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p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????#@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\,(9 Z6Times New Roman Regular(3$ !  'dxd( $ Figure  1  VZY I&mage <=8C HKKKK !  _  ,j\6&"`z1% `E,,%y%y,,%j (#(#        (#(#ReleaseNo.0011.00 'X7DXXX#XXX'X7D# SusanMcAvoy(202)72046234  > O  5  susan.mcavoy@usda.gov6@ OT  7 (# | P    GLICKMANANNOUNCES$100MILLIONASSISTANCEPACKAGEFORSHEEPANDLAMBFARMERS   WASHINGTON,Jan.13,2000!ActingonPresidentClintonscommitmenttohelpU.S. , lambandsheepfarmers,AgricultureSecretaryDanGlickmantodayannounceddetailsofathreeyear,$100millionassistanceplan.  ThisAdministrationiscommittedtohelpingAmericansheepandlambfarmerswhohavebeenarethreaenedtenedhurtbyasurgeoflowpriced,importedlambmeat,saidGlickman. Byfundingproductionimprovements,increasingpromotionefforts,andhelpingtoimproveanimalhealth,ourassistanceplanbooststhelongtermdevelopmentandgrowthoflambandsheepfarmingintheU.S.  LastFebruary,theU.S.InternationalTradeCommissionruled60thattherecentsurgeoflowpricedimportedlambmeatcausesthethreatofinjurytohasinjuredU.S.producers.TheassistancepackagewillhelptheU.S.lambindustryachievesustainedcompetitiveness,whilerespectinginternationaltradeobligations.  Theplanmakes$50millionavailableduringthefirstyearandanadditional$50millionduringthesecondandthirdyearsforproductionimprovements,marketpromotion,animalhealthanddomesticpurchases.Hereishowthefundswillbespent!  !  ProductionImprovements  ! # L Ay3L 3   3K 2A3  0    Theplanwillprovide$30milliontotal,or$10millionperyear,tosmallandmedium #"% sizedproducersindirectcashpaymentstiedtoproductionpracticesandqualityincentivesthatimprovecompetitiveness.Inyearone,fundingwouldbedirectedtosuchactivitiesasgeneticselection,lambingfacilities,andfeedlotdevelopmentorimprovement.Inyearstwoandthree,therewillbequalityincentivesforproductionofhighlydesirableproducts.3K v ݌ (#(# Ќ   3   3 2A3  0    Inthefirstyear,$15millionisprovidedforguaranteedloanstohelpfundnewand l*@), improvedbuildingfacilitiesaswellasprocessingandpackagingsystemupgrades.Anadditional$5millionisavailableinyeartwoandagaininyearthreefortheseloans.3  ݌ (#(# Ќ   3   3 2A3  0    Theplanincludes$5millioninyearoneand$5millioninyeartwoforguaranteedloans ,.-0 tohelpfarmerscoverflockandfarmimprovementsandoperatingexpenses.3 ݌ (#(# Ќ   0/3   ӄmore 0/3 Є2N AnimalHealth     3   32A3  0    USDAwillspendupto$10millioninthefirstyearhelpingproducerstoeradicatescrapie  fromthedomesticsheeppopulation.Anadditional$5millionwillberequestedinthesecondyear.Additionalfundsmayberequestedinthethirdyear,ifneeded.3݌ (#(# Ќ   DomesticPurchases    3   32A3  0    USDAwillpurchaseupto$5millionoflambeachyearduringthethreeyearprogram. 3݌ ` (#(# Ќ  MarketPromotion  3   32A3  0    Inthefirstyear,USDAwillinvest$4millionineffortstoincreasedemandandimprove L  thecompetitivepositionofdomesticlamb.3݌ (#(# Ќ   3   3"2A3  0    Anadditional$1millioninthefirstyearwillfundmarketingprograms,including  cooperativemarketing,lambyielddata,woolcertificationandpricereporting.3"M݌ (#(# Ќ  @*#