Pacific Northwest Sheep’s Wool Producers Committee Aims to Incorporate
At a holiday party for the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative in Grand Mound, Washington in 2022, a farmer lamented to NABC staffer Emily Manke about their inability to sell wool. Manke had heard another farmer’s woes about the lack of wool markets in the Northwest region, due to a lack of wool processing in the region, and listened attentively.
That same night, Manke was connected with Holy Lamb Organics™, a natural bedding company in Oakville, Washington, that wanted to buy local wool, but couldn’t due to that same lack of processing infrastructure.
That night, a seed was planted. The Pacific Northwest Sheep’s Wool Committee began meeting monthly soon after in 2023. The 2024 Pacific Northwest Sheep’s Wool Pre-FeasibilityStudy was published in 2024. The study’s aim was to assess the volume of coarse wool specifically in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and develop some recommendations to address the processing bottleneck and capture market opportunities, like sales to Holy Lamb Organics™.
The recommendations were:
- Industrial-scale wool scouring must be developed in our region
- A tri-state wool pool must be organized
- A PNW Wool brand must be developed to add value
The Pacific Northwest Sheep’s Wool Producers Cooperative Organizational Development Plan is set for publication later this month. The plan will address the final two recommendations, as other groups tackle the industrial-scale scour. Meanwhile, wool needs to be scoured with the existing infrastructure immediately. Following the publication of the organizational development plan, the intent of the PNW Sheep’s Wool Producers Committee is to seek funding and incorporate.
“It’s high time sheep wool producers in our region capture the value of their coarse sheep’s wool,” Manke stated. “Local companies like Holy Lamb Organics have proven the demand and value for natural fibers. We must create the infrastructure necessary to meet demand, and keep coarse wool from ending up stored for years in barns, or worse, in the landfill, which is what is happening now.”
Do you raise sheep with coarse wool, and want to find out more? Register Here.