On June 2, 2024, VIF and IISBA (Inter Island Sheep Breeders Association) offered a workshop for sheep producers. Thirty-two attendees came from all over the area, from Campbell River to Sooke and from a number of Gulf Islands. Most raise sheep – and many breeds were represented!
Your sheep produce a fleece every year – how can you realize some profit from that product? Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on demonstrations, learn what makes a fleece valuable and what characteristics can reduce that value. We’ll share practical tips for husbandry and breeding practices for wool quality, wool handling, and skirting and basic cleaning. We’ll also talk about the current state of processing on the Island and places you can market your wool.
We began the day with three presentations – what does “good wool” look like, tips and tricks for growing “good wool”, and what to do with “good wool” after you’ve sheared.
After lunch, we split into groups and rotated through hands-on stations. At the skirting tables, Amy worked through many fleeces brought by the participants, showing what parts have the most value and what parts to discard for wool pellets or garden mulch due to damage or too much vegetable matter. Hugh and Meredith gave a demonstration of the steps needed to hand-process fibre for spinning or felting, from washing to carding. And Sarah facilitated a discussion of Vancouver Island success stories and what VIF can do to support the farmers. Many Island farmers do not currently have a market for their fleeces and a lot of wool ends up on compost heaps. By the end of the day, they had more ideas of viable markets for their wool – a wonderful renewable resource.
We also brought an array of products made from Vancouver Island wool and displayed them alongside raw fleece samples and had breed-study books and a small microscope for examining fleece up close.
One of the best parts of the day was watching all the connections get made! The farmers really enjoyed sharing with each other. And we saw lots of lovely fleeces on the skirting table (and a few came home with us!).
Thank you, IISBA, for organizing the logistics and the yummy lunch and treats. We look forward to more collaborations!
