Alice in Dairyland reminds us that F is for Fiber, and fiber keeps us warm in winter

Over the past several months, I have been traveling the state talking about the “3 Fs” in Wisconsin agriculture: food, fuel, and fiber.

In today’s column, I’ll address the third F, fiber.

During these cold winter months, there are a number of farmers who supply us with fibers from different animals to help keep us warm. At the end of the summer, I traveled to Jefferson for the annual Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival to learn about some of these fibers of Wisconsin’s $59.16 billion agriculture industry.

Sheep wool is one of the more popular fibers. Sheep have been a part of Wisconsin agriculture dating back to the 1800s when Wisconsin ranked second in the nation in the number of sheep raised. The roots of those early breeders’ organizations still reach out across the state today. Wisconsin is home to nearly 90,000 head of sheep.

While some of those sheep are used for purposes like meat, 62,000 sheep were shorn in 2008. It takes only a few minutes to shear a sheep and typically, depending on the breed, sheep are sheared once a year. Here in Wisconsin, each sheep produces an average of 7.1 pounds of wool. All together, those sheep produced more than 440,000 pounds of wool.

Sheep aren’t the only source of wool in the state. At the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, I learned about the fiber that comes from an angora rabbit. Wool from an angora rabbit is very soft and fine, and it grows quickly. Angoras will need to be sheared three or four times a year. The rabbits also need lots of care to keep their fibers at the highest of quality. Because the fur is so fine, it can mat very easily and become unusable. These rabbits need to be brushed daily to keep the fur unmatted between shearings.

While angoras are larger, they are still small animals, so their wool production is much lower than other fiber-bearing animals. An angora rabbit produces six-to-eight ounces of fiber per shearing.

Two other popular fiber-producing animals are cousins: llamas and alpacas. But these two cousins are pretty different. Like sheep, alpaca fibers are usually harvested once a year. Alpaca fiber is lightweight warm material and soft like cashmere. The quality of the alpaca fiber, highest when the animal is young, decreases as the animal ages. Llamas, on the other hand, are sheared or clipped every two years. The llama has two distinct coats of fiber. The top coat is guard hair that grows longer and stronger. The undercoat, called down, is soft and fluffy.

No matter what animal the fiber is coming from, it will be versatile because it comes in many varieties. The differences in the texture – how fine, soft, thick, or coarse it is – will determine what the fiber gets made into. Heavier fleeces are more likely to be used for rugs, carpeting, or outerwear, like coats. The softer fleeces will more likely be used for soft sweaters, socks, and scarves. These fibers and wool are naturally elastic, so they stretch, but won’t break and they last a long time. Also, wool garments don’t wrinkle, so they are great to pack for a trip.

Fiber is great for crafting, too. Knitting and crocheting are two popular crafting techniques for making items like sweaters, socks, rugs, and scarves.

At the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, I learned how to felt. It’s a technique that uses loose fibers, adding a soapy compound to bind the fibers together. It creates a very strong bond.

If you want to try your hand at crafting some fiber items, logon to www.savorwisconsin.com and search wool or fiber to find a farm or fiber mill near you. And mark your calendars for the next Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, Sept. 10-12, 2010, in Jefferson.

Alice in Dairyland is Wisconsin’s agricultural ambassador. She travels over 40,000 miles each year to spread the word about our agricultural industry. Alice in Dairyland can be reached by writing to DATCP, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53718.

You can schedule Alice for an upcoming event by contacting the Alice in Dairyland Program at (608) 224-5080 or by e-mail at DATCPAlice@wisconsin.gov.