The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center’s board of directors will accept grant proposals starting July 1 through Sept. 15.

The grants must be designed to improve the U.S. sheep industry, USDA said.

The sheep center has budgeted about $300,000 to support projects consistent with the grant program. The average grant amount over the last four years has been roughly $29,000.

USDA said financial assistance provided by the sheep center must accomplish one or more of the following objectives:

* Strengthen and improve long-term sustainability of the lamb and wool industry’s infrastructure by increasing the numbers in production;

* Provide integration of performance and production data from sources that can help enhance the National Sheep Improvement Program;

* Provide leadership training and education to producers and packers within the sheep industry;

* Enhance sheep production by improving the infrastructure of the U.S. sheep industry through assistance to all segments of the industry to address sustainable production and marketing of sheep milk, meat, fiber and related services such as grazing for fire management and pasture improvements;

* Promote lamb marketing through an organized method that can measure tangible results, and

* Enhance the sheep industry by coordinating information exchange and seeking mutual understanding and marketing within the international industry community.

The sheep center will review each proposal, recommend funding and submit final recommendations to USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for approval.

For more information about applying for a grant, contact program manager Steve Lee at (202) 350-9065 or [email protected], or mail a request to: National Sheep Improvement Center, P.O. Box 646; Rockland, Maine 04841.

The sheep center was established in the 2008 farm bill and was awarded funding by AMS to be used for the Sheep Production & Marketing Grant Program as part of the 2014 farm bill. Grant funding can be used on activities designed to strengthen and enhance the production of marketing of sheep and sheep products in the U.S. through infrastructure development, business development, production, resource development and market and environmental research, USDA said.

Additional information about the sheep center is available on the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center website.