Idaho Wool Growers Association honors Life on the Range producer Steve Stuebner with 2024 Friend of the Industry Award

L-R, Mike Guerry, Steve Stuebner, Frank Shirts and Henry Etcheverry

NEWS RELEASE - For Immediate Release
Contact: Steve Stuebner, [email protected], 208-484-0295
Michael Guerry, Awards Chairman, Idaho Wool Growers Association, [email protected], 208-731-6653.

BOISE - (Nov. 5, 2024) - The Idaho Wool Growers Association honored PR professional Steve Stuebner, writer and producer of the "Life on the Range" video series for the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, with a Friend of the Industry award at its annual banquet on Saturday night.

"Steve has spent a large portion of his career promoting the sheep industry, and the individuals involved, for the accomplishments they have achieved," said Mike Guerry, a Castleford sheep and cattle rancher, and an officer for IWGA. The plaque for Steve says, "In recognition of your dedication to protect, promote and encourage the development of Idaho's sheep industry."

Over the last 15 years, Stuebner has produced many stories and videos about the Idaho sheep industry, including long-form feature video documentaries featuring iconic Idaho ranchers such as the late Bud Purdy from Picabo, the late John Peavey of Carey, and the late Phil Soulen of Weiser.

The Life on the Range video about Wilder rancher Frank Shirts, "A Year in the Life of Raising Sheep in Idaho," is the single most popular video published so far in the series with 965,000 views. Stuebner has produced more than 100 educational videos for Life on the Range since he and IRRC Executive Director Gretchen Hyde launched the series in 2010.

Stuebner also leads the PR effort to promote the annual sheep crossing on Idaho State Highway 55 in April each year. He works with Shirts, the Eagle Police, and the Treasure Valley media to coordinate the super popular event. Hundreds of people, especially families with children, line up along the road to see the sheep cross the busy 4-lane highway. Drone footage of the sheep crossing has been shared nationally on the NBC-TV Today show.

"It's been a great privilege to work with many of our Idaho range sheep producers over the years," Stuebner said in receiving the award Saturday night. "It's quite an education to realize all the work that goes into raising healthy bands of sheep that hike hundreds of miles through our deserts and mountains, following the green up to higher pastures.

"Ultimately it's been a great pleasure to have made friendships with these ranchers over the years, knowing that I have earned their trust by telling their story in a way that rings absolutely true. I have come to know that their land ethic and their love for the sheep goes right to their heart. It's part of their DNA."

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