Two hundred and seventy-five sheep underwent their annual haircut in January and produced 450-pound bales of wool that would be shipped and processed at Mountain Meadow Wool in Buffalo.
“We want to tell the story of the University of Wyoming being a land grant college that was originally founded on the premise of the Agricultural and Mechanical Arts,” Stewart said. “It’s since evolved into many fields of study and which are very valuable. But we wanted to get back to highlight the sheep flock that we have here on campus, has been used to answer a lot of good production questions for ranchers in the West. It’s been used to conduct research. It’s been used to train students that are going back to ranches in the West or even working in an allied industries, you know pharmaceuticals, feed companies that are really going back to the sheep industry.”
The throw was designed by Lindsay Stewart, a fine arts student who used the designated UW color palette with a steamboat design in the middle.
“It ties so many pieces together, and it’s really exciting,” Rasco said in a statement. “Each year, I would like to see our group make these blankets and provide a nice memento for our students, our stakeholders (and) our alumni.”
The proceeds from the project will aid an internship program for students in collaboration with Mountain Meadow Wool, where students will learn about different textiles and the agricultural industry. Going forward, Whit hopes students will utilize UW wool with other projects.
