To View the July 2025 Digital Issue — Click Here
Ben Lehfeldt, ASI President
For me, and for nearly all ASI members, our livelihood comes down to producer profitability. We have all been challenged for decades to find ways to make the balance sheet balance and the black shine a little brighter than the red. This is nothing new to farmers and ranchers and, unfortunately, especially not to sheep producers. Sheep producer profitability is influenced by a variety of factors, including market demand for wool and meat, feed costs, and breeding efficiency. Producers must carefully manage grazing practices and ensure the health of their flocks to optimize production while maintaining sustainable operations. Regionally, this can vary significantly across the US sheep industry. That often creates a struggle for national organizations, which must fight many individual battles that are vital to producers but differ across sheep-producing regions.
As a producer and ASI member, it is extremely important to not only work with ASI staff but, first and foremost, to contact your executive board representative. Your executive board has some very important upcoming decisions to make regarding ASI funds and how best to utilize those funds for the benefit of producers. The mix of private ownership in key infrastructure throughout both the lamb meat and wool processing production systems plays a large part in determining where the limited capital we have can be leveraged to help realize producer success. Please reach out to your Executive Board Representative to request a meeting. The officer team would be happy to provide an update on ASI priorities, and it would be very helpful to understand where we should be spending our time and money to work with and support your region.
Your officer team and ASI staff are working hard to provide our councils, committees, and executive board with all the details they may need to make important decisions on the Wool Trust budget and tools to help US producers compete with lamb imports. We have a budget-conscious mid-year meeting planned for July 14-15 in Denver, CO. This will be a very important meeting, making it essential that our priorities are aligned for success.
Communication will continue to be a focus of your officer team, and we will work diligently with staff to provide information through the executive board, councils, and committees. In Washington, we continue to highlight and seek champions for the lamb and wool industry in the legislature. To me, this is more important than ever, given the unpredictability across all segments of government. The reconciliation process and Farm Bill progress—or lack thereof—are continually being updated by our Cornerstone team. We must stay closely “attached” to those individual conversations in DC to ensure that at critical times the lamb and wool voice is heard and included in the package. We continue to work individually with leadership in both the House and Senate to secure the champions we need for the sheep industry.
Not only is it important to work as ASI, but it is just as important to have a consistent message passed through other respected organizations in DC. Please make sure to be a sheep champion within our sister organizations, like Farm Bureau, Farmers Union, NCBA, National Grazing Lands Coalition, PLC, and others. This is the anniversary of the meeting past president Brad Boner attended, hosted by the Livestock Marketing Association, where the goal was to bring issues from across agriculture to relay through our different organizations to help save ag production and family farms and ranches. This focus is even more important today. Please reach out to your ASI leaders and other ag organization leaders and help us get the message to consumers and elected officials — American Producer Profitability must be a priority. Thank you to all our ASI staff, member state staffs, and all sheep industry volunteers for their time. Enjoy Summer!
Expected Seasonal Headwinds Going into the Summer
As the industry works its way into the summer months, prices in most of the lamb segments are turning to the expected seasonal/annual lows. Additionally, the industry, much like all other proteins industries, is experiencing volatility due to international trade uncertainty.
Retail
In the first week of June, the USDA retail reports showed steady featuring rate percentages at approximately 22.5 percent. The feature rate is the amount of sampled stores advertising any reported item during a current week, expressed as a “percentage” of the total stores (24,824) sampled. For reference, in March, the feature rate was around 10 percent. The Northeast region (CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT) and the Southeast region (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV) both have higher featuring rates of 27.3 percent and 33.4 percent, respectively. This indicates that stores are finding value in featuring lamb products in the meat case. Additionally, the national activity rate in the first week of June was at 7,346. The activity rate is a measure of the absolute frequency of feature activity equal to the total number of stores for each advertised item (i.e. retailer with 200 outlets featuring 3 items has an activity index of 600). For reference, in March, the national activity rate was at 2,753. Thus, this is additional information showing that stores are finding value in putting lamb in the meat case and nudging consumers to lamb.
