China drives cost higher for Superfine wool

China drives cost higher for Superfine wool There are two key reasons why prices for superfine wool will be strong this season says Robert Wang AWI China Manager. Mills in China believe that there is not enough available. ‘The Chinese domestic market is expected to be busy for at least the next two years in relation to finer wools and woolen mills building up their stocks’. ‘We are talking about fine and superfine wool at 19.5 micron and finer, apparel fleece. Looking at production forecasts and marrying this to the potential increase in demand processors in China believe that there is insufficient superfine wool to supply to requirements for the next 12 months.’ The demand in China is being driven by the renewal of uniform tenders and an increased demand by the Chinese consumer for garments made in lighter fabrics. Mr Wang further commented that based on wool testing data alone testing of superfine wool has increased dramatically since December, but production has not. This will see wool prices strong for the foreseeable future. ‘We are only two months into the new year and prices are already very firm,’ he says. 20-24 micron wool will also be firm to very firm he says. Again this is due to limited supply. But at least in this range there are other grower countries that can supply, including Argentina, South Africa, and Uruguay. ‘Even the cheap end of the supply market, such as skirtings, will also be firm as topmakers look for cheaper wools to blend.’ The same cannot be said for coarser wools that are really struggling at present due to luke warm demand. But a colder than usual winter in Europe and the USA should help clear stock and encourage demand. Another thing to watch in China this year that will affect the domestic market, in particular, is the 19th Party Congress. This Congress will decide the economic direction for the next 5 years and is expected to make a major shift from its anti-corruption focus to encourage faster economic development. ‘This focus will boost the domestic economy and the Congress will also spell out how it plans to deal with the Trump administration and any trade wars with the USA,’ he says. - See more at: http://www.woolnews.net/news/china-drives-cost-higher-for-superfine-wool/#sthash.NANMnEgy.dpuf

Australian Wool Growers Welcomes Strong Start to New Year

Australian Wool Growers Welcomes Strong Start to New Year Recent wool prices have been a welcome start to the 2017 calendar year, with the EMI (Eastern Market Indicator) reaching well above 1400 ac clean/kg. The market has been marked by record highs and even ‘peak’ wool values, yet it is important to understand the previous times wool has achieved these values. This month we place some historical context around the current market and explore supply versus demand. It has been great to see the current wool market give such a well-deserved return for Merino given that cardings, when combined with skirtings, make up to 25% of a grower’s wool clip. It is clear that it is not just the fleece wools that are now attractive to buyers, the whole clip is sought after. Prices have been increasing gradually and consistently since 2012 and production has stabilised. January 2017 the supply of wool continues to be tight, but there is no doubt that demand is largely driving this improved market and has been for about six years as seen in the chart below. The overseas teams that AWI/Woolmark has in key markets take particular interest in what appears on catwalks and can report large amounts of wool coming down runways. These conceptual shows manifest themselves in retail stores 12 months after being first sighted in fashion shows. In context, the 2017 prices should give some confidence to growers given these levels have not yet exhausted previous highs, and there is further capacity to build on the prices locally, especially when expressed in US dollar terms (the currency wool is bought in). Given the historically high forward markets for wool, the short to medium term future for wool appears optimistic for woolgrowers. Source: AWI

Corn Takes Leadership Role

________________________________________ Corn Takes Leadership Role The 2017 American Sheep Industry Annual Convention wrapped up on Saturday, Jan. 28, with the election of New Mexico sheep producer Mike Corn as the organization’s new president. Benny Cox (Texas) was voted to serve as vice president and Susan Shultz (Ohio) will serve as secretary/treasurer. Corn’s son, Bronson, nominated his father for the top position by saying, “My dad has worked his entire life for the betterment of this industry and I know that he will do a great job as your president.” Corn said he is humbled to lead the organization and that “It is an honor to be selected to lead the industry that my family has worked in for four generations. We have a great opportunity in the coming year to make some changes for this industry. I feel that there are positive things ahead for us and we have a great executive team in place that is up to the challenge.” The Corn family has been raising sheep in the Roswell area since the 1880s. He owns and operates his own ranch and raises white-faced, fine-wool sheep, mainly a merino cross. Corn is also the majority owner of the Roswell Wool Warehouse. ASI executive board regional elections resulted in the selection of Don Kniffen (N.J.), Region I; Jimmy Parker (Ala.), Region II; John Dvorak (Minn.), Region III; Jeff Ebert (Kan.), Region IV; Bob Buchholz (Texas), Region V; Steve Osguthorpe (Utah), Region VI; Ken Wixom (Idaho), Region VII; Reed Anderson (Ore.), Region VIII and Steve Schreier (Minn.), Lamb Feeder Representative. Source: Sheep Industry News

