“The cost of entry is incredibly high and can act as a barrier to entry for these new agriculturalists trying to start or grow their farm operations.” ~ Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania
Along the Hudson River Parkway, roughly 30 minutes west of Salisbury, CT, sits The Morehouse Farm on Milan Hill Road. They are raising Merinos for wool, and if textiles and knitting are what you are looking for, they offer a full suite of products, education services, and patterns to help you learn your craft. If you register and log in, the site invites you to pick up classes and ask for assistance with scheduling and purchases.
If you live in Wisconsin, ten minutes west of Lake Michigan, you will find Hidden Valley Farm and Woolen Mill. It is located on Newton Road, above Pigeon Lake. Paul & Carol Wagner run a fully integrated wool and meat operation on-site. They are a family-owned farm and woolen mill in east-central Wisconsin. They run Coopworth breeding stock, with at least 50 replacement ewes and roughly 20 rams on site, following Coopworth Registry standards. Each year, they raise 300 lambs for sale and flock expansion. They carry about 500-600 in total flock throughout the season. They are proud of their animal welfare practices and manage them through vet standards. The Coopworth Lamb is a New Zealand breed developed at Lincoln College. The Wagners run the woolen mill, sell USDA-certified meat, and regularly provide education services and farmers market offerings.
Somewhere along T419 in Spring Hills, Pennsylvania, sits Tamarack Farm and Sheep Wool, running 30 acres of pasture and wooded land, just steps from Penns Creek, a nationally known fly fishing location. They run Icelandic Sheep and pasture nine months out of the year. Tamarack Farms purchased their first few ewes from Morehouse Farm in the Hudson Valley of New York. In addition to running lamb, they run a woolen mill and sell at Boalsburg and Millheim Farmers’ Markets. You can also find them at Maryland Sheep and Wool, Knitters Day Out, Garden State Fiber Festival, Penns Valley Fiber Festival, and For the Love of Fiber Wool Festivals.
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