Sheep Industry News August 2023

Wyoming Festival Celebrates State’s Sheep Culture

O n a warm, bright Saturday in early July, the Wyo ming sheep industry was on full display for anyone passing by Herschler Triangle Park in Kemmerer, Wyo. Gone – but not forgotten – was the most treacherous winter in recent memory, replaced by a larger than usual sup ply of green grass and overflowing reservoirs that have killed conversations about drought for the time being. It was the perfect atmosphere for the Wyoming Sheep & Wool Festival, which was designed as a celebration of the state’s sheep ranching history and culture. A collaborative effort between the Wyoming Wool Growers Association, the University of Wyoming Extension and the Wyoming Wool Initiative, the festival offered information and education for those both in and outside of the sheep industry. Triangle Park was the hub of the industry’s outreach to southwest Wyoming, offering lamb cooking demonstrations (and tasting), the chance to feed a trio of bottle lambs and a closer look at wool in a variety of micron ranges and phases of production. Positioned just across the street from the origi nal J.C. Penney store – opened in 1902 – the celebration drew visiting tourists from all across the United States, as well as locals. A few minutes north of the park, the South Lincoln Train ing & Event Center played host to educational presentations for sheep producers, as well as an art and woolcraft show. “We always have a meeting about this time every year,” said Wyoming Wool Growers Association President Mike Curuchet. “But you go to a meeting and 80 percent or better of the meeting is solving problems. We decided that people needed to have some fun, enjoy what we’re doing a little more and celebrate it. We’ll still have the meeting and the issues (the meeting followed the festival on Sunday morning), but at least we had the chance to come together and have a good time and celebrate the industry in the process.” The festival started on Friday, June 30, with a tour of the area’s sheep trails. The education portion of the weekend fol lowed with an afternoon talk on the benefits of sheep grazing. A panel discussion featuring producers of several generations closed out the first night. The park took center stage on Saturday morning before a session on non-traditional lamb marketing drew a significant crowd back to the training center that afternoon. And the fes tival wrapped up that night with the Sheepherders ComeBye Dinner and a concert by Idaho’s Colby Acuff. “Our goal was to say, how do we get really good, targeted programming at this event in addition to celebrating the cultural arts and those kinds of things,” said University of

Wyoming Associate Professor and Extension Sheep Specialist Whit Stewart. “I thought the non-traditional market perspec tive – from someone who works outside of the Western sheep industry – was really cool. The wool kiosk was especially helpful because people cycled through the park and came to understand what is good wool and how we grade it. Everyone commented that they didn’t know so much went into wool, but we make some pretty exquisite material with it.” At the non-traditional marketing session, livestock dealer/ broker John Kane of Wisconsin discussed how small changes in production could allow sheep producers to maximize the potential for marketing lambs at higher prices. “People like finishing fat lambs, but there might not be a reason to do that,” Kane said. “Holding onto lambs all sum mer doesn’t always make financial sense because they might just be losing value the whole time.” He also encouraged producers to focus less on imports and realize that there is a demand for fresh lamb from ethnic buyers. Plans call for the Wyoming Sheep & Wool Festival to become an annual event that will move around the state. Thermopolis is set to host the festival in 2024.

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