Funded 1.htm

Dairy Sheep Association of North America

The dairy sheep industry is at a turning point. The industry has been deeply dependent on the University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty and the Spooner Research Station for nearly 25 years. Targeted UW support for the industry ended in 2016 leaving a significant gap to fill. DSANA is in a position to fill many parts of the gap left open. However, it will take serious commitment of resources and talent for the Association to meet the challenges and demands needed to grow the industry.

Goal 1: Develop key tools for producers and industry stakeholders (consumers, retailers, cheesemakers): 1a-a system for genetic improvement that will result in improvements in milk production; 1b-develop and distribute tools for marketing sheep milk products; 1c-tools to track profitability and the fair market value of sheep milk. Goal 2: Create a functional and sustainable organizational structure for industry leadership: 2a-create a centralized office with paid project management; 2b-develop reliable funding sources for centralized office; 2c-develop Board and Committee structure to ensure active involvement of Association membership; 2d-develop transition plan to avoid vulnerability from key members leaving the Association or the Board.

BY END OF GRANT PERIOD, DSANA will have the infrastructure and resources in place to meet membership and industry demands for growth: resources to hire and sustain professional staff; sustainable funds-development plan being implemented; streamlined protocols for genetic improvement being implemented – EBV’s being determined and utilized by members; streamlined sheep milk product marketing materials and message to consumers and stakeholders being distributed; cost-of-production analysis being utilized by producers and processors.

Reporting for January 1 through June 30, 2019

Report submitted by Laurel Kieffer, Dsana NSIIC Grant Project Manager

DSANA Narative Report

Project performance report will consist of a written project performance report that includes, but is not limited to:

a.      A comparison of timeline, tasks, and objectives outlined in the proposal as compared to the actual accomplishments

b.      If the report varies from the stated objectives or they were not met, the reasons why established objectives were not met

c.       Problems, delays, or adverse conditions which will materially affect attainment of planned project objectives

Task

Methodology

Accomplishments to Date (new for this timeframe are in Italics and in blue print)

Challenges, Problems, Diversions

Goal 1: Establish systemic approach to gathering and analyzing quantitative production data that will result in improvements in milk production – Begin 2017 and ongoing

DSANA genetic improvement effort implementation of 3-tiered system of data collection and estimated breeding value generation. Recruit producers to participate; educate impact of EBV’s on enterprise profitability.

· Three-tiered system was fine-tuned, sent to membership

· 4 farms representing range of sizes and locations identified as pilot farms: Meadowood Farms, NY; Green Dirt Farm, MO; Tin Willows Sheep Dairy, OR; Forever Young Dairy, WI signed on and participated in the 2018 pilot. Each farm completed the GenOvis Enrollment forms, the animal enrollments, and at least three milk tests. Two of the farms completed over 5 tests. Individuals farm EBV’s were generated for the four pilot farms.

· The arrangements made with GenOvis and Rocky Mountain DHIA seem to be working well. These arrangements will be reviewed and potentially modified as needed before the next milking season begins.

· As a result of the pilot, more specific procedural instructions have been developed.   The uniform animal identification protocol seems to be working as members become better acquainted with the purpose.

· A presentation was given at the 2018 Symposium updating members on the Genetics Improvement project to date (attached). An information and sign-up table was also monitored throughout the symposium with a continuous slide show.

· Following the DSANA symposium in November, at least 10 farms are now getting ready to participate in 2019. Three members have already paid the $300 enrollment fee. This enrollment fee is sufficient to cover the GenOvis enrollment fee and retain some funds for DSANA to contribute to some of the other project costs.

· GenOvis runs EBV analysis weekly which allows shepherds to have ongoing updates to their flock genetic projections. This will be increasingly more important as dairy shepherds move toward year-round milking.

· Eight farms are participating in the Production Improvement Project (PIP). In combination of receiving the EBV data from the F1 ewes from the LaCaune semen importation, farms are beginning to see significant increases in milk production.

· Refinements continue to be made in the spreadsheets and data collection.

· Data has been gathered through GenOvis geneticists to estimate the heritability of milk production and related characteristics. This is very exciting as, with statistical analysis of the raw data being generated by the farms participating in both the semen importation and the PIP, we should be able to make a substantial and convincing argument for farms to get on board with the production and genetic improvement projects.

This objective continues to be on task. The greatest challenge for this component of the project seems to be the time it takes for the shepherds to gather and enter the data required for enrollment of the animals and the time and expense for ongoing milk production testing.

