Shearing sheep, alpacas, or llamas can bring your small wool farming operation a tidy profit, without the fuss of breeding. Nubian and Angora Goats at Steam Valley Fiber Farm.

In that way, yarn farming is a way of farming that suits me just fine. In fact, I have recently discovered yarn farming was an occupation of my fourth-great-grandmother.

Around the yearher husband was killed, leaving her alone with seven small children. She kept a flock of sheep and took in weaving to support herself until the children were old enough to help her work a full-scale farming operation.

So you might say fiber farming goes right down to my roots. The first step of yarn farming is determining what breeds you are interested in, and then establishing relationships with quality breeders in your area. I chose the Shetland sheep breed due to its hardiness, the fineness of its fiber, and the variety of natural colors available.

I found a reputable breeder in my area to make arrangements for a farm visit. Every breeder reaches a point where he or she needs to choose which animals to keep for their breeding program and which animals to cull. They are perfectly healthy animals, but may have body conformation issues that the breeder finds undesirable. For instance, they may be slightly cow-hocked, or their ears might hang too low. These are minor issues most of us never notice, but a big deal in the show ring.

These are the animals that can be purchased at pet-quality prices, even though their fleece is just as nice as the blue-ribbon winner standing next to them. By not maintaining my own breeding stock, I also have the luxury of being able to pick and choose whatever color and texture I want to add to my flock or herd, instead of being stuck with whatever lambs, kids or crias are born to my flock.

The alpaca and llama industries have been going through a rightsizing of sorts the past several years. Breeders in some cases are practically giving away juvenile males and geldings.

In my case, they even threw in free delivery. Animal rescue groups are another source. Several are inundated with llamas and alpacas needing homes.

The organizations I worked with had access to qualified veterinarians, who performed complete examinations before making them available for adoption. There is value in the knowledge a breeder or rescue organization can provide. There are multiple ways to harvest the wool. Only you can decide what works best for you. I shear the animals myself — the old-fashioned way with hand shears — instead of hiring a professional shearer. Electric shears can get the job done much faster, but tend to leave too many second cuts in the fleece, which results in lumpy yarn.

I use an aluminum shearing stand for the sheep, and a wooden chute I built using plans I found on the Internet for the alpacas and llamas. This allows me to do the work alone, but I generally still try to have someone else around, more or less as a spotter, to call in case of an emergency.

After shearing, the wool is skirted, a process very similar to watching a monkey groom its mate. Once all the vegetation and dung are removed, the topeka livestock auction indiana is ready for processing. There are fiber mills where you can send your fleeces and they do all the work for you, even going so far as to spin the yarn.

It does, however, add to your expenses, and there is generally a four-to-six-month waiting list. The other option is to process the fiber yourself. To do topeka livestock auction indiana, you first must wash the fleece to remove the dirt and lanolin. There are many methods, but I find the easiest way to do this is in the washing machine:. There are a variety of tools available to process the washed fleece, and each one has its merits. Like humans, some animals keep themselves cleaner than others.

For the filthy or double-coated animals, double-row fiber combs work best. They are the most tedious to use, but can separate the buy australia shares from overseas and remove all the vegetable matter.

For nice, clean, single-coated fleeces, hand cards can be used to make rolags, or a drum carder can be used for making roving or batts. Once combed or carded, the fiber is ready for spinning. At this point, it is a product ready to be sold to hand spinners. Or you can take it one step further and do the spinning stockley trading online, creating yarn for knitters or weavers.

There is a market for both products, as well as products you askobid forex have processed by a commercial mill.

It is a long, rewarding journey from sheep to shawl, especially when using the old-fashioned methods. Yet, the only difficult part of the entire process is parting with the finished yarn. I may not make the Fortune by farming this way, but it is a simple and honest life that suits me.

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Every day I am reminded where I came from and to be grateful binary options bollinger bands stochrsi rsi the luxuries living in this century provides. Fiber artists love natural fibers and often like to know exactly where the fiber they use is coming from. The amount of yarn or roving an investor receives depends on the amount of fiber harvested and the number of shareholders.

Most CSAs limit the number of shareholders per harvest so that there will be plenty to go around. Selling the fleeces prior to shearing helps the farmer cover the costs of feed and medical supplies.

In a drought year, it can help reduce the financial risk involved in keeping a number of non-breeding animals fed during the winter. Through blogs, social media and farm visits, the shareholders can learn how the animals are raised. Contests are often held for the naming of newborns. They can also learn how the fiber is harvested and processed. If the shareholder is interested, in most cases, they can even get hands-on experience participating in the shearing of the animals.

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Long lasting friendships are made between the farmer and the fiber artists — a fine way to do business in this day and age. Christine Byrne owns and operates Front Porch Indiana Fiber Farm and markets her fiber through social media platforms and through her Front Porch Indiana blog.

She raises Shetland sheep, huacaya alpacas and llamas. At GRITwe have a tradition of respecting the land that sustains rural America. That's why we want you to save money and trees by subscribing to GRIT through our automatic renewal savings plan.

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Sign In or Register. Photo By Terry Wild Stock Slideshow. Fleecing your flock There are multiple ways to harvest the wool. Washing the wool After shearing, the wool is skirted, a process very similar to watching a monkey groom its mate.

There are many methods, but I find the easiest way to do this is in the washing machine: Fill the tub with warm water and stop the wash cycle. Add a generous amount of grease-removing dish soap. Gently add wool to water and let soak for 20 minutes without any agitation whatsoever. Remove the wool and refill the tub with warm water.

Gently return wool to tub. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until water runs clear. Remove wool and spread on a wire rack to dry. Combing and carding There are a variety of tools available to process the washed fleece, and each one has its merits.

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