Category: Topics

Livestock Conservancy: Sheep Shearing Video – How and Why

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The Livestock Conservancy is thrilled to announce the release of our short film, How to Shear Sheep & Why It’s Important. Directed by Jody Shapiro, the compelling 12-minute film showcases the beautiful dance between sheep and shearer, the importance of sheep shearing to the health and well-being of sheep, and the impact that Slow Fashion and local wool have on the economy and local community.

Watch How to Shear a Sheep & Why video

The film begins with an introduction by Dr. Temple Grandin, award-winning author, animal welfare advocate, and Lifetime Member of The Livestock Conservancy. Throughout the film, viewers will

  • Meet expert shearers and rare breed sheep
  • Learn tips on the best way to shear humanely, including preparing sheep for shearing and best tools for the job
  • Understand why shearing is important for the health of the sheep
  • Watch the art of humane sheep shearing
  • Discover how you can support a sustainable industry and help save rare sheep breeds from extinction. (Hint – it’s by supporting those that raise them, shear them, and make products from their fiber)
We hope that after watching this film, you will feel an appreciation for the art of humane sheep shearing and why it is so vital to the health of sheep. Please watch and share this video with your communities. We need your help spreading the word about why shearing is an important part of conserving rare breeds!

To learn more about our work with rare breeds and why conserving them is important for maintaining biodiversity and food security, visit our website at https://livestockconservancy.org/.

Thank you to Isabella Rossellini, Executive Producer of the film and Ambassador for The Livestock Conservancy for her generous gift that made this project possible. 

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The Livestock Conservancy is a national non-profit membership organization working to protect more than 150 breeds of livestock and poultry from extinction.

Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Initiative
Interested in helping save rare breed sheep from extinction? Want to support shearers, shepherds, and the slow fashion movement? Sign up as a Fiber Artist to craft for a cause. This initiative encourages knitters, spinners, weavers, felters, and other crafters to use fiber from rare breed sheep in their projects. Using their wool puts sheep back to work on farms across the U.S. Enroll online at https://livestockconservancy.org/get-involved/shave-em-to-save-em/

Why is genetic diversity important?

Like all ecological systems, agriculture depends on genetic diversity to adapt to an ever-changing environment. Genetic diversity in domestic animals is revealed in distinct breeds, each with different characteristics and uses. Traditional, historic breeds retain essential attributes for survival and self-sufficiency – fertility, foraging ability, longevity, maternal instincts and resistance to disease and parasites. As agriculture changes, this genetic diversity may be needed for a broad range of uses and opportunities. Once lost, genetic diversity is gone forever.

What are Heritage Breeds?

Heritage breeds are livestock and poultry breeds raised by our forefathers. These breeds were carefully selected and bred over time to develop traits that made them well-adapted to the local environment and they thrived under farming practices and cultural conditions that are very different from those found in modern agriculture.

Heritage animals once roamed America’s pastoral landscape, but today these breeds are in danger of extinction. Modern agriculture has changed, causing many of these breeds to fall out of favor. Heritage breeds store a wealth of genetic resources that are important for our future and the future of our agricultural food system.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emily Rose Johnson
ERJohnson@LivestockConservancy.org
(919) 542-5704

Editor’s Notes:

Watch video and learn more at https://livestockconservancy.org/resources/how-to-shear-a-sheep-and-why/

Photos and interviews available upon request.

Finish the Fight Against Scrapie: Brains Needed!

The United States is nearing the goal line after a 70 year battle against scrapie, a fatal disease that affects the brain of sheep and goats. Sheep and goat producers can help the USDA achieve this goal. The current program has been very successful to drastically reduce the amount of scrapie in the US. One of the most difficult aspects of an eradication program is making sure that the last few cases of the disease are found.

The most recent two cases of scrapie found in the US were sampled at slaughter but could not be traced back to a farm origin. One of these cases was a sheep in Wisconsin in 2021 and another was a goat tested in Indiana in 2019. Because these animals did not have adequate records and identification to find where they came from, it is likely there are still farms with cases of scrapie. For a country to be declared free of scrapie, international standards require a certain level of testing among all sheep and goat populations within a country. No samples can test positive for classical scrapie. The samples we need to test are brain and a lymph node.

