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Minutes of the meeting of
the
North American Wensleydale Sheep Association
June 23, 2001
held at
Black Sheep Gathering
Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene OR
President Martin Dally called the meeting
to order at 4.45pm
Those present at the meeting: current members
Martin Dally, Andrea Szabo, Larry Hanson, Sandi Hanson, Sherry Carlson,
Kim Miller, Myrtle Dow, Barbara Burrows, and new members Joan Haney
and Karen Tipple.
Approve Minutes
Larry Hanson made a motion to approve the minutes of the
membership meeting of May 5, 2000 as written. Seconded by Sandi
Hanson, the motion carried.
Announcement of
New Directors
Directors for the 2001-2003 term of office are Myrtle Dow,
Neil Kentner, David Moran, Martin Dally, Andrea Szabo, Sherry Carlson,
and Barbara Burrows. As the bylaws provide for staggered terms of
office, it will be determined at the Board of Director’s meeting
who shall serve a one year term of office and who shall serve for
two years.
Treasurer’s
report
Sandi Hanson reported a current balance of $667.41 with fiscal
year 2000/01income of $1368.97 and expenses of $701.56. Based on
past budget activity, a projected budget was submitted using the
assumptions of 20 members at $25 each, 15 members at $15 each, and
recordings for ewes and lambs to stay the same. Projected year-end
total for fiscal year 2001/02 would then be $565.00.
Advertising was discussed and it was agreed
that it is the Association that should be promoted and not Wensleydale
sheep themselves. Wensleydales need no promotion as there is already
great interest in the animals and fleeces. Members discussed how
to get the most from our promotion dollars. It was agreed that an
ongoing business card ad be placed in The Marker as it is very affordable.
Kim Miller said that she believes spinners would look to fiber magazines
rather than livestock magazines. Myrtle Dow commented that 90% of
our target audience is likely to be on the internet, so we should
use the NAWSA website and reference it in all ads & literature.
Larry Hanson made a motion to look into the
cost of placing listings in Handwoven and SpinOff magazines. Seconded
by Myrtle Dow, the motion was approved.
Membership Listings
Sherry Carlson asked for clarification on when a website
listing should be removed if a member has not renewed their membership.
The consensus was that if membership expires on March 31st, there
should be no grace period and the listing should be removed at that
date. Renewals and new members’ listings will appear as soon
as possible after receipt of paperwork. We currently have 26 members;
the majority of them are active, and 6-8 members who did not renew
their membership this year.
Benefits for Associate Members
Members discussed what could be offered
to associate members - those who are supporting the efforts of NAWSA
but who are not actual sheep producers. Sherry Carlson pointed out
that these members are enthusiastic and a very good resource for
spreading information on Wensleydales and the NAWSA, and suggested
that they could be given preferential access to Wensleydale fiber.
While we could not require that active members put associate members
at the top of their ‘fiber list’, it could be our policy
to strongly encourage them to do so. Members were in agreement with
this suggestion.
Locations for
Membership meetings
Barbara Burrows said based on experience with other associations,
that meeting locations couldn’t be planned too many years in
advance. It would be better to indicate merely ‘east/west’
or ‘east/central/west’ than specify exact locations. Members
agreed that two areas - east and west - would be preferable and
that meetings should be held at fiber shows - preferably where Wensleydales
could be exhibited.
Meeting locations suggested for the EAST:
Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, West Friendship MD, early May
Fiber festival in Rheinbeck NY, October
NAILE in KY, November
Michigan Fiber festival was determined to be small and in a difficult
location for those flying in.
Locations for the WEST included:
Estes Park CO, mid-June
Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene OR, mid-June
Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby OR, mid-September
Members suggested that the next membership
meeting be held in Rheinbeck NY in October 2002, then the following
year in Estes Park CO.
Website Report
Sherry Carlson reported that the NAWSA website is visited
600-800 times per month, and the site is really not being promoted
as much as it could be through publications and advertisement. The
only suggestion for improvement on the website was that we take
a look at the navigation on the home page and perhaps redesign it
toward a target audience of entry-level internet users.
It was agreed that as well as links on the
website, we could also list products that active members have available.
Sherry said that the majority of inquiries she receives as secretary
were from people wanting to know which members had animals or fleeces
for sale. Listing this information on the website should answer
those questions automatically.
Promotion of Wensleydales
It was agreed that Wensleydale sheep are currently recognized
primarily for their unusual fleeces. Since Wensleydales are a large,
heavily muscled sheep used in England as terminal sires, Sherry
suggested that we try to continue this image in the U.S. In several
years when we have purebred rams in the U.S., it would be useful
to have interest in them from the commercial market. As to how to
handle the fact that they have heavy fleeces that may interfere
with management, this remains to be dealt with. Kim Miller felt
that Wensleydales should be considered an All-purpose breed - meat,
wool, crossing sires. ‘Not just another pretty fleece’
was suggested as a tag line.
Association Image
It is important that all web and print material contain an
easily recognized identity. Since we are at the inception of this
process, use of our current logo was discussed. It is rectangular
in shape with a sheep’s head and the text North American Wensleydale
Sheep Association. It has been used on the first printing of T-shirts
but has not been carried to other print or web. Members discussed
if we should develop another logo, possibly with the full body of
a sheep or stay with the existing design. Because simplicity of
logo is important and detailed artwork does not carry well to every
medium, Larry Hanson felt that the current logo is fine. There was
no disagreement, but Myrtle Dow suggested that the imprint be made
larger on the next printing of shirts.