Wholesale
Through 2025, the lamb cutout value averaged $459.93 per cwt. For the same period in 2024, the lamb cutout value averaged $471.91 per cwt. While the lamb cutout is averaging $11.98 per cwt. lower this year compared to 2024, the cutout value is averaging $27.14 per cwt. higher for the same period compared to the previous five-year average ($432.78 per cwt.). In 2024, the cutout value trended lower in the second half of the year, which landed 2024 cutout values to be on par with the previous five-year average. Given last year’s trends and seasonal expectations this year, prices will likely trend the same way and become on par, or lower, than the previous five-year average.
As for the primal cuts, rack (8-Rib, light) prices continue to remain high at $1,228.13 per cwt. in the first week of June. Through 2025, rack prices have averaged $1,192.13 per cwt. which is $61.10 per cwt. higher than last year’s average ($1,131.03 per cwt.) over the same period, and $74.46 per cwt. higher than the previous five-year average ($1,117.67 per cwt.) for the same period. Given the retail reports, racks have been averaging $15.99 per pound and holding steady. This suggests strong demand from the retail segment is supporting rack prices at the wholesale level.
Slaughter
Through the first week of June, weekly lamb and yearling slaughter is averaging 35,500 head per week. Total lamb and yearling slaughter on the year is approximately 746,638 head. Compared to last year, total slaughter is 3.2 percent higher for the same period. Through 2025, lamb dressed weights have averaged 64.1 pounds, which is 1.2 pounds heavier than last year for the same period. Compared to the previous five-year average, current dressed weights are averaging 2.7 pounds lighter. Total lamb production (number of head slaughtered multiplied by dressed weight) year-to-date is 5.1 percent larger compared to last year but 2.1 percent lower than the previous five-year average. Weekly slaughter numbers are expected to seasonally decline this summer.
Prices
Feeder lamb prices (60- to 90-pound) in the three-market average (CO, TX, SD) surged in the first quarter of the year. At the start of 2025, prices were $255.92 per cwt., peaked at $345 per cwt. in February, and since then, have trended lower to $250.50 per cwt. in the first week of June. Through 2025, feeder lamb prices in these markets averaged $283.84 per cwt., which is $1.27 per cwt. lower compared to the same period in 2024, but $59.39 per cwt. higher compared to the previous five-year average, for the same period.
For 60- to 90-pound slaughter lambs, the three-market (CO, TX, SD) prices have had some volatility with prices being $216 per cwt. in February and peaks of prices at $294.10 per cwt. in May. In the first week of June, prices were at $199.96 per cwt. These price swings induce risk for both buyers and sellers in this market. In heavier weights, New Holland, PA prices have had steady increases throughout the year. In February, prices were $218 per cwt. and steadily increased to $361.96 per cwt. in May. Given that these animal’s dressed weights are above the average dressed weights, and prices are increasing, these signals suggest strong demand for lamb products and total volume.
Through 2025, negotiated slaughter lamb prices averaged $169.55 per cwt. and were $171.27 per cwt. in the first week of June. These prices are underwhelming when compared to last year ($201.61 per cwt.), but they are slightly lower than the previous five-year average ($170.14 per cwt.). I expect these prices to increase due to seasonality trends, but the question becomes how high. Fundamentals suggest that they still have $10-$15 per cwt. of vertical movement.
Trade
In the latest trade data, U.S. imports of lamb and mutton, for April, totaled 30.58 million pounds. Mutton imports accounted for 6 percent of total imports. April’s total import volume remained relatively steady with March’s total import volume (30.43 million pounds) and was approximately 500,000 pounds (2 percent) lower than the April 2024 import volume. The steady March and April volumes come after the 20.4-million-pound volume in February (lowest since June 2023). The May trade report will be interesting to follow because it will provide insights into the impact, if any, on import volume due to the trade disputes.