Each year every state is given a minimum number of samples to be collected based on the breeding sheep and goat populations. This assures sampling represents the different populations. In fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023), NJ needs to sample 31 mature (>18 months) sheep and 23 mature goats. As of the end of December we only collected 2 sheep samples and 1 goat sample. We continue to ask for help from our New Jersey small ruminant industry to obtain these samples.   If a producer has an adult sheep or goat that dies, that must be euthanized, or is being culled please contact USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services at 609-241-2236.  There is no charge for the collection or testing of the samples.  Producers may be eligible for official plastic tags as long as our supplies last.

Submitted by:
Linda A. Detwiler, DVM
Veterinary Medical Officer
Sheep And Goat Health Team
Ruminant Health Center

Linda.Detwiler@usda.gov
609.738.5511

2020 Election Results

 

Candidate: Trustees  (3 Year Term 2020-2022)
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Thomas Chenal: 25 votes (50.0%)
Royal Unziger: 25 votes (50.0%)

Royal Unziger and Thomas Chenal win with 50.0% of the vote each.

Details:

Started at: December 19, 2019 at 5:00pm
Finished at: January 16, 2020 at 11:45pm
Time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada)

18 of 46 ballots cast.

28.0 of 71.0 votes cast.

Weighted Ballots Used (Family Members 2 votes each, Personal Members 1 vote each)

Votes tallied: 50.0
Abstentions: 2

Livestock Conservancy Shave Em to Save Em Campaign

Rules

Although not mentioned in the rules, providers (which must be Livestock Conservancy members) can not sell conservation breed wool that is not from their own animals (per correspondence with the Livestock Conservancy late 2018).

Fiber Artists:

This is a great program to help save rare breeds of sheep and also to learn more about the characteristics of their fiber.  Even if you don’t pursue the program you can search through our member listings to locate those near you who are raising rare breeds on the Livestock Conservancy lists.  By purchasing products from them you are also helping to preserve these rare breeds.  For a list of breeds see the next 2 links below.

Heritage Sheep Breeds List by Conservation Priority Status (annually updated web page)

Flyer for Providers Promoting Program to Fiber Artists

For full info see the Livestock Conservancy website:  http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/involved/internal/SE2

 

Hidden Powers of a Sheep

Nice article in the winter issue of Craftsman Quarterly:

https://craftsmanship.net/the-hidden-powers-of-a-sheep/

Judith Schwartz writes about the people who are trying to turn around the near disappearance of American wool processing within the United States.  Ecological reasons for keeping sheep (they contribute to carbon sequestrian if pastures are managed correctly), natural dying,  and efforts to make  American wool products competitive (based on value not on cost) with Chinese products made from American wool.

Experience Wool Now on YouTube

The American Wool Council has provided fans of the all-natural fiber with a new way to Experience Wool through the creation of a YouTube page. The page currently hosts three videos produced by Brand Juice in the past year to market American wool to a wide variety of consumers.

The videos were shown on multiple occasions during the American Sheep Industry Association Annual Convention last month in New Orleans, and can now be shared from the YouTube page by producers looking to promote American wool and its many benefits.

In The Luxurious Fiber, a narrator explains that the “Fabric designers choose first to achieve pure elegance, absolute luxury and unmatched style” is American wool.

The High Performance Fiber is aimed at more demanding users and offers, “There’s one time-tested, expedition-proven material you can count on. One fabric for four seasons. Experience the confidence of American wool.”

Natural and Sustainable promotes what might be the fiber’s greatest trait. “What this miracle becomes is infinitely remarkable, versatile, beautiful and in the end, sustainable.”

If you haven’t seen them yet, check out the videos. Share them with your friends, family and clients, and help the American Wool Council in promoting this natural, renewable, sustainable fiber that is perfect for any occasion in any season.

Access the YouTube Channel:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhONGmym_OM8ZWxPqw9Fag

For more information on American wool, visit AmericanWool.org or follow Experience Wool on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Source: ASI Weekly February 8, 2019

Links Update February 1, 2024

‘Shop local’ drives sales of American-made yarn

The decline of the American textile industry began after World War II

PUBLISHED ON 

In recent years, however, there’s been a slow-growing demand for wool yarn that’s completely produced in the United States, from sheep to skein, said knitting and wool industries expert Clara Parkes. (Lindsay Wilson, Flickr/Creative Commons)

EAST JORDAN, Mich. — It began when Debbie McDermott allowed her daughter Jamie to raise two sheep for a 4-H project. Eventually, her 165-year-old farm was transformed into a successful, family-run, custom fiber processing mill.

