UW Launches New Wyoming Wool Initiative and Lamb-a-Year Program

University of Wyoming Extension  Sheep Specialist Whit Stewart recently announced the launch of the Wyoming Wool Initiative. The announcement came at the annual Wool Growers Association conference earlier this month. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

The initiative leads innovative research and programming that promotes and expands Wyoming’s sheep industry. Project Coordinator and Manager Lindsay Conley-Stewart said its mission is to support producers, both directly and indirectly, in adding value to their wool. The Wyoming Wool Initiative is a nonprofit supported by the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, donations, Mountain Meadow Wool and other partners. Current programs include the Wyoming Blanket Project and inaugural Lamb-a-Year program. Both endeavors connect UW students with sheep industry professionals.

According to a release from the University of Wyoming Extension Office, currently, funds from blanket sales and other donations are used to support student internships and graduate assistantships, travel for wool judging competitions, and research and development for wool processing and manufacturing. As the initiative grows, the team will develop programming for producers throughout the state.  Its Lamb-a-Year program connects producers with UW students interested in the sheep industry. 

Participating producers will donate a minimum of five lambs, which will be transported and finished at Double J Lamb Feeders in Ault, Colorado, in the fall. As part of the inaugural Lamb-a-Year course, UW students will be involved in the finishing and harvesting phase of lamb production. 

Students enrolled in the class will visit Double J Lamb Feeders multiple times to measure animal performance and learn about the lamb feeding industry. They will also collect carcass data at a lamb processing plant in Denver. This data will be shared with the producers who donated lambs to the project.

To learn more about the Wyoming Wool Initiative, please visit https://www.uwyo.edu/wyowool/default.html or contact woolinitiative@uwyo.edu. For producers interested in contributing to the Lamb-a-Year program, please visit https://www.uwyo.edu/wyowool/_files/docs/lamb-a-year-brochure-digital-form.pdf