We will continue to work on how to reduce the time, increase the efficiencies of data entry and updating.

Primary challenges for this period were getting new farms enrolled, animal data submitted, and getting started on the milk testing. It may seem weak, but the weather across the U.S.A. over the past 6 months had created significant challenges for our members. Milking start-ups, challenges with lambing, delays in field work, etc. have all contributed to participation in the project being delayed. As this is being written, data is beginning to come forward.

Goal 2a: Create a functional and sustainable organizational structure for industry leadership.

Develop position description, three-year organizational work-plan, establish budget, present centralized office proposal to membership for approval. Infrastructure in place for 2019 fiscal year.

· The treasurer and board have updated the financial records; a 2019 budget has been developed with modifications made to the accounting system.

· The board met the night before the symposium was held in Kansas City MO. To work on the strategic plan. The DSANA business meeting was also devoted to getting membership input on organizational direction and focus. New committees were formed based on the symposium board meeting and annual meeting discussions.

· Strategic efforts identified and prioritized at the symposium face-to-face meeting are being implemented. Steps are being taken to set minimum requirements for board involvement. One new policy was to set a limit of 3 unexcused absences from board meetings. This has resulted in losing 3 board members of the past 3 months.

· New committees formed at the symposium with the intent of spreading out the leadership load are likewise struggling to move forward.

· The board president and a core of the board members and outside volunteers are doing outstanding work in continuing to build the mission and efforts of the organization.

Work has not been started on creating a centralized office or position description.

As with most membership-driven organizations, DSANA also faces challenges in keeping people engaged in fulfilling the ongoing organizational needs.

Progress is slow.

2b-develop reliable funding sources for centralized office : begin 2018 and ongoing

Form development committee to identify and develop funding streams to support organizational work plan

· External funding at this time is exclusively grant-based with exception of symposium sponsorships.

· The DSANA board has reviewed the giving tiers and enhanced the benefits available to potential donors.

· Organizational membership dues were raised slightly.

· Symposium committee was quite successful in soliciting sufficient funds to support the symposium costs.

· Planning has begun to fund the Genetic Improvement Program, specifically, the Production Improvement Project component. Each member’s PIP enrollment (US$300) has about $80 built into it to help support the PIP project.

Limited progress has yet been made in identifying external or earned income funds sufficient to support organizational growth or the continuation of the genetics improvement project.

2c-develop Board and Committee structure to ensure active involvement of DSANA membership: begin 2018 and ongoing

Determine what committees are needed. Create committee purpose, goals. Recruit members. Develop and maintain communications (electronic, social media) to inform and engage membership

· DSANA board president has recruited DSANA members beyond the board to serve on committees. Committee structure continues to expand (attached).

· Each committee is expected to provide a written report to the board each month.

· Website and Facebook have been refreshed and updated for broader appeal to members and for stronger interest to non-members and potential sponsors. Work continues in this area.

· Significant progress has been made here pertaining to membership and internet technologies. DSANA board has changed the online membership and website subscriptions to programs that will undoubtedly serve the organization better. The new website goes live on July 7, 2019.

· The new membership platform will allow members to highlight their farm values, products available and be included in very detailed searches from other members as well as address “outside” inquiries. It is hoped that this significant change will expand the desirability of DSANA membership, thereby strengthening the organization. This new membership platform will also remind members of when their membership dues and other program dues need to be paid and assist with financial accounting.

· Significant project time has gone into revising the website. The annual symposium is a major focus of the website. The new website will give increased, and hopefully easier to understand and access information and interaction with the genetic and production improvement projects. The PIP platform is being designed to (hopefully) pique curiosity regarding the project and encourage participation through not only information pages, but also including pictorial “how-to” clips, worksheets, and some testimonials. Several modules remain to be written and modified.

·

The current website design program is under revision. Significant improvements have been made. There are mixed views regarding the adequacy of the current program in meeting the organizational needs.

2d-develop DSANA leadership transition plan

Establish workgroup to draft personnel transition and sustainability plans. Begin 2018

Not yet begun.

