Wool

It is great to see several tractors in the fields around northern Illinois. They are putting fertilizer down and soil finishing the fields. No planting yet, but it will not be too long.

March is a month that I sometimes struggle with. The weather is starting to warm up, then a cold snap comes through. It is a month of anticipation for the upcoming spring and summer projects.

Are you used to writing 2025 yet? Always amazing how time passes so quickly. This year I am super excited about the new year. I am making an extra effort to be positive and focus on family and friends.

Have you started your holiday decorating? I did see some cute ornaments to make using scrap wool felt. I have a bunch of scraps from the felted coasters I made using my Scottish blackface wool.

We hosted a farm and mill tour as part of our county’s Farm Stroll. The local University of Illinois Extension office coordinates the day with small farms and more in Boone County participating.

The mill is buzzing with activity to prepare some of our fiber for sale and complete customer orders. We make felted batts from our Scottish Blackface wool.

I’ve been busy with the granddaughters’ fair schedule of showing. The oldest one can now drive, so that helps a lot, but grandpa still drives the truck and trailer to the shows.

It is that magical time of the year — August fair season. In a lot of ways, I look forward to the fair more than Christmas. 4-H has always been a big part of my family.

Take note of Team USA’s opening ceremony blazers. They are made with USA-grown wool. Actually, the Ralph Lauren website lists it as USA-grown Responsible Wool Standard-certified wool.

Summer is finally here in northern Illinois. Temperatures are going to be hot this weekend. We call it Georgia weather, teasing our daughter who lives in Georgia. Luckily, we have had more rain than they have had.

April was an extremely busy time, mostly because we welcomed a new granddaughter. Her name is Brynlee and she is doing well. We were lucky to spend more time in Georgia in April than Illinois.

I’m glad to be done feeding hay and am now grazing cereal rye and red clover. Some of the rye is in the flag leaf stage already. I have rye that is 10 inches tall right next to 30-inch tall rye, so I need to get it grazed.

This is the time of year that I become a little impatient waiting for spring. The warmer weather makes me think the grass and pasture should be getting green faster than they are. The sheep are also looking impatient.

At the Illinois Lamb and Wool meeting a guy told me that he didn’t know about the wool loan deficiency payments program until he read about it in my article last year. He was able to get more than the 40 cents per pound minimum by having his wool graded.

This year, February has seemed more like late March. The temperature here in northern Illinois is warmer than in past years, quite a difference from when I was writing the January column. I know the warm temperatures are not going to last.

Today, as I am writing this column, it has been snowing all night and all day. So far in northern Illinois we have at least 6 inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground.

The mill and store are very busy getting ready for Small Business Saturday. This special shopping day is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is a chance to support local businesses.

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a lot of fun this year. Great to see old friends and to meet new ones. Just a note to follow up on the items I discussed in last month’s column. The wool coasters were well received.

September already! Have you had your first pumpkin spice latte? I have not, but I did enjoy a pumpkin spice cream cheese muffin. I saw a funny advertisement for pumpkin spice oil change for your car.

Well, I’ve just returned from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival and it was entertaining and very informative. On Friday was the Sheep 101 classes and Saturday was the Profit Workshop classes.

The summer has certainly been speeding by. Always seems like summer is so short and winter so long. We have been blessed with great weather so far in August.

The rain in the past few days has really helped all plants and crops here in northern Illinois. June was very dry. Hopefully, the July rains will be enough to get the crops growing again.

The Indiana Sheep Association is sponsoring sheep-themed competitions, vendors and educational opportunities at the Indiana State Fair.

Luckily, the hay at our farm grew well this spring and was baled the first week of June. The yield was three more big square bales than last year. I am thrilled because now it has been really dry.

The Illinois Lamb and Wool Producers Sheep Day and Annual Meeting is set for June 3.

Seems like our pasture went from a dormant brown to lush green overnight. The spring rain was timed perfectly to spark the growth. The sheep took off running through the tall grass as soon as I opened the gate.

Well, it’s shearing time and this year has been the hardest one I’ve ever had. When my regular shearer retired two years ago, he gave me a list of names of five guys that sheared.

Surprise, winter is not over. Tonight as I write, the snow is coming down hard and blowing a lot. Looks like we have 3 inches already and it is supposed to snow all night. I may be working from home tomorrow. The grandkids are hoping for no school.

This year’s meetings start Jan. 26-27 with the Driftless Region Beef Conference and then Feb. 2-4 with the Grassworks Grazing Conference at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin.

