05/04/05 Adding value to wool

05/04/05 Adding value to wool

Washington Ag MAY 4, 2005 Sheep producers can sell their wool as a commodity for say 60 some cents a pound or they can get it processed, do some direct marketing and sell a value added product for several dollars an ounce. Michael Hickey and his wife Jody operate Quail Run Fiber Mill in Airway Heights near Spokane, where they custom process wool and numerous other natural fibers for producers. Hickey: "We take their raw fiber and we turn it into either a roving, a yarn or a woven good, something they can market directly to the consumer." Hickey's mill washes the wool, (there is no souring), does separating, carding and pindrafting and then spinning if yarn is being made. Hickey: "Generally rovings vary. You are looking at less than a dollar an ounce to have it processed and it markets at two to three dollars an ounce for wool. Yarns costs approximately sub-two dollars an ounce to have it processed and those would retail for 3-4 dollars an ounce upwards to $6 an ounce depending on the type of fiber." Hickey says the craft market in the U.S. is 13.8 billion dollar business and his Quail Run Fiber Mill will not only custom process for producers but help with their direct marketing. I'm Bob Hoff.
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