U.S. lamb and mutton exports totaled .604 million pounds, with Mexico accounting for 43 percent of U.S. lamb and mutton exports. A surprise destination for U.S. exports in April was the Netherlands, which made up 12 percent of export volume. Additionally, the product that was exported to the Netherlands was all mutton. Given the uncertainty of the international trade market, the Netherlands as a destination for U.S. lamb and mutton product will be interesting to monitor in the coming months. The total value of exports for April was $3.2 million, which was $159,000 lower than March.
Wool
As I write this in the first week of June, the wool market has had steady to lower movement in prices. The Australian Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) peaked at 1250 AUcents/kg ($3.61 per pound clean basis) in the middle of March which was the highest since May 2023 (1,310 AUcents/kg), and the highest in U.S. dollar terms since January 2024 ($3.70 per pound clean basis). In the first week of June the EMI is at 1,199 AUcents/kg and has been oscillating around 1,200 AUcents/kg the preceding six weeks. When converted to U.S. dollars per pound, in the first week of June, the EMI price was at $3.51 per pound clean basis.
The theme across all wool prices is that they have been steady to lower depending on micron, when compared to last year. For the month of May, prices for fine wool (micron 16.5-19) saw steady to incremental increases, with 17-micron starting in June at US$5.04 per pound, 18-micron at US$4.82 per pound, and 19-micron being US$4.61 per pound. In medium wools (micron 19.5-24), 20-micron (US$4.41 per pound), 21-micron (US$4.34 per pound), and 22-micron (US$4.24 per pound), prices have trended up on the year and gained since the first week of January. In coarser wools (micron 25-32), prices have remained steady for the last couple months, with 25-micron starting in June at US$2.34 per pound, which is a US$0.20 per pound increase since January.
One of the rarities in the first three weeks of May was the reporting of domestic prices in the USDA National Wool Review report! In the first week of May, 794,894 pounds of wool (50 percent clean basis, 50 percent greasy basis) was sold, in the second week 98,933 pounds (30 percent clean basis, 70 percent greasy basis) was sold, followed by 109,675 pounds (80 percent clean basis, 20 percent greasy basis) in the third week of May. USDA reported 35,349 pounds (100 percent greasy basis) sold in the first week of June. 20-micron wool had the highest price at US$3.28 per pound in the third week of May, which is 80 cents lower (20 percent lower) compared to the EMI converted price.
Outlook
Prices have started to hit the expected seasonal downturn with some prices trending below the previous five-year averages. Depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller, these prices could be positive or negative. Regardless of a person’s role in the supply chain, profitability margins are becoming thin. Producers and feeders have high input prices, and as we get ready for the summer/fall run, risk management should be thought about, along with value added opportunities.
In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to protect U.S. producers from a New World Screwworm (NWS) incursion by closing the U.S.-Mexico border to cattle, bison, and horses from Mexico. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also announced the USDA is investing $21 million to renovate an existing fruit fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico to further the long-term goal of eradicating this insect.
Endemic to Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and countries in South America, the NWS fly has recently been detected in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador and Mexico. The pest was eradicated from the U.S. in 1966 and eliminated as far south as Panama by 2000. In 2022, the pest re-emerged north of the biological barrier in Panama and has steadily moved north through Central America and Mexico.
While typically endemic to warmer climates (the larvae cannot survive in temperatures below 46 degrees Fahrenheit), a cold climate doesn’t eliminate the threat. Livestock and wildlife movement can transfer NWS to the northern regions of the country in the summer months where they can find hosts and spread until temperatures cool off during fall and winter. The pest does not discriminate between warm-blooded hosts, and wildlife, such as deer and even birds, can be infested. NWS spreads by flies, not from animal-to-animal. If left untreated, NWS infestations can be fatal. Animals usually die of trauma, toxicity, or other infections within two weeks.
Previous eradication was accomplished by using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). SIT is the release of mass-produced sterile male flies in strategic areas. The sterile male flies mate with wild females, who mate only once in their lifetime, to produce unfertilized eggs. This eventually shrinks the wild population until the pest is eradicated. Currently, the only sterile fly production facility in the world is in Panama.