Beef Reproduction Symposium

Beef Reproduction Symposium NMSU & OSU Coopertive Extension Service April 4, 2017 Civic Center, Clayton, NM $25.00 Registration fee (pay at the door) Please RSVP by March 24th 9:30-9:50 Registration (Donuts and coffee provided) 9:50-10:00 Introductions 10:00-10:30 Anatomy of the Bovine Reproductive Tract —Dr. Marcy Ward, NMSU Extension Livestock Specialist 10:30-11:30 Estrous Cycle of a Cow & Estrus Synchronization - —Dr. Craig Gifford, NMSU Beef Cattle Specialist 11:30-11:45 Questions and Hands on Lab 11:45- 1:00 Lunch provided by First National Bank of NM catered by the Sale Barn Cafe 1:00-1:30 Reproductive Diseases- —Dr. John Wenzel, NMSU Extension Veterinarian 1:30-2:30 Beef Nutrition & Body Conditioning Scoring- —Dr. Britt Hicks Oklahoma State Extension Specialist 2:30-3:00 How Reproduction Management Pays —Dr. Paul Gutiérrez, Extension Agriculture Economics Specialist This program is brought to you by Union County (NM) and Cimarron County (OK) Extension Please contact Talisha Valdez to RSVP at 575-374-9361 or by 575-760-8685 or Sug Farrington at 580-544-3399 New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. NMSU and the U.S.D.A cooperating

4 Governors Seek Grazing Assistance Because of Wildfires

4 Governors Seek Grazing Assistance Because of Wildfires US News & World Report Associated Press The governors of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico are seeking temporary suspension of grazing restrictions for farmers and ranchers because of wildfires. The fires have burned more than 2,300 square miles in the four states, forcing farmers and ranchers to move their livestock. The letter from the governors to acting Secretary of Agriculture Mike Young asks that the restrictions in the Conservation Reserve Program be lifted to provide more land for grazing. The program is a voluntary land conservation program of the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help agricultural producers protect environmentally sensitive land

Tucumcari Bull Test

Good Morning, The Tucumcari Bull Test will host its annual sale on Saturday, March 11th, 1 pm. (preview @ 10 am, lunch @ noon). In an effort to assist with the Wildfire Relief, some producers will be donating a percentage of their sale proceeds to a Wildfire Relief Fund. Cornerstone Ranch will donate 50% of proceeds on the highest index Hereford, Lot 1, Test ID 2-4. J-C Angus Ranch will donate 10% of proceeds on the highest index Angus, Lot 21, Test ID 5-3. In addition, we are taking bids on two Tucumcari Bull Test vests, (1) Medium-$30 current high and (1) XL-$100 current high. Before the sale, we will contact the highest bidders for their cap bid, then open it to those attending. Please share this info and visit the website http://tucbulltest.nmsu.edu for video and data of all bulls in the sale. If you would like to make a bid on the vests, or would like info on the sale or contact info for our producers, email me or Marcy Ward, maward@nmsu.edu Please share this information with anyone that may have interest in assisting. We will also share and update through social media channels, primarily the Extension Animal Sciences & Natural Resources Facebook page and shares from my individual page. Have a wonderful day,

