The key to success to is start before your ready or even know it. That is exactly what our June Women of Wool feature did. Carolyn Bitner jumped in feet first when she married Brian Bitner, a 4th generation rancher, and became part of a ranching family. She was baptized by fire when, as a newlywed, her new husband cut up a mutton on their kitchen table. There isn’t much she hasn’t done after being in the industry for over 40 years from keeping everyone fed to nursing lambs ba

“One day you will look back & see that all along you were blooming!” This quote is very fitting as our May Women of Wool feature, Nellie Aagard Stephensen shares her heritage with us! Nellie was born and raised in Fountain Green, Utah to a 3rd generation sheep rancher. Her parents are the late John Howarth and Mary Fox Aagard. Nellie is the 5th of 7 children. She has been involved with sheep her entire life. It all began in the year of 1880 when her great, great, Grandfathe

Our April “Women of Wool” feature is the one and only Kim Gibby Wilde. Kim grew up along the Wasatch Front with no interest in or even an idea of the importance of agriculture. For her the shelves of the grocery store always had plenty of food and the origin of that food required no further thought. When Kim’s parents contemplated a move to Preston, Idaho during her teenage years, she adamantly refused to move to the boonies. She envisioned herself doomed to marry what she co

When Dusty Hootie Roche thinks of his wife and our March Women of Wool Feature, Chrissi Nicholas Roche, four or five things come to mind when it refers to ranching. 1. Her packing panels while 9-months pregnant putting them back on the trailer with a swift creek coming through the middle of the corrals and falling in with the panel on top of her & her belly. 2. Moving cows on a hot summer day running out of water ourselves and parting the wasp & bees dead on top of the water

February = ❤️ and this months Women of Wool feature is one we all ❤️! UWGA Executive Director Sierra Robinson Nelson was lucky enough to be born into a sheep ranching family in Northwest Colorado. Her ancestral ties to farming and ranching come from diverse places including the Carolinas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Scotland, England, and finally southern Utah. Her great-grandfather left his home in Paragoonah, Utah and set out for the wilds of Western Colorado in 1921, finally sett

Let’s start the New Year off with a new Women of Wool feature. Angie Jorgensen is the daughter of Jack and Francell Steck, she grew up in Ephraim Utah and was the 5th of 7 children. She and her family raised a few pigs, rabbits, sheep and cows when they were growing up. She was always fond of the animals, and loved helping her dad with them whenever she could. She always loved horses, and she was the 2nd Attendant in the Sanpete County Rodeo Royalty. In High School she partic

Our December Women of Wool feature is Angie Garrett Jensen. Angie is the wife of Lane Jensen. Together, they run Eph Jensen Livestock. They have 3 summer bands and run in Cache and Weber Counties on the family Summer Range and also have forest service permits in Wasatch County by Hanna. They are the proud parents of 4 children. Cooper Carl (20), Madelaine Kate (12), Sophia Ruth (10), and Caleb Eph (8). Lane is a 3rd generation rancher. Angie grew up in the country side but d

Our November Women of Wool feature is Sherri Jarvis Pitts. Sherri grew up in Palmyra, UT on a sheep ranch. She spent all the time she could outside working the sheep & numerous other farm chores. Sherri enjoyed the farm/ranch life except when they thinned the sugar beets. She was very active in 4-H participating in sewing, cooking, sheep, steers, knitting and horse clubs. When she got married she moved to a cattle ranch in Axtell, UT, but she always missed the sheep. Her chil