While SIT is the only tool available to eradicate NWS, there are options for treatment once NWS is detected. Treatment involves killing and removing the larvae from the infested wound. Ivermectin has been successful in treating and even preventing NWS infestations. The larvae can also be killed by dressing an infested wound with topical larvicides. All wounds must be dressed to promote healing and avoid reinfestation.
After NWS was discovered in the Mexican state of Chiapas in November 2024, USDA established a buffer zone for fly control, and the Panama SIT production facility had enough capacity (about 100 million flies per week) to release sterile
Sheep producers are used to viewing the National Make It With Wool Contest each year at the ASI Annual Convention, but the MIWW program has developed three new contests in 2025 for those who enjoy working with wool.
The new contests will be in addition to regular state and national contests hosted by the organization, and will require contestants to submit photos in the first stage of competition. Finalists will then be asked to submit their finished pieces for judging.
Here’s a look at the three new contests:
SWEATER CONTEST
The MIWW Sweater Contest will be held in two stages. Stage 1 will be judged on the total look that you create with the sweater that you have made. Marketability and fashion will be taken into consideration during this portion of the contest. Stage 2 – if you are selected as part of the top 10 – will be judged on the construction of the sweater itself. The placings of the top 10 will be determined by both the total look and sweater construction.
The entry fee is $15. Contestants must submit a maximum of three photos along with the entry form to [email protected] by the Nov. 1 deadline. Sweaters may be any pattern, but must be knit or crochet (machine knit items will not be accepted). Sweaters should have sleeves and may have button, toggle, zipper or other closures up the front or back. The sweater should stop at top length as dresses will not be accepted. Shawls, capes and ponchos should not be entered in this category.
The top 10 will be notified by email and must submit their sweaters for judging. Sweaters will be judged on the construction of the sweater itself. The top 10 will be placed based on total look and construction scores.
The top three sweaters will be kept and put on display at the National Make it with Wool Contest and ASI Annual Convention in Reno, Nev., in January 2026. Sweaters will be mailed back after the completion of the convention along with score sheets.
RECYCLE-UPCYCLE CONTEST
The MIWW Recycle-Upcycle contest is for those who can think outside the box or dig into one and find a new way to use wool sweaters, garments or accessories.
The Recycle–Upcycle contest will be held in two stages. Stage 1 will be judged on the total look that you have created from your recycled piece to the upcycled piece. Marketability and fashion sense will be taken into consideration during this stage. You will also be asked to tell the story of your recycle to upcycle journey for your entry.
If you are selected to be part of the top 10 from Stage 1, you will have to mail your piece in for consideration. Judging will be on the construction of the upcycle piece itself. The placings of the top 10 in Stage 2 will be determined by the total look and the construction used in the upcycle process.
Fibers of recycled pieces must test at 60 percent or more natural fiber (cashmere, wool, alpaca, angora, etc.). The fee to enter is $15, and must be sent to contest chair Amanda Powell by the Nov. 1 entry deadline.
In the first stage, contestants will submit a maximum of four photos to the contest along with the appropriate entry form completed. Photos and entry form will all be submitted through email. Send entries to [email protected]. Submitting more than four photos will be an automatic disqualification. The top 10 from Stage 1 will be notified by email that they have been selected for the next phase. For this round, the upcycled project will be judged on the construction. The finished project will be mailed to the contest chair by the deadline for judging, which is Dec. 1. The top 10 will be placed based on the total look and construction scores.
The top three entries will be kept and put on display at the National Make It With Wool contest and ASI Annual Convention in Reno, Nev., in January 2026. Entries will be mailed back after the completion of the convention.
PRODUCER TO CRAFTER CONTEST
This contest is specifically designed to help recognize the producers of these incredible fibers and products, and will help to connect the fiber producers with the contestants to increase the knowledge and appreciation of this incredible industry.
The entry fee is $15. Fiber, yarn or fabric used must come directly from a producer – ideally within your state – and must be listed in your entry form. Fiber, yarn or fabric must be 60 percent or more natural fiber (cashmere, wool, alpaca, angora, etc.).
