Courtesy photo by Collegiate Lamb Growers Club
The Collegiate Lamb Grower Club Dedication to Telling Students About Wool
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) there are approximately 5 million heads of Sheep and Lamb in the US. A total of 20.5 million pounds of shorn wool was produced in 2025 in the US.
Agriculture dedicated to sheep and lamb is a major industry that affects the country with even about 88,853 sheep and lamb farms in operation in the US alone, according to the USDA. The Collegiate Lamb Grower Club on campus is focused on trying to understand and be a part of that section of farming in the US.
“We’re kind of a club that’s focused on anything sheep production. So, we focus on giving students industry tours into how lamb is produced as far as meat quality goes, as far as wool quality goes.” Said Jayce Allen Davis, president of the Collegiate Lamb Grower Club in an interview with the Branding Iron.
“We work heavily with the Laramie Research and Extension Center, LREC, to do different hands-on experience with sheep production.” Continued Davis, “So, whether that be in reproduction side of things or the market side of things, we kind of are just the club that gets students involved in any of the sheep production.”
During club meetings, students can expect to have experience with the sheep industry as a whole. The club has frequent speakers and plans to take students on trips to these sheep and lamb harvesting facilities.
“We’re planning on going down to see the American Sheep Industries, like headquarters down in Denver. There’s a wool mill up in Buffalo, Wyoming that we’re planning on trying to check out and see how they’re kind of processing their wool and all that different kind of stuff. And then there’s probably going to be some feedlots, sheep feedlots down in Northern Colorado that we go to check out as well.” Said Davis.
As these trips are across the Rocky Mountains, the Collegiate Lamb Grower Club gives students an option of a $20 disposed into the club. That will allow the club to help pay for the expenses of the trips for students who want to attend these trips.
Additionally, as a service to the community, the Collegiate Lamb Grower Club in the past had allowed members of the community to bring their rams in to get tested on reproductive viability, structural integrity, and wool quality. They had used this as an opportunity in the past to raise funds to help back with the community.
Davis also has a lofty goal to help students in the club experience more of the sheep industry.
“I think that there’s a lot of different cool opportunities, cool things that this club has and can do. I just don’t think we have really the popularity or the student engagement as I’d hope to be able to.” Said Davis, “Really, they have a big sheep convention in South Carolina every year. And I think that’d be a really cool way for our club to get more involved in the whole sheep industry, especially with Wyoming being in such a sheep heavy state. But I think that I just really wish there was more engagement because I think there’s so many opportunities for kids. And that’s just kind of my biggest mission as the president.”
For students who are interested in learning more about the club, Jayce Allen Davis is available to be emailed at jdavi127@uwyo.edu. The club also meets every other Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Animal Science Building in room 103.