Still in the waiting to take shape.

d.      1--Objectives established for the next reporting period (Progress on previous goals in italics blue, updates, add-ons in bold)

                     i.            Expand the number of farms enrolled in Tier One and Tier Two genetics improvement program. Expanded from 4 pilot farms to 8 paying farms so far in 2019. Instructions, forms, and protocols are in place for Tier 1 and Tier 2 participation in the PIP.

                   ii.            Pursue and begin statistical analysis of initial data from the farms involved in both the semen importation and production improvement projects. Look for avenues to publish results beyond DSANA website.

                  iii.            Work with the sheep dairies participating in the semen importation project to begin the production improvement project enrollment process for the sires, dams, and progeny from the importation project. Farms importing semen in 2017/2018 that have F1 progeny milking will be solicited to participate in PIP. A survey will be sent to all semen recipients to obtain estimates of how many F1 offspring have resulted to date from the semen importation. We know that the first round of A.I. had a wide range of conception rates. Farms are also starting to request information on where to purchase F1 rams and ewes. This information will need to be gathered and relayed to the new website. All semen from the specific rams is being tracked per farm. There is potential to continue to analyze

                 iv.            Begin work on sheep dairy conformation scoring. To be completed in next term.

                   v.            Continue work on the updating of website and social media. Continue to work on updating and improving the website. Significant progress made; ongoing work required. Go to https://dsana.org/

                 vi.            Expand work on funds development efforts. Progress made. Each member’s payment for the estimated breeding value service (US$300) has about $80 built into it to help support the PIP project. All symposium sessions will be video recorded and offered for sale to members and non-members not able to attend the symposium. Plans are underway to offer an annual bred ewe and ram sale open only to farms participating in PIP. Plan for the potential sale will occur during the next months; explore option for joint sale with NSIP. Initial stages for developing an organizational funds solicitation plan will be solidified.

                vii.            Re-evaluate the need for a centralized office and paid staff. Continue to explore this option.

e.       Status of compliance with any special conditions on the use of awarded funds

Not Applicable

f.        A progress summary suitable for posting on the ASGC web site

The Dairy Sheep Association of North America Genetics Improvement and Organizational Development project is underway with 8 farms currently enrolled in the Production Improvement Project. Twenty-seven farms have purchased imported semen through the Semen Importation Project. Initial results from farms participating in both the semen importation and production improvement projects are promising for increasing milk production by a substantial amount. DSANA has purchased a new membership and website subscription which go into operation July 7, 2019. http://www.dsana.org ).   DSANA annual symposium is set for November 7-10 in Idaho Falls, ID.

