The following news relase from the Wyoming Wool Growers Association is a clear indication of the positive changes that are taking place in rural America. According to Bob Mailander, Director of the RMFU Cooperative Development Center, “This new cooperative has the potential to revitalize the sheep indutry in the western U.S. The Co-op Center will participate in organizing the cooperative’s resources for its successful start-up.”

Casper>Following a Wyoming Wool Growers Association (WWGA) membership meeting dedicated specifically to discussing the formation of a producer-owned lamb cooperative centered in the six-state Rocky Mountain region (WY, ID, MT, CO, UT, and SD), a group of progressive producers stepped forward and launched the new cooperative by purchasing memberships in the new endeavor for $350 each.

Producers from four of the six states where the co-op will be centered were among the initial group to purchase memberships.

The cooperative, which is tentatively being called the “Rocky Mountain High Country Lamb Cooperative” is being formed so that lamb producers in the region can become involved in a vertically integrated, value added, regionally based marketing entity through which the producer can derive greater profit and returns from their livestock.

As Pat O’Toole, a Savory, Wyo. lamb, wool and cattle producer and one of the two Steering Committee Chairmen said, “It is time for those of us who want to hand our ranches on to our children to forcefully step forward and create a future for them, rather than sitting idylly by and allowing the multinational corporations and the importers, who currently control our industry, to dictate and control it for us.”

The plans are to issue initial memberships to visionary producers who want to join the effort, and then leverage the money raised with outside funding which will then be used to hire a consultant who will be tasked with developing a feasibility study and marketing strategy. The co-op, as envisioned by the founding members, will be similar to other endeavors ongoing in other sectors of agriculture, such as U.S. Premium Beef, Mountain View Harvest and Dakota Growers Pasta. Once the necessary studies are completed and the decision is made to proceed, producers who have purchased initial memberships will be given a priority opportunity in converting their membership into equity shares in the cooperative.

Brad Boner, WWGA President-elect and Steering Committee co-chair said, “The one thing that we should all learn from the recent ASI led 201 Trade Action that the industry won against imported products, is that the Australian and New Zealand lamb importers are lusting after our markets, and they are serious about wresting them away from us. If we do not move quickly and forcefully to reorganize our industry and change the way we do business, they will succeed. This cooperative is the way we intend to do this for our producers.”

The cooperative has an initial steering committee of 10 members but others will be added as additional members from the six state region join the co-op in order to assure representation of producer members.

In addition to the Steering Committee, a Genetic Technical Committee has already been formed and charged with developing criteria for a “certification” program to identify genetically superior lines of sheep, irrespective of breed. The goal will be to identify measurable genetic traits that can dramatically and rapidly improve the quality of lamb products to the consumer.

For more information contact Bryce Reece at the WWGA, (307)265-5250, or Bob Mailander at (303)752-5800.