The weather in November has been surprising. The warmer temperatures have been really nice. We had a chance to complete many of the projects on our fall to-do list. Harvest around us is going strong and it is a pleasure to see the combines in the field.

Harvest has started here in northern Illinois. Many counties to the south have probably been harvesting for several weeks. Around us the weather has been perfect for picking beans for a couple weeks. My pasture still has a good grass cover for the small flock of sheep we have.

Happy September! Always seems like the summer goes by so fast. It is nice to have a little cooler evenings. Great weather to sit out on the porch and enjoy. My Shetland lambs are growing nicely. Their color patterns are really starting to be vibrant.

As I write this column, I am looking out over our county fair. The Boone County Fair has been a family tradition since I was a child. The fair is special for a lot of families. I really enjoy seeing all the livestock shows and catching up with friends.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We have sure been busy with a lot of projects around the farm. The hay cutting went well with 11 big square bales in the barn. With the rain we have had in the last couple weeks, I am hopeful to get another good cutting.

The Make It With Wool Competition will return to the Indiana State Fair on July 31. The competition will be at the Indiana Arts Building, with judging check-in at 9 a.m. and the public fashion show at 2 p.m.

Here in northern Illinois there has been a lot of rain. I am not complaining, especially since my son-in-law in Georgia is very dry. All the rain does make it difficult to cut hay. Looks like there is a break next week. Crossing my fingers for a window of a couple days.

Interesting how short spring can be in northern Illinois. This week the weather has jumped right into summer. I do not mind. Nice to see the grass and pasture turn green.

March is always an up and down month for weather. Nice one day and then cold and snowy the next. I am choosing to be positive and know it will not be long until spring. March is a good time to plan for projects when the weather turns nice.

Hopefully the groundhog is not correct and spring is closer than six weeks away. It has been cold the last few days and nights. The sheep are doing well, but stay in the barn most of the time. The north side of our barn has three doors.

Happy New Year! I usually do not make very many New Year’s resolutions, but this year I did try to think of some for the farm and fiber mill business. I would like to attend — probably virtually — at least one educational seminar on improving flock health.

The rain in late October and early November is not a favorite of farmers. For my pastures, the rain has given them extra life. The sheep should be able to get enough grass until the end of November with only a little supplement.

What a week! As I am write this column, I have just arrived home from the Boone County Fair, our local fair. The weather was a little wet and stormy at the beginning of the week, but perfect for the weekend.

Summer is certainly here with the hot weather. We like to say that we are having Georgia weather in northern Illinois. Luckily we had a lot of rain this spring and the pasture did grow well. In the last two weeks it has been dry.

Following a year of holding the contest virtually, the Indiana Make It With Wool Competition will return at the Indiana State Fair on Aug. 1.

Spring is my favorite season of the year. It brings the warmer weather and anticipation of new life. There are flowers already blooming in our yard and others pushing their way through the ground. The pasture is turning green and will be growing soon. I keep the sheep in until about May 1 to give the pasture time to recover from winter. Now that we do not have any horses, our pasture feeds the few sheep we have all summer and into the fall. We have several big bales of hay left from last year. Maybe this year we can sell our cutting of hay.

I sure enjoyed the warmer weather while it lasted. Another batch of snow is forecasted for the coming week. Good thing about March is that the snow will not last long. My son-in-law in Georgia has his spring planting equipment out and has been cleaning it. He is getting ready to plant his sweet corn in about two weeks. This will be right around Easter.

Hello from Graze-N-Grow. Just when I was finally adapting to our snowy, frigid February, it all disappeared. This month, though, seems easier to adapt. All the lambs seem to enjoy the weather regardless of the temperature. I’m continually amazed by their hardiness compared to the wool breeds we used to raise. Since it’s harder for me to get up and down nowadays I sure don’t miss having to pull lambs or get them to suck.

Joshua McCann from the University of Illinois will give a presentation on “Technology to Simplify Record Keeping and Nutrition Tips” during the online Illinois Lamb & Wool Producers meeting at 10 a.m. March 27.

I recall when January was the coldest month of the winter. This year, February has been freezing. I must be getting old because I just do not like the cold weather anymore. The sheep really do not seem to mind at all. Guess that shows that wool is good for insulation and keeping warm.

December, for us in northern Illinois, has been pretty mild, not much snow at all and mild temperatures. I am certainly not complaining.