National
Livestock Producers Association
Sheep
& Goat Fund Transfers Loan Money to First Project
Colorado
Springs, CO (Sept. 1, 2000) –
The National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA) is pleased
to announce that it has completed its first loan from the NLPA
Sheep & Goat Fund.
The
first loan was made to the Hannewald Lamb Company, L.L.C., in
Stockbridge, Mich., to construct a state-of-the-art lamb finishing
facility for the year-round feeding of lambs to service the needs
of a major packer’s customer demands for premium high volume
cuts and smooth out kill floor schedules.
The
60-foot by 360-foot, two-story, curtain-sided barn is divided
into 32 separate pens with the lambs standing on the top floor
(approximately 10 feet off the ground), allowing waste to fall
to ground level through woven wire panels for cleaner pelts and
fewer labor requirements. Lambs are fed a whole corn, alfalfa
pellet, mineral and an alternative feed ration in self-feeders
through a flex auger delivery system controlled by a computerized
weighing and mixing device that can put a different ration in
each pen, if necessary. The barn’s long narrow design allows
for prevailing winds to keep animals cool during the summer without
fans. The roof is insulated and the ridge is open for additional
comfort, yet sides can be closed for year-round feeding.
Rex
Hannewald, manager of the Hannewald Lamb Company, said he saw
the need for this project due to the dominant presence of purebred
flocks and “club lamb” producers in the Midwest and
Eastern areas of the nation.
“Their
numbers have been growing, thus creating a problem for the region’s
major packer because of the lack of finish and low weights these
animals carry after exhibition,” he said. “It is also
difficult to secure semi load lots of like animals from the region
– forcing procurement from long distances. You can ship more
animals at lower weights, add value with inexpensive Midwest feed,
and control slaughter schedules and carcass size.”
Hannewald,
who has fed lambs for more than 20 years, said the construction
of the facility is nearly complete and the project will add value
to a weight range of animals that have the potential to become
premium quality products.
“The
services this facility provides will be under contractual agreement
with a major packer, targeted high-end retail grocery chains in
metropolitan areas with amounts that will represent 5 percent
of the packers’ total lamb kill volume,” he said. “I
have little competition in this market east of the Mississippi
because no one else has concentrated on these animals and this
is the only privately owned commercial facility designed like
this in the United States. This facility puts together the latest
technology that allows for the most efficient use of labor and
the best feed conversions possible."
Hannewald
said he chose to apply for NLPA Sheep & Goat Funds because
it was a natural fit.
"It
prepares the industry for global competition, produces a superior
product and offers interest rate options that will keep pace with
a changing future"
he said. "I have great confidence in NLPA’s administration
of funds because of their long history of involvement with livestock
marketing cooperatives throughout the nation and their vision
for the 21st century in finance and business."
In
1999, an agreement was signed between the National Sheep Industry
Improvement Center (Sheep Center) and NLPA that enables the Sheep
Center funds to be used in the sheep and goat industries. The
agreement allows NLPA to establish a revolving fund that will
be used exclusively for loans to the sheep and goat industries
with the following goals:
“We would like
to emphasize the scope of projects the Sheep and Goat Fund Committee
is willing to consider for use of the Fund,” Scott Stuart,
President and CEO of NLPA, said, “We are in the final stages
of establishing loans with a sheep dairy and a processing facility
for meat lambs. Production loans are outside of the scope of this
project, but there is no bias toward sheep or goats, meat, fiber
or dairy – the Committee will consider any project that encourages
innovation and efficiency in the sheep and goat industries.”
According to the terms
of the agreement, the Sheep and Goat Fund Committee, which consists
of members of NLPA and representatives of the sheep and goat industries,
is responsible for the oversight of this process. The Committee
regularly reviews applications and is only allowed to consider
loans up to $1 million that are submitted by eligible entities
(sole proprietors are not eligible as written into the legislation
that established the Sheep Center).
For more information
or an application please contact the National Livestock Producers
Association at (800) 237-7193.
More information and the application are also available
at www.nlpa.org. The next deadline for applications is Sept.30, 2000.
