(February 1, 2008)  In November, the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) was proud to report that after just 11 weeks for Livestock Risk Protection-Lamb (LRP-Lamb) sales, more than 260,000 lambs had been covered under the pilot insurance programs.

I would like to say congratulations and thank you to those who took the steps to buy the product and support this program. You have not only taken steps to protect yourselves against market fluctuations, you are helping protect our industry by taking part in the pilot. I am very pleased with sales to date and look forward to more progress as lambing season continues in some places and gets underway in other areas of the country.

I have spoken a lot over the past year about LRP-Lamb, because I feel that it is such an important tool for sheep producers to have, and it will only be permanent with the success of this pilot program.

With lambs already on the ground in California, those in the Midwest who will be welcoming lambs shortly and the spring lambers who will be lambing in a few short months, there is no better time than to get yourself educated on purchasing LRP-Lamb insurance for your flock.

As I have also talked about several times in the past, as producers in the U.S. sheep industry, it is in your best interest to purchase the insurance from ASI’s insurance firm, Food and Fiber Risk Managers LLC (FFRM).

FFRM was created by ASI to serve the sheep industry specifically. It truly is made by the producer for the producer. Money that goes into FFRM for the product, comes right back to the industry through ASI’s work in legislation, trade and support to the U.S. sheep producers. If you are buying insurance, it only makes sense to buy it from YOUR insurance agency, which is why FFRM was started.

In addition, unlike many of the other insurance agencies that may be selling LRP-Lamb, FFRM specializes in the product. The extensive knowledge that ASI brings to the sheep industry and into formulating LRP-Lamb went into forming FFRM, and the staff at the firm knows the product backwards and forwards. FFRM is more than willing to work with small-volume LRP-Lamb contracts, which other agencies may not be willing to do, so it is important to remember that this product is ideal for any size of flock. Producers with 25 or 50 head are just as welcome as producers with 500 or 5,000 lambs, and FFRM can take care of everyone’s insurance needs.

I encourage all producers to file an application with FFRM to be able to participate in the LRP-Lamb pilot project, at the very least, and ask any and all questions of the staff.

Also, I call on the ASI directors of each state to appoint at least one, if not more, producer leaders to promote LRP-Lamb in their state. We want to allow producers to go to people they respect and are comfortable with to ask questions about the insurance and to find encouragement to participate in the program.

These leaders would serve as a liaison at the state level, as well as help FFRM and ASI identify meetings where a FFRM representative can speak about LRP-Lamb, identify possible advertising opportunities or identify any other way LRP-Lamb and FFRM can be promoted.

As I stated before, we really want producers to know that FFRM is a firm started by the sheep industry for the sheep industry, and we believe producer volunteers are key to getting that message across.

Finally, on a different note, I encourage producers to look for a Farm Bill finalization in February, which is when we at ASI have been told to expect it. Watch for information and press releases from ASI as to the outcome of this important legislation!