Wool sector leans into nature-postive messaging

Wool sector leans into nature-positive messaging

Wool’s environmental footprint isn’t all about carbon, Australian company behind ad campaign says

The wool industry has been so focused on carbon that it missed opportunities to highlight the positive benefits of growing wool and raising sheep on the landscape and the intrinsic value of natural fibres.

Mandy Furney, Manitoba Fibre Festival’s volunteer co-ordinator at the 2024 event.

Wool industry shines at Manitoba Fibre Festival

Winnipeg event highlights wool sustainability, textile skills and sheep breeds, including the 2024 breed of the year: Icelandic sheep

Manitoba Fibre Festival highlights wool sustainability, textile skills and live animals from alpacas to sheep, including the 2024 breed of the year: Icelandic sheep

Bryan Driedger demonstrates spinner operation at the April grand opening of the Austin Woollen Mill.

Spinning up value in local wool market

Austin Woollen Mill brings new fibre processing to the province

The western Manitoba village of Austin has a new facet in its agri-business landscape: textile processing. The Austin Woollen Mill, owned and operated by Bryan and Lynda Driedger, held a grand opening earlier this spring. Visitors were introduced to the steps of wool processing as they toured the new facility. Why it matters: Lack of


Anna Hunter raises sheep and runs a small wool mill with her family in eastern Manitoba.

Sheep, shepherds have a lot left to give

Book project bares stories of wool producers fighting for the longevity of their sector

[UPDATED: Apr. 18, 2023] Did you know that in Canada, many species of sheep are endangered species? “I remember being shocked the first time I heard [that],” writes Anna Hunter. “I truly believed that was a status reserved for exotic animals like Bengal tigers.” Hunter raises sheep and runs a small wool mill with her

Sheep shearing demonstration at AgEx in Brandon last month.

Women show the way on shearing

Manitoba has a shearer shortage and AgEx event aimed to demonstrate opportunities

There is a shortage of sheep shearers in Manitoba and a small group of people in the province are trying to change that. The shearing community in Manitoba now includes only eight people, and Bethan Lewis, a 24-year-old farmer and sheep shearer from Alexander, is among that determined group eager to boost the ranks of

Mandy Furney, Manitoba Fibre Festival volunteer co-ordinator.

Fibre Festival brings farmers and crafters together

Producers say it’s often more economical to dispose of the fleece

What to do with a mountain of wool? It’s a question Manitoba sheep producers ask every year. Ingrid Stalman, who was at the Manitoba Sheep Association booth during the recent Manitoba Fibre Festival, talked about the annual problem. “If I don’t do anything with the wool, I still have literally a mountain of wool coming


“We think that the way wool has been treated in this country in the last few decades is a tragedy.” – Matthew Rowe, Canadian Wool Council.

Funding announced to revive wool market

The Canadian Wool Council hopes to set a new direction for the natural fibre

The Canadian Wool Council is seeking more visibility for its wares and recently received almost $150,000 to make that happen. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced the funding in late February, linking the money to development of environmentally sustainable textiles. Why it matters: Meat rather than wool is the main focus of Canada’s sheep sector

Fleece in frame: Taking a look behind the clippers on a sheep farm

Fleece in frame: Taking a look behind the clippers on a sheep farm

Photographer Phil Hossack captures a staple skill for any sheep producer — shearing

Sheep-shearing season has a special historical note on the farm of Wayne and Marie McDonald, just a little north and west of Cartwright in southwestern Manitoba. It is, after all, how they met. Marie McDonald’s family had got into sheep when she was a teenager, leading her to take a job as a sheep shearer and spending