Sheep Industry News April 2023

each individual lamb. "This program demonstrates the importance of collecting phenotyp ic data to the contributing producers and students alike," said Superior Farms Director of Producer Resources Karissa Isaacs. "Collecting pro duction data is just as important as the lamb performance or carcass data being collected to help with on-farm management and breeding decisions for future success of a sheep operation. Superior Farms looks forward to seeing results from the University of Wyoming for year one and to continued collaboration for the benefit of the lamb industry." Producers benefit from receiving a package of information on each lamb, including growth performance data, loin eye photos and final carcass data. "We worked hard to implement some alternative management with these lambs," Stewart said. "We backgrounded the lambs and tried to grow them really cost effectively at a slow rate of gain to get closer to the Easter market. We'll have two groups that were harvested about a month and a half apart. I hope the producers are happy with the infor mation they get back. In Wyoming, lambs get sold and the producers don't always know how well they do in the feeding phase or when they reach the harvest phase. We feel like we were able to give them a lot of information to make some more well-informed decisions down the road." All totaled, 26 producers donated lambs and three gave cash dona tions to support the program. NexGen Feed Solutions also donated in the form of 10,000 lbs. worth of feed to support the program. "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,'" Conley-Stewart said. "And that was really touching to me about the work we're doing and the importance of it." While 2022 was a difficult year for the lamb market, sometimes that's the perfect time to get producers to try something different. When prices are high, there's little incentive to take a step in a different direction. "We're a bit heavy on Merino now, so I wanted to see how they stacked up as a baseline to what we've done in the past," said Ivan Laird, who raises a small flock of Merino-Rambouillet crosses in Lander, Wyo. "I wanted to build up the wool, but not hurt the carcass cutout. But I also think its important to give back to these students, and that's why I did it. It's a great opportunity to put some animals out there for the students to work with. We lost so much when we didn't have a sheep extension specialist for several years, so it's nice to have someone bringing some enthusiasm to that role." AMERICAN WOOL ASSURANCE Through the work of the Wyoming Wool Initiative, the university's flock became the first in the United States to reach Level III (Certified) status in ASI's American Wool Assurance Program in February 2022. “ASI would like to congratulate the University of Wyoming for reaching Level III certification,” said ASI Deputy Director Rita Samu elson at the time. “The association also owes the university a debt of

gratitude for its assistance in finalizing the audit process that will lead to producers throughout the United States having the opportunity to reach Level II (Process Verified) and Level III (Certified).” Graduate student Courtney Newman and Laramie Research and Extension Center Assistant Manager and Sheep Unit Manager Kalli Koepke deserve most of the credit for this accomplishment, according to the Stewarts. "Courtney took those blankets and used them as a case study for traceability with Mountain Meadow Wool, so that we can really prove where certain products are made and where they come from," Stewart said. "With traceability, we feel like we can help producers get more for their wool. So, that's a grass roots example of the university and industry coming together that might generate more income for the producer. I'd love to ride off into the sunset one day knowing that producers are making more money because of the stuff we researched and implemented. "We're in the second year of Courtney's project and now looking at when the product is changing hands several times in the manufac turing process, so that's a big push for us this year to get that accom plished." Newman earned ASI's Sheep Heritage Foundation Scholarship in 2022 in part because of her work on traceability. She's looking to incorporate blockchain technology into wool processing as part of her studies and became just the latest of several students who have studied under Stewart to win the scholarship. Stewart was a recipient of the scholarship himself back in 2014. LASTING LEGACY While producers might benefit financially from these programs, the long-term value is in the young professionals the university is sending out into all facets of the American sheep industry. The Wyoming Wool Initiative is nearing its first birthday, but the university has been turn ing out future leaders for far longer. "We all have a shelf life on our careers," said Stewart, who's been at the University of Wyoming for approximately six years since leaving Montana State University. "The students are a legacy that lives on. I feel like that's something the industry has lacked at times was the ability to kick out new leaders, but we're really investing in that at the University of Wyoming. And through the Wyoming Wool Initiative, the produc ers and the industry are investing in them, as well." While it would be impossible to highlight them all, Stewart points to Dallin Brady at Center of the Nation Wool, Alexis Brady at Julian Land and Livestock, Nicole McKibbon at Superior Farms, Jaelyn Whaley with South Dakota State University Extension and Dr. Chad Page at Utah State University as a few examples of the university's suc cess in sending students into the industry. "And we've got some really great students that are still here in the program," he added. "Our job isn't done until they are placed and working in the industry. We want to do what we can to help them fin ish their studies and their research and then kick them out into sheep industry careers."

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