Dan Lathrop

Dan was from Chaves county but he work hard on our regional water plan. lathrop obit Services for Dan Lathrop, who died December 21, 2016, will be held January 14, 2017, at 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 201 5th Street, Dexter, New Mexico. Dan C. Lathrop was born March 18, 1957, to Charles Lawrence Lathrop and Annie Lee Blanchard. He lived for a short time in Hagerman and then moved to a house on the family farm and lived there all his life. He loved farming. He loved plowing, night irrigating and baling hay under a full moon. He loved growing chile. He loved castles, elephants and owls. He studied history, especially military history, and enjoyed Louis L’Amour westerns. Marty Robbins tunes and just about any country western ballad were on his play list — especially the sappy songs. His favorite sci fi novels were about a deformed wise guy named Miles Vorkosigan in books by Lois McMaster Bujold. He loved chick flicks — the tear jerkers. Dan attended public schools in Hagerman and Dexter, graduating Dexter High School as a National Merit Scholar and Valedictorian, class of 1975. He attended New Mexico State University graduating with highest honors and double Bachelor of Science degrees in Agri-Business Management and Farm & Ranch Management in 1979. He farmed from 1979 until [auth] 2002 raising chile, cotton, alfalfa and grain crops for cattle feed. When he became manager of the farm in 1986 he expanded its acreage. On August 1, 1992, he married Marilyn Woodburn, mother of four children, an instant family. The couple had two more children of their own. Dan loved children and could set them at ease with his warm, easy manner. He was Cub Master of Pack 19 in Dexter for 13 years and was willing to don any number of absurd get-ups for advancement ceremonies: plastic crown and velvet cape; a Samurai helmet and carrying the samurai sword his uncle had liberated in WWII; Indian headdress or a bear mask, just to name a few. He was Committee Chairman Troop 19, Rio Hondo District, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and a Commissioner, Rio Hondo District, BSA. He helped many young boys become men. Dan represented the Hagerman Irrigation Company on the Pecos Valley Water Users Organization board starting in 1998. He chaired a sub-committee on the history of the Pecos and the Hagerman Canal. Woods Houghton describes Dan as a “voice of reason” in the sometimes heated arguments over water use in the lower Pecos Valley. Along with Dick Smith, Dan represented Region 10 on the Interstate Streams Commission’s advisory committee and was instrumental in the completion of the comprehensive plan for water use in the lower Pecos Valley in 2002. You’ll find him quoted in Patrick Dearen’s book, Bitter Waters: The Struggles of the Pecos River, a history of the Pecos River commissioned by the Pecos River Resolution Corp, an organization founded to study the Pecos River and report the findings. Dan served on the Pecos River Resolution advisory board. Few people know as much about the hydrology of the Pecos River and its history as Dan did. Dan began attending meetings with his father and later became president of the Hagerman Irrigation Company in 1992. Other positions in which Dan served: president of the Greenfield Mutual Domestic Water Users’ organization beginning in 1995; trustee, Hagerman Cemetery Association; Elder and member of session at the First Presbyterian Church, Dexter, and commissioner to Sierra Blanca Presbytery. Before that, Dan served as vice president of the church council for the First Methodist Church, Dexter. Dan was a member of the Dexter School Board for 12 years. In 2001, Dan suffered an aortic dissection of his entire aorta. The survival rate for such an event is zero, except for Dan. God performed many miracles to keep Dan here until his race was finished. He was a walking testimony of the power and love of God. The aortic dissection and the aneurysm that appeared the following year eventually pushed Dan out of farming. He lived with a constant headache for 16 years and most of the time nobody knew it. Even as he mourned forced retirement from farming, he kept true to his motto, “Do what you can do.” Now, as King David said, “He cannot return to me, but I may go to him.” In that hope we live and carry on the work of the Kingdom of God — which is Serve Others in Love. Dan’s parents preceded him in death. He is survived by his brother, Robert Lathrop and sister-in-law, Karen; wife, Marilyn; children, Philip Killough, Eve (Turkle) Wisniewski, John Turkle, Aaron Turkle, Charles Lathrop and Daniel Lathrop; daughters-in-law, Cynthia (Baca) Killough and Elisabeth (Pacheco) Turkle and future daughter-in-law, Adriana Gonzales; grandchildren: Nathan and Natalie Turkle; Arayla and Max Wisniewski. Also surviving him are many cousins, nieces and nephews. Arrangements have been entrusted to Ballard Funeral Home and Crematory. An online registry can be accessed at ballardfuneralhome.com.