"Sheep to Soil"

Our Shropshire sheep waited for me to open a gap in the netting so they could start grazing in the next paddock, which I had built as they watched. I untied the string the keeps the end posts together and unhooked the metal clips along the top strand that keeps the electric charge going through the netting.

Dandelion shifted impatiently, but I watched them for a little bit, checking their condition and their wool. The sheep looked good, and their wool was free from burs. I opened up the netting. The group trotted through.

Shropshires are great sheep to have around, creating meat, milk, and wool by eating grass and other plants that humans don’t eat. Their wool can be used for spinning and crafting hats and socks. The wool also has the unique capability of resisting felting.

However, we often have extra Shropshire wool that doesn’t sell. I hate throwing it away. Wool has so many versatile uses, such as mulch or compost for gardens (or Christmas tree patches like ours!). The wool provides nutrients, water retention, pest management (slugs don’t like to crawl on the microscopic scales of the wool), and more. Yet placing raw wool directly on plants can be a challenge: it’s difficult to apply and can get caught in equipment.

Enter wool pellets.

Here are some pellets showcased at a wool pelleting workshop we attended last week:

These pellets are made from raw wool that is shredded and then compressed. They look like feed pellets, but in person, the sheepy smell is well established. Their NPK ratio is 9-0-2. The shepherd who runs the wool pelleting machine calls her program of raising sheep, shearing them, and creating the wool pellets “Sheep to Soil.”

The soil portion comes in with the wool pellets’ use in gardens and vegetable farms. Unlike raw wool in long strands, the pellets can easily be scooped from a bag and scattered around plants.

Here’s the wool pelleting machine. The wool is placed in the top hopper and pressed into wool pellets, which spill down the slide into the plastic bin.

Wool pellets and the shepherds bringing pelleting machines to their area are making a difference in the soil and in the sheep industry, creating a great way to improve the soil with scrap wool that otherwise would not be used.

Thanks for Reading!

And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:

• What is a neat innovation you’ve seen lately?

Share your answer and this newsletter with them.

If Sylvan Sundays was forwarded to you, welcome! To learn more about our farmers, check out “A New Year’s Introduction,” and to learn more about our name, visit “Being Sylvan.” Also, make sure to check out “This Week on the Farm” and “Farm Shop” below!

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This Week on the Farm

Here’s another fun use for wool: insulation! This is a sample of insulation with four layers of wool together:

Last Sunday, I wrote about constant stops to take pictures of grass, trees, and rocks on Jeff’s and my engagement day.

Also last Sunday was the wool pelleting workshop, which took place near Bloomington, Indiana. As we wound through maple-lined back roads, we’d see limestone cliffs that stretched away under the October sky. Boulders lined the edge of the road.

So somehow, once again on an October 20th, which again was the last day of the Covered Bridge Festival, I found myself taking pictures of grass, trees, and rocks. This time, they were the type of rocks that created New York City’s Empire State Building.

Farm Shop

We have wool and llama fiber available in our Etsy shop, and we have Shetland breeding ewes and rams available, as well. Reply to this email for more information!