Sheep Industry News April 2024

“Carol’s idea for a mill struck me as something that could be profitable,” Paul said. “And it worked. That’s how we make money. We don’t make it selling lamb for $1.50 a pound.” While Carol selects sheep based on their fleeces, they still have to meet Paul’s standards, as well. “Most people who have fiber animals really baby their sheep. We don’t,” he said. “Fleece value is No. 1 on our list, but if they can’t make it here, then they go. They have to have good mothering ability. We don’t want to help lamb 200 ewes. Sometimes Carol and I go back and forth on which ones to get rid of.” Hidden Valley has two distinct operations: the wool side and the lamb side, and they have to work together to keep the operation moving in the right direction. “It’s always been my goal to get to the point where we’re processing just our wool,” Paul said. “We had nothing but a few acres and a rundown house when we started this. The only reason I bought the place is because it was too good a deal to pass up. If we’d been capitalized, or if we had started this at a reasonable age instead of at 50, there’s no telling where we’d be right now. “Carol took me to a fiber show in Michigan years ago, and I was so impressed. I had no idea this industry even existed. It was so under the radar at the time. So, we got started and we’ve been growing ever since."

“This has been a really nice industry for someone like me,” added the usually outspoken Paul. “I’m not capable of dealing with the challenges of corporate America. But what we’ve done here has worked quite well for us.” ACCIDENTAL DIVERSITY Along the way, the farm has taken in a few refugee Cor riedale and CVM sheep. It wasn’t an effort to diversify the flock, but each breed brings different wool qualities that Carol can put to use in the mill’s offerings of roving, quilts, batts, yarns, raw wool and sheepskins. The new breeds led to a few “accidental” cross breedings around the farm, but Carol has no intention of diluting the gene pool – especially when it comes to the Coopworths. “We’ve kept some of those crossbreeds as novelties, but it was never intentional. We refer to the Corriedales as our Eeyore sheep – like from Winnie the Pooh,” Carol said. “They just trudge along with their heads down like he does. I’m not convinced I like the CVM sheep yet.” The additional breeds came along in similar fashion to the mill. Friends were looking to get out of the business and the Wagners ended up taking them on. “It is kind of exciting that this opportunity came up,” Car ol admitted. “If only I was 20 years younger, imagine what I could be doing. Sometimes Paul and I still look at each other and ask, ‘Why did we do this?’” Only about 40 percent of the fiber processed at Hidden Valley comes from the family farm. The rest is commercial work that comes from a variety of breeds and has given the Wagners the chance to see all kinds of wool up close.

April 2024 • Sheep Industry News • 19