Stage 1 will be judged on the overall presentation of the project that you have created from your fiber. Marketability will be taken into consideration during this stage. You will also be asked to submit information about the producer you acquired your fiber from. Contestants should submit the entry form and no more than four photos to Katy Lente at [email protected]. Submitting more than four photos will be an automatic disqualification from the contest.
If you are selected to be part of the top 10 from Stage 1, your project will be judged on the construction of the created piece itself. The top three entries will be kept and put on display at the National Make It With Wool contest and ASI Annual Convention in Reno, Nev., in January 2026. Entries will be mailed back after the completion of the convention.
The deadline for entry forms, photos and fees for all contests is Nov. 1, and anyone selected for the top 10 in each category must mail their completed project to the appropriate contest organizer by Dec. 1. Contestants will be responsible for postage to and from the contest. Contestants must include a return postage label in their package. Failure to do so will result in an automatic disqualification.
Cash prizes are sponsored by ReSynergy and Backyard Green Films. For complete rules and entry information, contestants can visit MakeItWithWool.com.
Mike Clark gets emotional when he talks about trailing sheep off Cedar Mountain to the valley just west of Cedar City, Utah. He’s a fourth-generation rancher who likes walking in the footsteps of his ancestors and has vowed to preserve that path for his son and grandson.
The problem is Main Street in Cedar City has changed a lot in Clark’s 62 years. Traffic where the street – which runs the length of the city – intersects I-15 on the city’s south side constantly backs up as motorists look to access Walmart to the west of the interstate and several hotels to the east. The modern-day diverging diamond intersection that runs underneath the interstate is constantly jammed with cars, but the fall brings a new demand as a handful of sheep flocks head off the mountain toward winter ranges in the valley to the west.
While they can be hauled by truck to the mountain each spring, fall snowstorms mean trailing the old-fashioned way is still the most reliable option for bringing sheep off the mountain. But a growing, non-agrarian population doesn’t always tolerate the inconvenience of thousands of sheep storming the busy intersection.
“They’re trying to kick me out, but I’m not leaving,” said Clark. “Pretty soon we’ll be standing here wondering how we’re going to get from Point A to Point B.”
The irony of the situation is that sheep called Iron County, Utah, home long before anyone in the state even knew what a car was. Cedar City’s biggest annual attraction is the Cedar Livestock Festival, which is dedicated to the sheep. Thousands of people line Main Street for a parade that culminates with a local flock. They cheer the animals’ arrival, and a day later curse their existence as they trail through the town’s busiest intersection. Half the roads in town carry a “Designated Livestock Trail” label, but that does little to stem the ongoing debate between city residents and the ranching families that built the area from nothing in the past century.
“Sheep were first brought to the Cedar City area in November 1862 by the Willden family, who later moved to Beaver,” according to Utah Historical Quarterly. “They had ten head. As fast as others could get hold of them, every family acquired one or more to produce the wool that was needed to spin the family clothing. They were valued as high as thirty dollars a head.”
Francis Webster – whose descendants still run sheep in the area – was an early leader in the town and regularly shipped sheep and wool to markets in Chicago. He is immortalized with a statue on Main Street in a prime spot for watching the annual parade. But the substantial history of sheep in the area does little to resolve the modern-day conflicts.
This is the story of three ranchers who are looking to preserve a bit of that history – as well as their livelihoods – in Iron County.
THE CLARKS
Clark runs 6,000 ewes with his sister, Nancy, in a traditional Western range operation. He employs Peruvian and Navajo herders, as well as his son and others in the community.
“We just take it one day at a time, and hope we can pay the bills,” he said. “I’m at the lamb buyer’s mercy, but I guess this is all I know how to do. I’d like my kids and grandkids to have the same opportunities I had. I don’t have a lot of fancy, frilly stuff, but I’ve got a house and a good family, and that’s all I need.”
While Clark doesn’t see his sheep much once they head to the mountain in the summer, he’s as hands-on as any large-scale sheep producer during the lambing season. His home is just five miles from the lambing barn he built nearly five years ago, but he moves into a sheep wagon parked next to the barn for the entirety of the lambing season.
