First step of developing an Arkansas wool fiber market? A sheep shearing workshop

FAYETTEVILLE — It’s BYOS — bring your own sheep — to a May 10-11 workshop that might just help grow Arkansas’ wool fiber market.
Wool is experiencing a resurgence thanks to consumer concerns about microplastics in the environment and product development of fine wool into moisture-wicking garments — yes, even underwear, said Dan Quadros, assistant professor and extension small ruminant specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Quadros has rounded up a crew of regionally and nationally recognized professionals to offer a hands-on training course, Intro to Wool Fiber Systems: A Journey from Sheep to Shawl. With the number of homesteaders and sheep farmers in the Natural State, Quadros felt the time was right for this kind of workshop.
According to the Census of Agriculture, the number of farms with sheep and lambs in Arkansas grew from 1,053 to 1,140 in 2022, with the number of wool-producing farms growing from 60 in 2017 to 125 in 2022.
Part one of the series is “Shearing School for Beginners,” slated for May 10-11 at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center, 1335 W. Knapp St., in Fayetteville. The cost of the workshop is $100, with snacks and lunch provided. The registration deadline is May 9. To register visit https://uada.formstack.com/forms/shearing_school.
The instructor will be Phoebe Smith, an Oregon-based professional shearer who has sheared on fine wool crews in the western United States and New Zealand, winning multiple shearing competitions along the way, Quadros said.
Lindi Phillips of Heft Shearing in northwest Arkansas will also be among the sheep shearers on hand at the workshop. Phillips, based in Lincoln, is optimistic about the potential to develop local wool markets tied into the global market with connections handed down to her by the late Paul Ahrens, a well-known sheep shearer.
“As with a lot of things in agriculture, if you get in on the ground floor, if you’re part of the initial push, there’s leverage there for markets,” Phillips said. “We think a future area of growth is going to be regional textile economies, and not just in terms of garments, but in terms of all kinds of things that we use textiles for in our daily lives, like home insulation, shipping and packing materials.”

Abby Hollis, co-founder of Ozark Fibershed and a product developer for an outdoor brand, is also on the team with Quadros to help develop local fiber markets. Hollis will be more involved with part two of Intro to Wool Fiber Systems, offering instruction on fiber processing, spinning and weaving.
“I think that we can look at trends in other industries and trends in the apparel industry and see that at some point, we’re going to want our regional textile systems back,” Hollis said. “Where we are now is that they are almost extinct, but not quite, and that is a much healthier place to try to revitalize those systems.”
Quadros said his goal for the program is to increase knowledge of how wool is produced, harvested, processed and made into a final product.
To enhance the learning experience, attendees are encouraged to bring one to three sheep from their flock. Although it is not required to bring a sheep, “learning about your own flock will be invaluable as each breed shears differently,” Quadros explained. Bringing your own sheep may also provide more hands-on opportunities, he added.
Pens that are 6-by-12 feet will be available for the duration of the course. Only 20 pens are available on a first-come, first-served basis, beginning at 8 a.m. on May 10. Participants are asked to bring their own animal feed, water buckets and feeders.
“We recommend starting to pen the animals and adapting them to the diet before bringing them in order to reduce stress and the risk of digestive issues,” Quadros said.
The registration deadline is May 9. The workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 10 and 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on May 11.