The Worth of Wool

By Julie Baber, Sustainable Food Trust

Many businesses and industries have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wool is no exception.

What is Efficient Farming, Really?

By Naomi Bosch, Plentiful Lands

In many parts of the world, we are now feeding ourselves through intensive, large-scale agriculture. But the price of this kind of agriculture might be too high. It is the price of losing our most precious good, fertile soil and an intact environment. We can do better than that.

Fine Fleece at Stone Steps Farm

By Amanda Fisk, Fibershed

The small goats and sheep are very easy on the land. Stone Steps Farm is participating in Fibershed’s soil sampling protocol, and the family hopes to implement grazing practices that sequester carbon and increase soil organic matter. They also aim to decrease wildfire risk by using their goats to clear brush that provides a fuel ladder, and by using their sheep to keep grasses down during fire season.

A History of Sheep Ranching at Madrone Coast Farm

By May Reid Marr, Fibershed

Alison is equally dedicated to breeding preservation, quality wool production, pasture management, community building, agricultural education, and being a business owner. She manages to attend to each priority with grace and aplomb.

Fully Engaged Farming at Sophie’s Icelandic Sheep

By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed

There is never a quiet season here. Even with the hoop houses cleared of their summer harvest and the small flock of Icelandic sheep fresh from a fall shearing, the farm is still rich with growth.

What about Wool?

By Julie Baber, Sustainable Food Trust

Wool, with its unique natural properties, is one of the most versatile and historically important materials, which can be used for everything from clothing to insulation.

Herdshare & Healthy Soil at Free Hand Farm

By Kalie llana Cassel-Feiss, Fibershed

Melissa and Spencer lease from the ARC now with the agreement that the land is to be maintained as a working farm. Melissa is excited about soil testing, so they can show the Conservancy how soil health, viewed through carbon content and soil organic matter, can improve over time with proper livestock management.

Transhumance: a Revival of Grassland Culture

By Ariel Greenwood, Fibershed

In California, there could not be a more relevant time to draw attention to the health of the open expanses of land surrounding our towns and cities.

An Ear to the Ground at Flying Mule Farm

By Sarah Lillegard, Fibershed

Arriving at Flying Mule Farm on the cusp of lambing season and on the heels of a snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the fields are damp with recent rain. Ewes and lambs call to each other and in the morning light. It’s easy to get sentimental about spaces like this where the animals match the rhythms of the land.

Natural Tanning with Vermont Natural Sheepskins

By Courtney Collins, Fibershed

The main difference between natural tanning and conventional tanning is that instead of relying on industrial chemicals that often contain carcinogens or heavy metals, organic processing uses imported tree bark that is estate grown (meaning cultivated for this purpose, as opposed to cutting down wild habitat).

Grazing At the Cutting Edge

By Erin Rae, Fibershed

Building off one another’s enthusiasm, the Irwins describe their model of ranching that pulls from agrarian traditions of the past and present to create diverse, resilient agricultural systems that are the engines for ecosystem restoration for our future.

Revitalizing Wool: One Dish Mat at a Time

By Sasha Wirth, Fibershed

Everything is either local or supports American-based enterprise. The wool, after all, is shorn directly from the sheep roaming the hillside below or comes from neighboring farms throughout the Pacific Northwest.