The American sheep industry is undergoing a new awareness of its role in 
food and fiber production within an ecologically and economically sustainable 
production setting.  Sheep and goats in modern management systems provide more 
than just the production of meat and fiber.  They lend themselves as tools to 
improve or enhance ecological systems.  Where sheep numbers have declined, many 
ecological problems have increased.  For example, encroachment of noxious,
 non-native plants, although present for over one hundred years, dramatically 
 increased with the decline of small ruminant grazing.  Sheep provide the most
  economically and environmentally sound means of controlling many of these 
  invaders; additionally, they may be able to be used to control small grain insect
   pests and add value to crop residue.  Although the role of sheep in enhancing environmental conditions is an evolving frontier for scientists and producers, improving the ability of the American sheep industry to compete in a rapidly developing world market requires new and refined information and communication for enhancing the biological efficiency of meat and wool production. 
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Currently, the sheep infrastructure is undergoing major changes.  
This provides opportunities to implement innovations to complement
 other agricultural production systems as well as increase production 
 to provide quality lamb in the presence of lower lamb supply caused by 
 recent trade restriction imposed on imported lamb.  To serve this changing 
 industry our ultimate goal is adoption of improved practices and technologies by the sheep and goat industries based, in part, upon the research provided by our group.  Presented in the proceedings of our past three meetings are summaries of approximately 93 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 21 invited papers and presentations, 119 proceedings and abstracts, and 86 theses, book chapters, and station reports, all of which were the basis for hundreds of extension and technology transfer activities.  Past accomplishments and on-going joint research efforts include the following:
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1)	Develop and validate better methods of quantifying wool quality (Texas,
Montana, and Wyoming).  This includes development of ASTM measurement standards
 for laserscan and OFDA for measuring fiber diameter.  This technology is the basis 
 for the national wool quality improvement program.  Texas, Montana, Wyoming, and California have incorporated results of this work along with basic wool handling skills into numerous ASI (American Sheep Industry Association) sponsored outreach programs.
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2)	Redefine the role of sheep in enhancing ecological systems via integrated
 natural (and crop) / sheep management systems (Montana, North Dakota, Idaho, Texas, Nevada, and Oregon).  Published research clearly demonstrates numerous advantages of sheep grazing.  These include a) control of non-native and invader plants such as leafy spurge and juniper encroachment,
b) beneficial role in riparian management, fire suppression, and weed control 
in tree plantations, and c) preliminary work demonstrating the ability of sheep grazing to reduce wheat stem sawfly infestations, the most costly and damaging pest to western wheat production.
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Future team research is focused on developing these single benefit studies into 
a total management system with multiple benefactors.  These findings along with 
a focus on systems approach to sheep grazing in ecological management have resulted 
in WCC–039 members and participating institutions being contracted by ASI to write a producer guide for the uses of sheep in sustainable ecological management systems.
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3)	Develop strategic supplementation practices to enhance ewe productivity and lamb
 survival (Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana).  The evolving theme of current 
 and published supplementation research by the group is focused on timely and profitable
  uses of supplemental feeds.  Past accomplishments include time-saving supplementation
   practices as well as strategic use of small quantities of supplemental vitamin E to 
   enhance neonatal lamb survival, the largest production loss influencing profitability.
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4)	Evaluate benefits of introducing Australian Merino breeding into certain lines 
of U.S. finewool sheep to increase both quality and quantity of wool produced (Idaho,
 Nevada, Montana, California, Texas). Cooperative evaluation of Australian genetic 
 sources was possible only because of the pooling of resources from several WCC-039 stations.  The breeding project has resulted in a series of cooperative publications.  In addition, flocks developed during this project are currently suppliers of breeding stock to the commercial industry.
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5)	Provide new information on meat quality, safety, and the genetic regulation of 
lean tissue accretion for the safe production of quality protein from lamb (Idaho, 
Utah, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, and Montana).  Published research on defining and 
reducing bacterial contamination of meat along with methods of producing and quantifying quality characteristics that meet consumer demands is the foundation for securing and improving the role of lamb in providing needed protein for an ever-growing world population.  Team efforts by WCC–039 members in characterizing the mode of inheritance for the Callipyge gene have placed a number of our members at the forefront of the genetics field.