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Wyoming Wool Initiative

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About US


The Wyoming Wool Initiative, a flagship endeavor of the UW College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources (CALSNR), fosters innovative collaborations between public and private sectors within Wyoming's sheep industry to address contemporary challenges. Through key fundraising efforts like the Blanket Project and the Lamb-A-Year program, the initiative supports diverse educational and outreach programs. These include field study opportunities for students, undergraduate internships, graduate research, producer education, collegiate and youth wool judging, sponsorship of the Wyoming State Fair wool show, and sheep seminars across Wyoming. The Sheepherders Come Bye Awards Dinner honors these contributions at the Wyoming Wool Growers Association summer meeting. Supported by UW, public-private partnerships, and donations, this Wyoming Wool Initiative is dedicated to sustaining sheep industry excellence

 

Meet Our Team

 

 

 

Lamb-a-Year: Sustaining Sheep Industry Excellence

 

Each year regional sheep producers donate to the Lamb-a-Year program, generating critical funds to support more in-field programming for students and producers. This program integrates all aspects of the land grant mission, providing unique hands-on learning opportunities for our students.

Benefiting Student Experience

The Lamb-a-Year program provided students with experiential learning in the management and marketing of lamb. Students put in long hours, crunching numbers to learn critical elements of producing lambs. Students gained experience in nutritional management, animal health, record keeping, market dynamics, and tour meat processors.

Informing Sheep Producers & Driving Research

  • Individual Performance Data: Detailed metrics on each lamb's performance, providing valuable insights for ranchers to showcase their stock's quality to potential buyers.
  • Feed-to-Gain Ratio: Highlights lambs' efficiency in converting feed into body mass, essential for optimizing feeding practices and enhancing profitability.
  • Average Daily Gain: Performance ranged from 0.23 to 0.97 pounds per day, averaging 0.63 pounds per day, offering critical growth rate information.
  • Hot Carcass Weight and Dressing Percentage: Key for understanding the meat yield and quality.
  • Loin Eye Area (LEA): Reflects muscle development, linked to superior meat quality.
  • Yield Grade and % Boneless Closely Trimmed Retail Cuts (%BCTRC): Measures lean meat yield and overall carcass quality.

Lambs are initially fed on meadow hay, then transitioned to a finishing diet, with feed intake monitored by Vytelle’s “GrowSafe” feeders for precise feed-to-gain ratios. The comprehensive annual report details the teaching, research, and extension outcomes enabled by these donations. Each year, producers are honored at the Sheepherders Come Bye banquet, where top-performing lambs receive awards and recognition.

If you would like to donate or learn more about Lamb-a-Year program please contact woolinitiative@uwyo.edu or lstewar9@uwyo.edu

 

Wool Initiative Overview: Producer Resources, Donations & Involvement, and Our Impact