in tens i f ied product ion management systems w i l l then be developed based on t h e information compiled.

The management systems developed w i l l include purebreed production, production of commercial replacement ewes, f a z m f lock production of slaughter lambs, range production of slaughter lambs, range production of feeder lambs, and lamb feedlo t f in i sh ing i n d i f f e ren t geographical areas. I n developing t h e systems, major considerations w i l l be given to : t i o n and r e tu rn on investment; 2) Concentrated volume production of desired weights, quali ty, and carcass yield on a year round basis ; 3) Developing procedures f o r use by producers i n appraising geographical areas having the grea tes t comparative advantage f o r sheep production.

1) Unit cost of produc-

The information compiled pertaining t o production of sheep i s being printed i n i t s or ig ina l form f o r use by research, Extension, and other pro- fess iona ls des i r ing de ta i led comprehensive data . However, t he da ta w i l l be summarized and condensed i n t o a handbook i n a form appropriate f o r use by producers.

The materials being developed i n marketing include: 1) A c la s s i f i ca t ion of f i r m s engaged i n marketing and slaughtering lambs and i n processing and d i s t r ibu t ion of lamb; 2) A c la s s i f i ca t ion of important technological and economic trends; 3) A c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of problems i n m a r - keting sheep and lambs, slaughtering and processing, and d i s t r ibu t ion of lamb; 4) An inventory and c l a s s i f i ca t ion of research f indings (economic and technological) and other re levant information.

This information w i l l be developed and presented i n such a manner as t o provide a frame of reference for study, in te rpre ta t ion and evaluation of a l te rna t ive courses of act ion with respect t o sheep and lamb marketing, slaughtering and processing, and d i s t r ibu t ion of lamb.

Evaluation of t h e mater ia ls prepared under t h i s program w i l l be made through discussion dialogues, as w e l l as presentations t o a cross- sect ion of appropriate groups. producer organizations, production spec ia l i s t s , and through persons and firms representing various segments of t he sheep industry and i t s orgmizat ions including producers. After evaluation of t h e educational value of t he producer handbook for subject matter effectiveness, t he production systems developed w i l l be f i e l d t e s t ed .

This w i l l include evaluation seminars with

Most of the problems ex i s t ing i n the sheep industry today have resu l ted because avai lable research da ta have not been ef fec t ive ly applied t o sheep production t o improve eff ic iency. The major goal of t he Sheep Industry Development Program i s t o bring about application of t he best avai lable technology while simultaneously revealing and documenting the voids presently ex is t ing i n sheep production and marketing research.

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Considerable research da ta and experimentd r e s u l t s i n sheep production and marketing i s available i n terminology t h a t i s not thoroughly understood and absorbed by producers and re la ted segments of t he sheep industry. Also, re levant research findings from a l l available sources have never been assembled. If research i s t o achieve the progressive r e s u l t s t h a t it indica tes i s at ta inable , it all needs t o be compiled and made available i n terminology t h a t w i l l i n s t i l l i n t e r e s t and appl icat ion from t h e average person taking par t i n t he sheep business. This i s what i s being attempted through the Sheep Industry Development Program.

D. A. CRAMER: Thank you, Dixon. We know t h a t t he sheep industry i s expecting grea t th ings from t h i s program. O f course, we are not naive enough t o hope t h a t you w i l l solve everybody's problems i n the sheep busi- ness, but i f you can j u s t define and c l a r i f y some of t h e problems and d i r ec t the people i n the business toward a solution, it w i l l be a giant s t ep i n the r igh t d i rec t ion . I th ink t h i s program i s reaLly going t o help.

I n t h e m e a n t i m e , while we are waiting f o r Federal Extension Service and the A S K t o come out with t h e i r results, there are a few th ings we can do t o keep t h e sheep industry d i v e , and one is, hopefully, t o in - crease consumption of sheep i n our country. Well, one way t o go about t h i s i s t o perhaps dress lamb up i n d i f f e ren t colored packages, and through pro- motion of various methods of processing and so on. So today t o give us a report on new product poss ib i l i t i e s . We have Dr. J. H. Ziegler.

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