Wool is a highly functional fiber, but despite this, most of the wool and textile industry has left the country due to lack of infrastructure, limiting farmers’ profits from wool production. With the help of a USDA grant, West Virginia University researchers are exploring new ways to support sheep farmers and fiber producers in the region.
A partnership between WVU Extension, the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the College of Creative Arts and Media has been awarded a three-year $200K grant to explore new market opportunities for agricultural products and create a profitable wool market.
“Many breeds of wool sheep have short staple length fiber in their fleece. Once the sheep is sheared, we have a wool fleece as the raw product that is sold, typically in bulk quantities. Unfortunately, right now, the wool has a low monetary value, for a variety of reasons,” Lisa Jones, WVU Extension Small Farm Center program coordinator, said. “Wool is being discarded as ‘waste wool’ due to the necessary infrastructure not being available and low national wholesale market value. By focusing on ‘waste wool’ and value creation, this grant seeks to find value for the wool, so it is not thrown away or an expense for a farmer.”
Due to the lack of local options, some farmers send their wool out of state to be processed, which can take several months, and farmers receive very little compensation in return, making it not worth the time or effort to ship it. This grant will identify infrastructure needed for processing and distribution, allowing farmers to profit from their wool production right here in West Virginia by turning the processed wool into a retail item. The first phase of the grant will be to conduct a feasibility analysis and research the wool supply chain and its complexity.
“We are researching and taking a systems approach to understand the wool production system to integrate environmental, economic and social aspects to drive sustainable practices to enhance product quality and maximize efficiency,” Jordon Masters, research assistant II, Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said. “Research is being done to determine an appropriate price point for farmers’ return on investment, create new wool products and more to add value to the wool.”
During the outreach phase of the grant, WVU Extension agents will be heavily involved in training farmers, given their existing connections to the community. Other Extension and Davis College faculty and staff also will train local farmers.
An analysis will be conducted to discover new and existing opportunities for wool products that could affect the lives of farmers who produce wool. Due to the variety in fiber product types, it is expected that a minimum of 50 new products will be created or enhanced through this grant, which will be sold at the Davis College Store. By the end of this grant, it is anticipated that 60 businesses will gain knowledge about product processing, 30 new markets will increase sales and processing opportunities, and 30 new collaborations between producers, processors and market access will be established.
WVU students will play an integral role in this initiative. A collaborative effort between students and faculty in the Davis College and the College of Creative Arts and Media will work together to help research, design and build 10 point of purchase displays that will be in 10 state parks throughout West Virginia.
“These displays will have the wool products for sale that are created from West Virginia wool,” Masters said. “Selling these wool products at state parks is a way to get products into communities, promote the products made in the state and help tourism.”
As part of the feasibility analysis, Creative Arts and Media assistant professor Debanjan Das’s classes will help with this research, while students taking assistant professor Nicole Kreidler’s interior architecture class will work to design the point of purchase displays. Students in Davis College associate professor Jessica Blythe’s class will build the displays that will be featured in state parks.
Another phase of this grant is hosting a fiber festival, an event to promote and connect farmers, producers and consumers through a variety of fiber products. The Extension network will help reach farmers and producers to attend this event.
“The fiber festival will highlight each part of the fiber supply chain and explore the fiber industry as a whole,” Jones said. “It will be an opportunity for farmers and artisans to buy and sell products from yarn to sheep, as well as provide education and connect producers together.”
The many phases of this grant will provide the infrastructure needed to support efficient wool processing and distribution, which will enable farmers to profit from their wool production. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to develop a sustainable fiber production system that economically benefits farmers in the region.
If you want to learn more about WVU Extension, visit extension.wvu.edu or follow @WVUExtension on Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram.
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sd/02/19/25
CONTACT: Sophia Darmelio
Marketing Strategist
WVU Division for Land-Grant Engagement
304-293-9490; sophia.darmelio@mail.wvu.edu