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.
Archive for December, 2010
29 Dec
New from WY Business Council
Wyoming Business Council
214 W.15th Street; Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Tel: (307) 777-2800 Fax: (307) 777-2838
For release: Dec. 29, 2010
For more information:
Kim Sears, Marketing and Public Relations
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2834
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.
25 Dec
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.
24 Dec
Do you follow news from the equine industry, this link maybe of intrest.http://www.united-horsemen.org/summit-of-the-horse/
