It’s not just about the wool, the Wyoming Collegiate Wool Growers is a hands-on club that works with both the agricultural, and business industry of sheep. It’s an opportunity for students to gain experience and be part of a team.
The Wyoming Wool Growers is a junior level of the Wyoming Wool Association on the state level. Both are all about the entire sheep industry. So it is not just about the wool, for example, it is also about the lamb market, and how sheep are produced around the state.
“It’s really fun. We have a really good time, especially when we’re working with the lambs,” Club President Joe Mills said.
“Wyoming is very big for sheep. We’re one of the number one sheep states in the United States.”
The club’s sheep unit is currently located at the Laramie Research and Extension center, where they have different working barns. These barns are staffed by members of the club, and the flock is regularly watched over by Kalli Koepke, the main shepard, and other farmhands.
The club does not require students to be part of the Agricultural College. The sheep industry requires components from all different disciplines: business, biology, agricultural, veterinary, and even land management. And the Wool Growers provide experience and opportunities for each.
“I barely even knew what sheep were. But I think it was just being driven to want to find different doors that are open and different opportunities. And I saw some great ones in the wool and sheep program here,” Mill said, recounting when he first joined the club.
Now, Mills is the President of the Wool Growers Association. Mills says he is currently working on the Lamb-a-Year research projects. The Lamb-a-Year is currently studying adaptation on feed with lambs weight and growing limbs.
The study included two different groups, one group that was on a chopped hay diet, the other group that was on an unprocessed long stem hay diet. The teams were primarily monitoring daily weight gain and feed intake.
“We’re also studying respiratory vaccinations. And how, how giving one group a vaccination is different from giving another group a different or no vaccination.” Mills said.
Another project the Wool Growers do annually is take the wool sheared from their sheep and send it to a partnered wool mill in Buffalo, Wyoming. The wool is then processed and turned into a Cowboy’s themed blanket and then sold at the University Store.
The Wool Growers meet at 6:00 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month, primarily in room 104 of the Molecular Biology and Animal Science Building.
