Sheep Industry News April 2023

Industry Will Benefit From Wyo.'s Collaborative Effort W ith the lamb market crashing in the summer of 2022, Whit Stewart and his colleagues at the University of Wyoming headed to the Wyoming Wool Growers Association meet industry and get involved on a professional level." The word "collaboration" comes up time and again in conversations about the program, which has collaborated with ASI, the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, Superior Farms, Mountain Meadow Wool and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service in addition to countless producers throughout the state.

ing to announce the newly established Wyoming Wool Initiative. Based on previous success with a blanket program that had been overwhelmingly supported by the state's sheep producers, organizers put together a new idea to develop a Lamb-a-Year program and were looking for support once again from those same producers. "We were really hesitant to roll it out last summer," said Stewart. "We talked about waiting a year, but what's so remarkable about the producers we work with is that they were still willing to donate those lambs. We let the producers know that there was no obligation, but it still came together. The hardest part wasn't getting people to sign up and donate lambs, it was just coordinating the logistics. I spent a couple of Saturdays driv

BLANKET BEGINNINGS "About two years ago, Whit had the idea to shear the university's sheep, make some wool blankets with it and hope we earned enough for some kind of programming," said his wife, Lindsay Conley-Stewart, who has a fine arts degree from Wyoming and has designed each of the blankets sold through the program. "We made 300 blankets, so I came on in support to facilitate all of the logistics and marketing efforts. It ended up being wildly successful and that opened our eyes that we had this way to garner resources for various needs that weren't being met in the sheep program. And that's what became the Wyoming Wool Initia tive. The blanket project is still a part of it, but it's just a small piece of a much bigger program." Naturally attached to the blankets she designed and somewhat fond of the man behind the project, Conley-Stewart soon signed on for role of project coordinator. In addition to her position with the initiative, she coordinates social media and marketing efforts for the College of Agriculture. "It's kind of nice that all the nights I spent away from home in our 15 years of marriage, now she sees our industry and gets to be a part of it," Stewart said. "I guess I could be accused of being the idea guy, but she’s the closer. If it wasn't for her, we probably would have designed an ugly blanket, sold just a few and quit after the first year. She'll mockup four or five different designs and people around the university will vote on them. That visual and storytelling element that she brings is why the blankets have looked as good as they have." Success with the blankets paved the way for other ideas to take root. LAMB-A-YEAR Based on popular steer-a-year programs, the Lamb-A-Year concept asked sheep producers to donate lambs to the university. Students then fed and worked the lambs as part of a newly created class, earning school credit while getting hands-on experience in rearing a flock. The first group of the approximately 155 donated lambs went to Superior Farms' plant in Denver earlier this year. But they didn't go alone. A team of graduate students led by Dr. Cody Gifford – an as sistant professor in meat science – was there to collect carcass data on

ing around in a truck and trailer picking up lambs." The key to the initia tive's early success is simple. Educators, stu dents, producers and the industry have all been willing to collabo rate on the project with the hope of generating a beneficial path for all involved. Educa

"I had one producer call me and say, 'Lindsay, the Wyoming Wool Initiative needs to be a generational program. It can't be something that is a flash in the pan. Programs like this will help the industry thrive instead of just survive.'" – Lindsay Conley-Stewart

tors gain new resources to teach their students, who in turn generate research and data to assist producers. Those same students will then be better prepared to take roles in the industry – whether it's as producers, in lamb processing, wool manufacturing or continued research. Sup port from the university – specifically College of Agriculture, Life Sci ences and Natural Resources Dean Barbara Rasco and Associate Dean Eric Webster – also played a crucial role in the program's early success. As an associate professor and sheep extension specialist, it's no ac cident that Stewart helped develop such a program. His role at the uni versity is split evenly between teaching, research, and extension duties. "So, we try to integrate all aspects of our program so that they’re synergistic and work together, because there's just not enough time and resources otherwise," Stewart said. "It's the students who really drive these programs on campus and make the research work, and that prepares them to go out into the

16 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org