g.       The performance report may be submitted by email to stevelee@nsiic.org

Task	Methodology	Accomplishments to Date (new for this timeframe are in Italics and in blue print)	Challenges, Problems, Diversions
Goal 1: Establish systemic approach to gathering and analyzing quantitative production data that will result in improvements in milk production – Begin 2017 and ongoing	DSANA genetic improvement effort implementation of 3-tiered system of data collection and estimated breeding value generation. Recruit producers to participate; educate impact of EBV’s on enterprise profitability.	· Three-tiered system was fine-tuned, sent to membership · 4 farms representing range of sizes and locations identified as pilot farms: Meadowood Farms, NY; Green Dirt Farm, MO; Tin Willows Sheep Dairy, OR; Forever Young Dairy, WI signed on and participated in the 2018 pilot. Each farm completed the GenOvis Enrollment forms, the animal enrollments, and at least three milk tests. Two of the farms completed over 5 tests. Individuals farm EBV’s were generated for the four pilot farms. · The arrangements made with GenOvis and Rocky Mountain DHIA seem to be working well. These arrangements will be reviewed and potentially modified as needed before the next milking season begins. · As a result of the pilot, more specific procedural instructions have been developed. The uniform animal identification protocol seems to be working as members become better acquainted with the purpose. · A presentation was given at the 2018 Symposium updating members on the Genetics Improvement project to date (attached). An information and sign-up table was also monitored throughout the symposium with a continuous slide show. · Following the DSANA symposium in November, at least 10 farms are now getting ready to participate in 2019. Three members have already paid the $300 enrollment fee. This enrollment fee is sufficient to cover the GenOvis enrollment fee and retain some funds for DSANA to contribute to some of the other project costs. · GenOvis runs EBV analysis weekly which allows shepherds to have ongoing updates to their flock genetic projections. This will be increasingly more important as dairy shepherds move toward year-round milking. · Eight farms are participating in the Production Improvement Project (PIP). In combination of receiving the EBV data from the F1 ewes from the LaCaune semen importation, farms are beginning to see significant increases in milk production. · Refinements continue to be made in the spreadsheets and data collection. · Data has been gathered through GenOvis geneticists to estimate the heritability of milk production and related characteristics. This is very exciting as, with statistical analysis of the raw data being generated by the farms participating in both the semen importation and the PIP, we should be able to make a substantial and convincing argument for farms to get on board with the production and genetic improvement projects.	This objective continues to be on task. The greatest challenge for this component of the project seems to be the time it takes for the shepherds to gather and enter the data required for enrollment of the animals and the time and expense for ongoing milk production testing. We will continue to work on how to reduce the time, increase the efficiencies of data entry and updating. Primary challenges for this period were getting new farms enrolled, animal data submitted, and getting started on the milk testing. It may seem weak, but the weather across the U.S.A. over the past 6 months had created significant challenges for our members. Milking start-ups, challenges with lambing, delays in field work, etc. have all contributed to participation in the project being delayed. As this is being written, data is beginning to come forward.
Goal 2a: Create a functional and sustainable organizational structure for industry leadership.	Develop position description, three-year organizational work-plan, establish budget, present centralized office proposal to membership for approval. Infrastructure in place for 2019 fiscal year.	· The treasurer and board have updated the financial records; a 2019 budget has been developed with modifications made to the accounting system. · The board met the night before the symposium was held in Kansas City MO. To work on the strategic plan. The DSANA business meeting was also devoted to getting membership input on organizational direction and focus. New committees were formed based on the symposium board meeting and annual meeting discussions. · Strategic efforts identified and prioritized at the symposium face-to-face meeting are being implemented. Steps are being taken to set minimum requirements for board involvement. One new policy was to set a limit of 3 unexcused absences from board meetings. This has resulted in losing 3 board members of the past 3 months. · New committees formed at the symposium with the intent of spreading out the leadership load are likewise struggling to move forward. · The board president and a core of the board members and outside volunteers are doing outstanding work in continuing to build the mission and efforts of the organization.	Work has not been started on creating a centralized office or position description. As with most membership-driven organizations, DSANA also faces challenges in keeping people engaged in fulfilling the ongoing organizational needs. Progress is slow.
2b-develop reliable funding sources for centralized office : begin 2018 and ongoing	Form development committee to identify and develop funding streams to support organizational work plan	· External funding at this time is exclusively grant-based with exception of symposium sponsorships. · The DSANA board has reviewed the giving tiers and enhanced the benefits available to potential donors. · Organizational membership dues were raised slightly. · Symposium committee was quite successful in soliciting sufficient funds to support the symposium costs. · Planning has begun to fund the Genetic Improvement Program, specifically, the Production Improvement Project component. Each member’s PIP enrollment (US$300) has about $80 built into it to help support the PIP project.	Limited progress has yet been made in identifying external or earned income funds sufficient to support organizational growth or the continuation of the genetics improvement project.
2c-develop Board and Committee structure to ensure active involvement of DSANA membership: begin 2018 and ongoing	Determine what committees are needed. Create committee purpose, goals. Recruit members. Develop and maintain communications (electronic, social media) to inform and engage membership	· DSANA board president has recruited DSANA members beyond the board to serve on committees. Committee structure continues to expand (attached). · Each committee is expected to provide a written report to the board each month. · Website and Facebook have been refreshed and updated for broader appeal to members and for stronger interest to non-members and potential sponsors. Work continues in this area. · Significant progress has been made here pertaining to membership and internet technologies. DSANA board has changed the online membership and website subscriptions to programs that will undoubtedly serve the organization better. The new website goes live on July 7, 2019. · The new membership platform will allow members to highlight their farm values, products available and be included in very detailed searches from other members as well as address “outside” inquiries. It is hoped that this significant change will expand the desirability of DSANA membership, thereby strengthening the organization. This new membership platform will also remind members of when their membership dues and other program dues need to be paid and assist with financial accounting. · Significant project time has gone into revising the website. The annual symposium is a major focus of the website. The new website will give increased, and hopefully easier to understand and access information and interaction with the genetic and production improvement projects. The PIP platform is being designed to (hopefully) pique curiosity regarding the project and encourage participation through not only information pages, but also including pictorial “how-to” clips, worksheets, and some testimonials. Several modules remain to be written and modified. ·	The current website design program is under revision. Significant improvements have been made. There are mixed views regarding the adequacy of the current program in meeting the organizational needs.
2d-develop DSANA leadership transition plan	Establish workgroup to draft personnel transition and sustainability plans. Begin 2018	Not yet begun. Still in the waiting to take shape.