Talk about change! As we approach our sixth year, I took some time to trace the history of this event. Anniversaries are not always what they seem and that is especially true of the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival: We’re really a bit older than we let on.

 

It began with a forward-thinking group of producers responding to a new initiative for the sheep industry called the Blueprint for Expansion, whose goal was to increase sheep numbers across the U.S. Sheep numbers did in fact increase in Wisconsin by 54%, thanks to this program and the efforts of the Blueprint committee. Soon, this group joined with the Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative to begin the Wisconsin Sheep Industry Conference, which grew to be the largest of its kind in the country. The year was 1979.

 

Today, the complexion of our industry has markedly changed from those early days. Simply put, we are more – much more than we ever could have imagined when the first conference convened almost three decades ago. While education is still key to our success, we have taken it to a new level with the Wonders of Wool fiber arts classes, our Skillathon and Sheep 101 workshops. And back then, who would have envisioned the Country Store, stock dog trials, used equipment auction, fleece show or five hundred head of sheep crowding the barns.

 

But some things don’t change: The real story is in the people who make events like ours happen. Thirty years ago it was all about volunteers who got the ball rolling and today we continue to rely upon people stepping up to get the job done.

 

When you come to the festival, look around you. In the crowd are the many volunteers that made your weekend at Jefferson a success story. Dedication - the kind only a volunteer can muster - breeds new ideas, enthusiasm, excitement and an industry that is just as viable today as in 1979. The Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival is about sheep and fiber, that’s true, but first and foremost it’s about people. So, no matter which anniversary comes to mind this year, celebrate the folks that make it happen!

 

 

 

Gary T. Klug

President,

Wisconsin Sheep Breeders Cooperative