Timetable for
submitting paperwork
Our registry is unique in that we are starting from scratch
in developing the breed and so records of pedigree must be kept
accurately and on a timely basis. The members discussed rules that
other associations have in requiring paperwork to be submitted.
Martin Dally felt that it would be prudent to designate that all
animals must be recorded/registered by 9 months from date of birth.
This gives the producer long enough to evaluate the animal and determine
if they should record/register the animal. Forms submitted after
9 months from date of birth and up to 24 months from date of birth
would be subject to double fees. All members in attendance agreed
that if no paperwork is submitted by the time an animal is 24 months
old, that animal will become ineligible for recording/registration.
Members felt that it is unacceptable to have several generations
existing without paperwork submitted - that it invites errors in
pedigrees and does not lend credibility to the association’s
purpose.
It was agreed that a breeder must be an active
NAWSA member to submit paperwork on animals. It was also the feeling
of the group that sellers pay for the transfer of ownership of an
animal, although non-members may submit transfer ownership at double
the fee rate. This should be the only paperwork that would be accepted
from non-members.
Public Relations,
designation of foundation breeds
The Association received a letter from the Leicester Longwool
Sheep Breeders Association protesting our inclusion of Leicester
Longwool sheep as a foundation breed in our upgrading guidelines.
Members agreed that this is a valid issue and if the tables were
turned, we would want their association to consider our request.
When our guidelines were initially established,
we sought to identify the breeds of sheep in the U.S. that were
substantially similar to the Wensleydale. We did not endorse nor
discourage the use of any one of these breeds. Sandi Hanson added
that U.K. breeders had indicated that Leicester Longwools would
be the best breed to use to breed for Wensleydales, with the second
breed being Cotswold.
None of the three foundation breeds are plentiful
in the United States, and we are aware that the Leicester has the
lowest number of breeding ewes. It was pointed out that if we were
to comply with the request to remove the Leicester Longwool breed
from our foundation ewe list, we would have to do the same should
the Cotswold and Lincoln associations present the same request.
It was pointed out that ewes are generally
used in the AI program for one or two years then go back to their
own breeding pool. The Wensleydale registry will eventually be closed
to upgrading and this will not be an issue in the future. To our
knowledge no Leicester Longwool ewes have been used as foundation
ewes and it was suggested that the Leicester Association discourage
its membership from making them available.
It is important that sheep producers and
associations work together for the good of all, and although we
feel that we cannot remove the breed from our upgrading guidelines,
all agreed that NAWSA should actively discourage the use of Leicester
Longwool sheep as foundation ewes.
Use of F2 and
Quarter-blood Wensleydales
Kim Caulfield had previously suggested that we discuss of
the use of F2 (50% Wensleydale X 50% Wensleydale) and quarter-blood
ewes in the upgrading program. Martin Dally explained that although
an F2 animal may physically resemble the dam and sire, due to gene
segregation they would not necessarily pass on the same genetic
qualities. He explained that Wensleydales must be developed by predictable
genetics because ideally these sheep should be ‘peas in a pod’.
The use of quarter-blood ewes is much the same issue in that their
genetic contribution cannot be predicted with certainty.
It was strongly felt that we must maintain
our program’s integrity in the eyes of the U.K. If we start
accepting 1/4 blood sheep, adjusting our carefully established guidelines,
and not making continuous genetic advancement, then we will lose
our credibility. It was mentioned that keeping track of the logistics
of allowing various crosses into the breeding program could be extremely
difficult. Members in attendance strongly favored keeping our guidelines
as they were originally established.
Ear Tags
The use of Association ear tags was discussed. Myrtle Dow
said that most associations have discontinued issuing their own
ear tags. There should already be scrapie program identification
on each animal, and often a second ear tag or tattoo with private
ID information - both of which are recorded on the NAWSA paperwork.
Members were not in favor of Association ear tags.
Closing the Foundation
registry
Myrtle Dow asked at what point should we think about closing
the foundation ewe registry. Martin said that it couldn’t be
done soon, and suggested that it be considered when the number of
registered ewes in production hit 500, or when there are a total
of 1200 recorded and registered ewes in production. Once closed,
if there became a need for more genetic diversity, we could elect
to re-open the process as other associations have done. It was agreed
that this issue should be reviewed in 2004.
Publication of
flock book
Regarding a flock book or similar publication, members were
in favor of a simple annual report showing the number of animals
recorded, registered and transferred during the year.
Association Newsletter
Kim Caulfield has volunteered to organize a newsletter for
the association. All in attendance were in agreement that we would
like an electronic newsletter that could be sent via the post office
to those who do not have email. All felt that the newsletter should
be posted to the website with notification of such posting going
out through the news group which would alert everyone with an email.
This would not only save on printing & postage expenses, but
was preferred by all of the members present. The content of any
newsletter should be informational and educational, a calendar of
events, current info on members, etc. There should be no editorial
or opinion pieces included. The President and Secretary of the Association
should review the newsletter prior to distribution. It was felt
that the board of directors should set the guidelines for the newsletter.
Next Meeting
The next membership meeting was set for October 2002 in Rheinbeck
NY.
The upcoming Board meeting will be via conference
call. Sandi Hanson reported that she has a conference bridge available
through her employer.
As there was no further business, a motion
to adjourn the meeting was made by Andrea Szabo, and seconded by
Sandi Hanson. The meeting adjourned at 6:15 pm.
Minutes submitted by Sherry Carlson
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