“I start at 4 o’clock in the morning and if I’m done by midnight then I’m doing good,” he said. “But I just love lambing. During that time, I can see nearly every sheep I own from this place, and I really like seeing the sheep every day. Once they go to the mountain, I don’t see them much until they come home in the fall. I’ve got some great help that takes care of things up on the mountain.”
The lambing barn came about due to an early inheritance from Mike and Nancy’s parents.
“My mother said, ‘If you want it now and can spend it wisely, then you can have it now. But if you’re just going to blow it, then you have to wait until I die,’” Clark recalled. “So, we had the building built and brought her out here to show her the building. I said, this is what your money did for us, and she said, ‘I thought you were going to spend that money wisely and not for a damn lambing shed.’”
Clark’s dad and uncle passed the operation onto their children, but Clark’s cousins weren’t interested in running a sheep outfit. Lawsuits followed in sorting out the business and Clark said the judge told him he “had an addiction worse than heroine.”
“But I’ve been here a long time and these sheep have been here a long time and I don’t want to see that go out the window,” he said.
The commercial flock is an eclectic mix that is typical for Western range operations. The flock is Rambouillet-based, with Merinos and Targhee among the group, as well. Suffolks serve as terminal sires, but there’s a bit of Hampshire breeding in some of the rams, as well. He looks for ewes who can regularly raise twins and triplets and estimates his lambing percentage to be in the 175- to 180-percent range. Most of his lambs end up at Harper Feeders in Colorado.
“My family has done pretty well for themselves in the sheep business, and if it works, why change it,” he asked? “It’s hard to change things sometimes. But I know we need to change some things. People don’t know where their food comes from anymore. They go to Albertsons or Costco and that’s where food comes from. They have no idea what it takes to get it there.”
SCOTT STUBBS
Based in Parowan, Utah – just north of Cedar City – rancher Scott Stubbs was surprised to learn he’d been selected as grand marshal of the Cedar Livestock Festival in 2024. That’s an honor reserved for “old guys,” and in his mind at least, he’s a long way from reaching that qualification. The gray hair on his head, however, tells a different story.
“I’m just a kid compared to some of those guys,” he joked, admitting that people he went to high school with seem to have gotten old. “I think I still look the same.”
Regardless of his age, the rancher has moved into the role of trusted leader among sheep producers in southern Utah. He serves on the board of directors of the Public Lands Council and works to keep public lands open to Western ranchers. Stubbs’ operation is dependent on public lands as his 2,000-plus ewes run on more than 100,000 acres of federal and state lands in addition to some private ground that he leases.
“I’ve been doing this for 36 years and I haven’t gotten a gold watch or nothing,” he joked again. “This is a terrible outfit to work for. When I was first out of high school, I worked for a guy who ran cattle in Cedar City. I ran some of my own sheep the whole time I worked with him, and he understood that I wanted to run my own operation. Some days, I wonder what I was thinking. But it’s been a good life for me and my family.”
Like Clark, Stubbs runs a commercial flock with an eclectic breeding mix. There’s some Polypays out there along with Columbia, but more recently he’s transitioned to Merinos and Rambouillets. And yeah, there’s a few Targhees there, as well.
Stubbs laments the current lack of sheep in the area.
“My grandpa told me that at one time, there used to be a shearing shed out here on my winter range and there was 100,000 sheep from Parowan sheared out there. Now, we don’t have 10,000 sheep left in the whole valley. It’s kind of sad to me. I feel like the consumption of lamb is there to support more sheep in this country. We just can’t compete with the imports.”
CLARK & RUTH WEBSTER
Working for a paving company in Nevada, Clark Webster might not seem like the typical Utah sheep producer. But he’s from well-known stock in these parts as his grandfathers on both sides of the family ran sheep in the area.
Along with his wife, Ruth, he’s started C&R Farms in Cedar City. The couple are looking to supplement their traditional sheep income with some direct marketing of lamb both online and at farmer’s markets. Amber Kay’s Café on Cedar City’s south side – at the congested intersection mentioned earlier – offers burgers made from the couple’s ground lamb.
