Are you raising fiber producing animals in California? Would you like to see your ‘on-farm income’ increase, while seeing more people create goods with our locally raised fiber?
Help our region become strong and resilient, and fill out our grower’s survey! Our goal is to collect data on all sheep and fiber producing animals in California. If you operate a dairy, ranch, farm or homestead with one or more animals, this survey is for you.
Click here to get started.
Each rancher or farmer who completes the survey will be entered in our raffle of fibershed goods, pictured below. Prizes to be awarded by June 1, 2013. We appreciate you taking the time to answer the questions. (It should take about 20-25 minutes.)
Photos above, left to right: First Prize, a beautiful handwoven blanket made of Jacobs wool by Robin Lynde of Meridian Jacobs in Vacaville; Second Prize, a hand-knit Napa Valley wool hat by Kacy Dapp of Berkeley; Third Prize, one hand-knit, felted hot pad by Jacalyn Post of Vacaville (color TBD).
Why are we doing this survey?
Fibershed is in the process of researching and analyzing California’s wool supply for quality, quantity, and land management practices, in collaboration with UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Capstone interns.
An estimated 1.5 million pounds of underutilized or ‘waste’ wool is grown annually in the counties that comprise the Northern California Fibershed (see our map). Our wool mapping project will provide a first-ever visual and geographical analysis of its distribution, quality and quantity. We plan to utilize data from the Wool Inventory Map to assess the scale, scope and location of future fiber processing facilities.
Can you please define Northern CA? We have Angora rabbits and know of local Alpaca breaders and several other fiber breaders(goats/sheep) in our area of Fresno county, many have fiber that is under apreciated and under procesed(waist), often shipped far a way for processing…..Would are area be outside of your interest?
We are interested in gathering information from all those who feel that a mill in north/central CA would support their ranching and farming operations.
Especially if those you speak of are currently underutilizing the wool, or shipping it much farther abroad~ this survey is for them.
(Parts of Fresno are within 150 miles of our headquarters, and even if these ranchers are farther afield within the county…it is fine).
The scale of the processing facility will depend on how many responses we receive, so the more input the better the facility will be!
I appreciate you answering the questions (it should take 20-25 minutes), and please relay my gratitude to your friends and fellow fiber folk.
I would like to know if you are considering alternatives or additional options to a conventional mini-mill. While one issue is the need for custom processing (roving, yarn) with a reasonable turn around time (not 6 months) in northern California, there are several other unanswered needs. We need a small-scale weaving facility, so that local producers can have blankets and throws woven from their own wool. I have been investigating weaving options for several years but there are no cost-effective options I can find. The other unsolved need is a use for the less than perfect fiber. Many small flock producers cater to handspinners and we skirt our fleeces ruthlessly to provide pristine fiber. What remains is quality wool, but it may have some VM or be a little short stapled. We need a commercial use for this wool, and one that will pay decently for the product. Any ideas?
Hi Nancy!
We are very likely going to see from this supply side wool inventory data the need for a mill much larger than the typical mini-mill, we’re also pretty sure that finished cloth has demand (as you mention) and is very important for the wool that is high enough quality to become a textile; we are also pretty sure a felting facility will be necessary… you are totally correct in all your statements… our main goal is to map the supply first, and the investigation for wool processing will grow from our analysis of the fiber supply.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience– we’re definitely on the same page.
I raise ducks and geese for eggs and use the feathers as fiber. I also plan to get sheep and Angora rabbits within a year. Tried to take the survey, partly to see what you were asking but also to help, but found I had to lie on many questions to satisfy it. Some more leeway would be good, including a broader, more creative definition of “fiber”, etc. It’s all about creativity, right? and going beyond what’s been “normal”? Thanks. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in the future.
Have you heard of Mill Creek Fiber Works in Oakhurst, CA (north of Fresno) – they’re a recently opened fiber processing mill. They are on facebook.
I tried to take survey, but got stuck on the #of head & total weight. I entered churro/cheviot mix, 10 lbs, 100# . I kept getting a red response saying, “enter a positive number”. Don’t know what to do now.
Hi Judith, It sounds like you are in the wrong answer box for the question. It’s just asking for total head count if the error is “enter a whole number”. There is a longer paragraph box to answer the the question that you are trying to answer. Thanks for taking the survey!
[...] Wool Inventory Mapping Project [...]
I filled out of the survey…what happens next? I thought I was supposed to send in a sample of my sheep’s wool. I am wrong?
Hi Beth, Thanks for following up, and for taking our survey! It looks like only a portion of your data came through, but we do have your address, so I will send you a wool sample packet this week.