McDermott’s Stonehedge Fiber Mill, which opened in 1999 in East Jordan, Michigan, now produces more than 700 pounds of yarn monthly for customers in 38 states and Canada. It produces an additional 15,000 pounds monthly for its personal lines of yarn, including Shepherd’s Wool, which is milled and dyed in-house before it’s shipped and sold in about 300 shops.

“I really think the appeal is our yarn’s made in the U.S., and people are more and more going toward U.S.-made products as a support for U.S. companies,” McDermott said.

Most garments worn in the United States in the first half of the 20th century were American-made, but the decline of the American textile industry began after World War II, according to knitting and wool industries expert Clara Parkes. She’s a member of the American Sheep Industry — an industry trade group — and author of several books on knitting.

In recent years, however, there’s been a slow-growing demand for wool yarn that’s completely produced in the United States, from sheep to skein, Parkes said.

One reason, she thinks, could be that consumers are turning back to wool because of the environmental risks of microplastics in garments made from synthetics like acrylic, nylon and polyester. The microplastics are released into waterways when the synthetic garments are washed.

Locally sourced yarn helps not only the environment but local businesses too, Parkes said. “There’s the environmental impact of shipping goods all the way across the world and bringing it back, but now people are asking themselves, ‘What if I can get the wool here and just keep it here?’”

McDermott echoed that sentiment: “Shopping local is allowing farmers to raise and keep their animals on the farm.”

Consumer interest in locally sourced yarn inspired the Michigan Fiber Cooperative to produce a line, Fresh Water Fiber, which uses wool and alpaca from Michigan farms. It’s processed by Stonehedge Fiber Mill and dyed by Why Knot Fibers in Traverse City.

One store that stocks Fresh Water Fiber is Wool & Honey in Cedar, Michigan. Owner Melissa Kelenske said she buys from Michigan-based fiber artists and companies that focus on producing high-quality, ethically sourced yarn with attention to their environmental impact.

“I think the farm-to-table movement of eating local, shopping local — basically the major slow food movement — laid the ground work for the knitting industry,” Kelenske said.

Another yarn company that supplies Wool & Honey is Brooklyn Tweed, of Portland, Oregon. Knitwear designer Jared Flood founded the company in 2010 to “preserve, support and sustain” American textile production by doing business with sheep farmers, fiber mills and dyers across the United States.

The business concept “was not so much about patriotism as supporting local economies,” said Christina Rondepierre, Brooklyn Tweed’s marketing manager.

“It was also the revitalization of East Coast mills and dyeing houses and the whole U.S. textile industry so they could sustain income and make sure towns and business were able to stay afoot,” Rondepierre said. For example, the Harrisville, New Hampshire, Historic District mill village spins some of Brooklyn Tweed’s yarns. The village was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977.

But patriotism, too, is helping to revive the American wool industry.

After Ralph Lauren drew flak for making its Team USA apparel for the 2012 Summer Olympics in China, the fashion company had all Team USA apparel for the 2014 Winter Olympics made in the United States. The yarn used for the closing ceremony sweaters was 4,000 pounds of Shepherd’s Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill.

McDermott was shocked when a Ralph Lauren representative asked her to supply the yarn.

“It was a mouth-dropped-open moment when I realized who I was talking to on the phone,” she said. “It was a neat experience.”

–By SHIREEN KORKZAN , Associated Press

Source:  https://www.morningagclips.com/shop-local-drives-sales-of-american-made-yarn/

 

Raw Material Offers One Woman’s View of the American Wool Industry

New book released Oct. 2018….Raw Material – Working Wool in the West

Follow a sweater with an “Italian Merino” label back far enough and chances are its life began not in Milan, but in Montana.

Many people want to look behind the label and know where their clothes come from, but the textile supply chain – one of the most toxic on the planet – remains largely invisible. In Raw Material, Stephany Wilkes tells the story of American wool through her own journey to becoming a certified sheep shearer.