“We’re still just getting into all of that,” Webster said. “The biggest share of ours still go to the sale barn. It will be a slow growth, but hopefully over the next five years we’re able to keep back several hundred to grow this market.”
The couple has multiple harvest facilities it can work with in the process, but said it’s always difficult to juggle slaughter dates and keep fresh product available for consumers.
“We started with 12 sheep that we bought at auction in 1994,” Webster said. “We had a herd of blackface, but we couldn’t get them to stay on the mountain. They were smarter and more athletic than whiteface sheep. They went over cattle guards and jumped fences.”
The current flock looks more like the traditional Western range ewe. In fact, they purchased a 100 head of Targhees out of Wyoming last fall hoping to walk that fine line between producing quality lamb and good wool while also lambing 175 percent or more each year.
“We pasture our sheep on a few mountain ranges throughout Cedar City, Kanarraville and a few valleys throughout southern Utah. They are fed on over 30 different varieties of plants and grass, thus giving the lambs a ‘farm flavor’ that is second to none.”
MOVING FORWARD
Like many areas of the United States, southern Utah’s battle between development and agriculture will continue in the years to come. Ranchers such as the Clarks, the Stubbs, the Websters and countless others have at times been the public face of that battle as they work to preserve their way of life.
Cedar City has chosen to honor the role sheep played in its past through the immensely popular Cedar Livestock Festival. The question is, will the city and its growing residential population allow sheep to play a role in the area’s future?
EMMA JOAN JARVIS, 1934-2025
Emma Joan Hansen Jarvis passed away peacefully from natural causes on May 16, 2025. She was born Dec 10, 1934, to Heber Eugene and Donna Creer Hansen. She attended the Benjamin Schools and graduated from Spanish Fork High School and LDS Seminary in 1953.
She married Lee Jarvis in the LDS Manti Temple on April 2, 1953. Six children joined the family in the next seven years: Vicki (Dale) Jackson, Sherri (Richard) Pitts, Cathi Jarvis, Mark (Linda) Jarvis, Matt (Sandra) Jarvis, Jill (Mark) Olsen. The couple had 21 grandkids, 70 great grandkids and six great-great grandchildren. Siblings included: Karen (Bruce) Anderson, Janet (Lewis) Marrott and Kim (Patt) Hansen. She was preceded in death by her parents; her in-laws, Leon and Lucilla Jarvis; her brother, Ted (Darlene) Hansen, and granddaughter, Jenny Marie Olsen.
She loved to ride horses and served as a rodeo queen at several rodeos, including Fiesta Days, Strawberry Days, Lehi Roundup and the Benjamin Rodeo. Joan loved people. She was a friend to everyone she met and she loved to visit. She met with a group of high school friends twice a month for more than 60 years. She and Lee were part of a stockshow booster group known as the Lamb Chop Club for more than 50 years.
She was appointed by the Governor of Utah to serve on the Century Farm Board and she was active in the Wool Growers Auxiliary and served as the state Make It With Wool director. She was a 4-H Leader for sewing, cooking and horsemanship. She was an excellent seamstress and made most of her six children’s clothing. She hand-quilted quilts for each of her grandchildren and made embroidered baby quilts for the great grandkids.
She worked at the World Drug and Nebo Animal Clinic, where she made many lasting friendships. She worked by her husband’s side building Jarvis Sheep Company. They enjoyed traveling together for more than 70 years to sheep shows and conventions all over the United States.
She was an excellent cook and no one ever left her home without a meal or a special treat. She canned fruits and vegetables every fall and filled her pantry shelves. She and Lee enjoyed the summers she spent in Soda Springs, Idaho, at their sheep ranch.
Many thanks to Bonnie Ballard Valdez and the iCare Hospice team. They, along with the staff at Spring Gardens, were a blessing to Joan and her family during this time.
Services were conducted at the Palmyra LDS Church in Spanish Fork, Utah, on May 23.