2011 is right around the corner! Thanks to all in the industry who provide the agriculture products for the New Year Celebrations. Celebrate and travel safe.

New from WY Business Council

Wyoming Business Council

214 W.15^th Street; Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002

Tel: (307) 777-2800 Fax: (307) 777-2838

www.wyomingbusiness.org

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For release: Dec. 29, 2010

For more information:

Kim Sears, Marketing and Public Relations

Wyoming Business Council

Office:  307.777.2834

Email: kim.sears@wybusiness.org

Kelly Haigler Cornish

Outreach Coordinator, WSSI

Office: 307.766.2904

Email: Haigler@uwo.edu

Wyoming wool company receives funds to make by-products useful

CASPER – Buffalo, Wyo., company Mountain Meadow Wool, received funding last month to help eliminate by-products of their wool cleaning process from the city waste treatment center and to potentially turn them into something useful.

Mountain Meadow Wool Co., Inc., is a premier provider of locally sourced, naturally processed, mountain merino ™ and mountain merino™ blend yarns and products.  During the wool cleaning process, manure, dirt and wool grease become part of the company’s waste stream.     

The company received a $5,000 Phase 00 award from the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative (WSSI) to help them prepare and submit a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposal to the USDA in December.  The USDA award would help the company build a prototype on-site waste treatment system, or Optimized Effluent Treatment System (OETS), that would help the company recover wool grease, or lanolin, for resale, turn the sludge into compost, and help create a wetlands area with the remaining cleaned water.

“Rather than considering them as waste products, Mountain Meadow Wool considers them potentially useful by-products,” said Karen Hostetler, co-owner of Mountain Meadow Wool.  “Research conducted during our Phase I feasibility study proposed an Optimized Effluent Treatment System.  It shows promise in on-site treatment of the waste stream, offering a payback period of less than five years via the sale of captured waste products, while increasing processing capabilities three-fold.  Many small, regional wool, alpaca, and exotic fiber mills have expressed a keen interest in the results of this study.”

Hostetler said the SBIR award is important because it allows them to obtain the necessary technical expertise in writing a grant application that will appeal to the USDA decision makers in a very competitive grant program. 

“The WSSI program has been and continues to be instrumental in the continued operation and success of Mountain Meadow Wool.  In particular, the personnel made available to us through this program give us confidence that our proposal will have a good chance of being awarded the Phase II,” said Hostetler.

“It is a pleasure to make this award to Mountain Meadow Wool,” said Kelly Haigler Cornish, WSSI outreach coordinator.  “The award will provide resources which will assist Mountain Meadow Wool in successfully garnering a USDA Phase II SBIR award, leading to further expansion of their unique business enterprise in Buffalo.”

The Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative is sponsored by the Wyoming Business Council and administered by the University of Wyoming Office of Research and Economic Development. The mission of the partnership is to increase the number of federal SBIR awards received by Wyoming small businesses by providing funding assistance through the WSSI Phase 0 program. The program facilitates the preparation of competitive proposals in the annual national $2.5 billion SBIR competition for Phase I (up to $150,000) and Phase II (up to $1 million) awards. Any Wyoming tech-based, for-profit small business or individual desiring to submit a Phase I proposal to any of the eleven participating federal SBIR agencies is eligible to apply for a WSSI Phase 0 award. For further information on the WSSI and SBIR programs, go to www.uwyo.edu/sbir or email wssi@uwyo.edu.

For more information about Mountain Meadow Wool Co., Inc., visit www.mountainmeadowwool.com or contact Valerie L. Spanos or Karen Hostetler at 307.684.5775 or info@mountainmeadowwool.com. 

Thanks to everyone in the industry, from producer to the plate. Your hard work is greatly appreciated. Enjoy the turkey, ham and all the trimmings that go with your holdiay meal. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the AGTV Network and as always if traveling be safe. Looking to forward to 2011.

Merry Chirstmas and Happy Holidays from the AGTV Network!

Do you follow news from the equine industry, this link maybe of intrest.http://www.united-horsemen.org/summit-of-the-horse/

The AGTV Network Have you visited YouTube to find AGTV Network video but were unable to them? Search for "contact2810" account. This issue is being worked on so finding the videos is easier. Link attached to make it easier. If you are unable to get to the videos please send an email to contact@agtvnetwork.com


http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=contact2810&aq=f

Extend your reach to the agriculture industry.

Want your VNR (video news release) posted through on the AGTV Network web site and our YouTube site. Get your press release posted on our social networking sites for even more reach to the agriculture industry.

Press Release from WY Business Council on Agriculture

Farmers, ranchers invited to compete in forage quality contest

CASPER – Wyoming farmers and ranchers are invited to enter forage samples in the World Ag Expo Forage Challenge quality contest.


All forage samples must be submitted to the University of California Davis for judging by Dec. 10, 2010. Cost to enter the 2011 World Ag Expo Forage Challenge is $25 per entry. The winner of the contest will be announced Feb. 8, 2011 at the World Ag Expo.


Entries will be judged in three categories: alfalfa hay, standard corn silage and brown mid-rib (BMR) corn silage. Cash prizes will be awarded based on forage lab analyses, along with a visual evaluation of the entries by experts in dairy nutrition and forage production.




Kelly Hinman from Wheatland, Wyo., won the first Ag Expo Forage Challenge last year.



For more information on the contest and to access an entry form, please visit http://www.worldagexpo.com/General-Info/Forage-Challenge.htm.





The contest is administered in part by UC Davis which coordinates the testing of the samples and educates producers about the benefits of producing high quality forages.


For more contest information call 800.999.9186 or email Kerissa Chapman at kerissa@farmshow.org.

The mission of the Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. The Business Council, a state government agency, concentrates its efforts on providing assistance for existing Wyoming companies and start-ups, helping communities meet their development and diversification needs, and recruiting new firms and industries targeted to complement the state’s assets. For more information, please visit www.wyomingbusiness.org.

The Monsanto video is an excellent example of how the AGTV Network will promote agriculture. Call (number on the web site) send an email (again information on web site) if you have a video that promotes agriculture. Additionally, angels and VC's contact us for more information on how AGTV Network works for agriculture.

Uploaded a video news release from Monsanto Fund about the America's Farmers Grow Communities program. Excellent example of how agriculture and communities work together. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si2UjHWIzF0