MEMBERSHIP

It has been another very successful year for the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association. We have accomplished many things for the Ohio Sheep Industry. As you think about renewing your memberships for another year, keep in mind all of things that we can accomplish if we work together for the common good of the industry.

It has been a very busy by successful year.

Here are some of the items that we accomplished working together over the past year:

Membership Activities
• Ohio Sheep Improvement Association currently stands at 350 annual, life, associate, youth and corporate members.

Sheep related activities sponsored by Ohio Sheep Improvement Association:
• Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium – Nearly 150 participants
• "District" Sheep and Goat Programs – Approximately 250 participants
• Sheep Youth Extravaganza – Nearly 200 participants
• Ohio Sheep Day and ASI  Regional Genetics Conference – Approximately 200 participants from across the United States
• Ohio State Fair Lamb Pavilion “Taste of Ohio Café” – We had many volunteers work and contribute to the success of this program and sold nearly 3,500 lbs. of lamb
• Make-It-With-Wool Contest – Nearly 50 participants
• All current members received a three newsletter to keep them informed of current trends and events
• ASI Newsletters – Remember, if you are members of OSIA, you are also a member of ASI.

Animal Welfare Activities
Support the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (OLCSB) with OSIA member appointments to the board and sheep and goat sub-committee.

Marketing Activities
• Worked with marketing agencies in coordination with Ohio Sheep and Wool Program to develop markets for Ohio lambs and to increase the amount of lambs produced and marketed in Ohio.

National Legislative Activities
• Attended Spring Legislative Update in Washington D.C. to apprise our U.S. Senate and House of Representatives of the important issues affecting to the United States Sheep Industry.

National Level Activities:
• Worked on the national level to ensure that the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can be changed so that the Black Vulture can possibly be removed from the Endangered Species List at some point.
• Worked on the national level to remove the boundary for the Western Great Lakes Gray Wolf Segment. If we do not get the boundary removed, and Gray Wolves came into Ohio, those wolves would become part of the Endangered Species Act and could not be eliminated from the population.

Educational Sponsored Activities
• “District” Sheep and Goat Educational Programs
• Ohio Sheep Day
• Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium

National Grants Awarded for 2008-09
• $3,800.00 – American Lamb Board (ALB) Grant – This grant was sponsored by the American Lamb Board (National check-off) to assist the Ohio Sheep Improvement Association and the Ohio Sheep and Wool Program with a 1:1 matching grant for the Heartland Cuisine and Ohio Lamb Chef’s Day Program. 
• $3,984.00 – ASI Wool Outreach Grant – Sponsored by American Wool Council, a council that is part of American Sheep Industry (ASI), used for wool promotion, i.e. Make-It-Yourself With Wool Contest and Ohio State Fair Wool Educational Activities.
• $1,000.00 – Scrapie and National ID Outreach Grant – Sponsored by American Sheep Industry (ASI), used to assist in providing educational services related to Scrapie Eradication and National ID Program.
• $250.00 – ASI Shearing Grant - Sponsored by American Sheep Industry (ASI), used to assist in providing funding for the Eastern Region Sheep Shearing Contest at the Ohio State Fair.
• $1,800.00 – National Lamb Feeders Association (NLFA) – Partial Sponsor of the Ohio Sheep Day and ASI Regional Genetics Conference which was held in conjunction with the Howard Wyman Sheep Industry Leadership School.
• $1,624.07 – ASI Regional Genetics Conference - Sponsored by American Sheep Industry (ASI), used to pay speaker and facility expenses
• These national grants sponsored by American Sheep Industry as well as your OSIA membership have assisted us in keeping membership fees low and participation in OSIA sponsored activities relatively inexpensive.
• OSIA and OSWP have received enough grants and additional funding from ASI, NLFA and ALB to more than cover our ASI membership costs and expenses for other major activities for the 2009-2010 fiscal years.

As we move into the 2011 Ohio Sheep Improvement Association membership year, it is important that we continue to work together. You can assist in the success of our industry by renewing your OSIA annual membership dues. You can also help by recruiting new OSIA members. Remember - we can accomplish more if we work together. We are relying on a strong membership base to continue our efforts to improve the sheep industry. None of our accomplishments would happen without the support of our members.

We hope to see you at one of our OSIA sponsored activities in 2011, and hope they are a benefit to your membership. We hope you can attend our Buckeye Shepherd’s Symposium on Saturday, December 11, 2011 at The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI). We welcome any comments or suggestions from our members and would love to hear what is important to you. Please feel free to contact Roger A. High at (614) 246-8299 or via email at rhigh@ofbf.org.

Thank you,

Roger A. High
Executive Director
Ohio Sheep Improvement Association