American Sheep Industry Association President Ben Lehfeldt testified before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Wednesday as part of the Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy hearing. The hearing included two panels, one of which focused on the livestock industry.
“Sheep producers are dealing with record-high input costs and depressed or flat markets for lamb and wool. The wholesale lamb market has been stagnant for the past year and any uptick is quickly dampened by a surge of imports of Australia and New Zealand lamb,” Lehfeldt said after being introduced by Ranking Member Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). ASI has conducted two investigations and is considering a third into international lamb trade.
“A large share of our 2024 wool clip did not receive a bid, and yet we are now shearing the 2025 clip. The 2018 trade war with China blew up our single largest market for American wool. This loss was followed by a pandemic that wiped out demand for most wool garments.
“One-third of our American sheep herd is under the watch of an H-2A sheepherder. Our labor costs have skyrocketed over the last eight years. Salary alone in California – the second-largest sheep producing state – is nearly $58,000 annually per herder. This, combined with a mandate that we provide the herders with food, board and clothing while also covering their application and visa fees has driven our costs to an untenable level. Our survival is literally reliant on a modernized sheepherder guest worker program.
“I pledge ASI’s full support for your efforts to secure our priority requests in the 2025 Farm Bill. Enactment of a Farm Bill is crucially important to the thousands of sheep operations across the country.”
During his testimony, Lehfeldt also touched on the need to update the wool marketing loan rates, and direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a sheep-specific risk management tool. A 2024 USDA report on risk management did not suggest the department would craft a product, so direction is required.
After prepared testimonies from representatives of the sheep, cattle, milk, pork, turkey and egg industries, much of the hearing’s discussion centered on the effects of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza. However, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi questioned Lehfeldt about how imports have harmed the American sheep industry.
“There are so many opportunities with sheep, we just need that little pressure to make sure that we can be competitive,” Lehfeldt said.
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ASI – 2025
