ASI Scrapie Awareness Grant Report
Outreach Events:
The Maine Sheep Breeders Association hosted a booth at the Northeast Livestock Exposition from May 15–17 to help raise awareness about scrapie eradication. Printed ASI resource materials were available for attendees, including Eradicating Scrapie FAQs, Eradicating Scrapie in Sheep, and Finish the Fight: Eradicate Scrapie.
The Maine Sheep Breeders Association also hosted a micro booth at the Houlton Agricultural Fair from July 10–12 to reach sheep owners in northern Maine and to further expand scrapie awareness across the state. Printed ASI materials were again offered to fairgoers, including Eradicating Scrapie FAQs, Eradicating Scrapie in Sheep, and Finish the Fight: Eradicate Scrapie.
Other Scrapie Outreach:
A social media post was shared on August 26th on the Maine Sheep Breeder’s Association Facebook page with a link to APHIS USDA Scrapie Awareness https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/sheep-goat/scrapie.
Engagement and Outcomes:
Although attendance at the Northeast Livestock Exposition in May was lower than usual this year with only 50 youth livestock exhibitors present, several adult attendees visited the booth and took scrapie awareness materials. On July 10, 2026, MSBA posted a notice on its Facebook page inviting people to visit our micro booth in the sheep and goat barn at the Houlton Agricultural Fair. The post reached over 3,000 people and received 51 engagements. During the fair, attendance over the 3-day event was estimated to be 20,000 people and 15 scrapie awareness brochures were taken by fairgoers and two new farmers with an interest in adding sheep flocks to their farms stopped to ask questions about the purpose of Scrapie ID tags and to learn about Scrapie. On August 26, 2026, MSBA posted a notice on its Facebook page about Scrapie awareness inviting people to follow the link to the APHIS USDA Scrapie Awareness website; the post reached over 195 people and had 11 link clicks.
Photos of Booths at Outreach Events:
