From the Pastures: Sporting wool

Happy New Year! January to me is the halfway point of winter. At least I hope it is. Spring does not always return as fast as I hope. Luckily the weather has not been too cold. I still remember the year of the polar vortex and minus 22-degree high temperature.

This spring will be a little different around our farm without any lambs. It will be nice not to have to worry about taking care of lambs. Shetlands are usually really good mothers and do not have many problems. Even so, lambing still takes a lot of time. When the first of May rolls around, I am sure I will miss the lambs.

Wool is being featured again at the 2026 Winter Olympics. American wool was used for the USA team’s opening and closing ceremony outfits. The sweater, pants and coat are really stylish and colorful. They also made wool mittens and hats. Ralph Lauren is the company that designed and made the items from USA wool.

A group of ranches in Oregon raising Merino sheep provided the wool. I read an article where designers from Ralph Lauren talked about all the benefits of working with wool and how nice the garments are when made with wool. To me the Olympic wool items are very exciting. Excellent promotion for wool and the sheep industry.

Have a great January. Be like the Olympians and wear wool.