What begins as a search for local yarn becomes a dirty, unlikely and irresistible side job. Wilkes leaves her high-tech job for a way of life considered long dead in the American West. Along the way, she meets ornery sheep that weigh more than she does, carbon-sequestering ranchers, landless grazing operators, rare breed stewards and small-batch yarn makers struggling with drought, unfair trade agreements and faceless bureaucracies as they work to bring eco-friendly fleece to market.

Raw Material demonstrates that the back must break to clothe the body, and that excellence often comes by way of exhaustion.

With humor and humility, Wilkes follows wool from the farm to the factory, through the hands of hardworking Americans trying to change the culture of clothing. Her story will appeal to anyone interested in the fiber arts or the textile industry, and especially to environmentally conscious consumers.

Stehanie’s website:  https://stephanywilkes.com/book

Book also available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Material-Working-Wool-West/

 

Pics from the 2018 Festival

By Community Bulletin

The 24th annual Sheep & Fiber Festival was held on Saturday and Sunday at the Hunterdon County Fairgrounds in Ringoes.

The festival was presented by the Garden State Sheep Breeders, a non-profit, educational group promoting sheep and wool products in New Jersey.

This year they added two breeds: the Scottish blackface and Valais blacknose, a new breed to the United States, on display courtesy of Stone Manor Farm.

Source and to see the Photo Gallery:

https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2018/09/for_24_years_nj_sheep_have_had_their_own_day_in_hu.html

 

Montana Researchers Pioneer Using Wool for Erosion Control

The stuff of socks, sweaters and high-tech underwear now has yet another use, according to a Montana State University study: revegetating roadsides to prevent erosion.

At a road cut along Highway 287 near Three Forks, Mont., healthy patches of native grasses are a testament to the lasting benefits of using wool, said Rob Ament, a research scientist at the Western Transportation Institute in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.

When Ament’s research team began the project four years ago, they suspected that wool might have advantages over the straw and shredded coconut hull used in traditional erosion control blankets, which buffer slopes against sun and rain until seeds germinate and plants take hold. The results of the recently concluded study, however, surprised him.

“We were astonished by the vigorous plant growth,” Ament said during a recent visit to the site.

At the square-meter plots that received erosion blankets made of wool blended with straw, the team observed three to four times more perennial grasses – a result Ament called “stunning.”

Eli Cuelho, a former research engineer at WTI, also contributed to the project, as did Stuart Jennings and Monica Pokorny at KC Harvey Environmental, a Bozeman-based consulting firm specializing in reclamation. Pokorny, who now works as a plant materials specialist at the Bozeman office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, worked with Ament to develop the wool products and conduct the field trials.

Revegetating disturbed ground along roadsides is required by various laws to prevent takeover by noxious weeds and runoff of sediment, which can harm fish and other aquatic life, and it also contributes to the longevity of the roadbed by reducing pooling water, according to Phil Johnson. He oversaw roadside reclamation for the Montana Department of Transportation for 25 years before retiring in 2017. Johnson provided guidance for the project, which received an MDT grant, and was “very pleased,” he said.

Prior to the experiment, MDT had seeded the road cut in a traditional manner with a seed drill. But the plants on the exposed, west-facing slope had difficulty surviving, and the agency recommended the road cut for the experiment, according to Ament.

“We picked a really harsh site,” Ament said. “We didn’t want it to be easy.”

Some erosion-preventing wool products were available internationally, Ament said. But they were prohibitively expensive to ship and weren’t designed specifically for revegetation. “We had to be creative and work with wool producers here in Montana,” he said.

Ament and Pokorny traveled to three Montana mills and worked with them to produce shredded wool, which was then sent to a Minnesota manufacturer with the specialized equipment for blending the wool with straw to produce the erosion blankets. The researchers then seeded the Highway 287 road cut with native grasses and laid down the wool erosion blankets side by side with various other erosion blankets. They observed the site periodically and measured the growth of the grasses during the course of three years.

“We don’t know what mechanisms, exactly, give wool an advantage,” Ament said.

He suspects that the wool holds more moisture for a longer period. And wool, which is about 17 percent nitrogen, likely has a fertilizing effect on the plants as it slowly biodegrades. Ament said that wool also appears to adhere better to soil on steep embankments.

Ament noted that if wool were widely adopted for erosion control, it could support local manufacturing of the blankets as well as create a significant new market for Montana’s wool growers. Low-grade wool that is otherwise discarded could potentially be used.

Source: Montana State University (from ASI Weekly July 13, 2018)