Ranches
We know personally, at least by telephone, the Ranchers who have produced almost all of the wool we use to make WeatherWool. All of these Ranchers have the highest regard for their sheep, which is only natural. We buy the wool that is the very best available for the manufacture of WeatherWool, and these are the Ranches that produce it.
Some of our ranchers are in primarily in the sheep-breeding business, rather than the wool business ... these ranchers produce breeding stock that are sold to other ranchers who wish to improve their bloodlines. Wool is a by-product ... proof of their genetics ... but mostly not their main product. As our need for wool has grown, we have purchased wool from more and larger ranches ... but still family ranches with principles nearly identical to those ranches we have been working with since the beginning of WeatherWool.
All the ranchers are half artist, half scientist, half gambler and 100% in love with what they do, or they would do something else. Talk to any of our ranchers and you will see what we mean. Bob Padula (PM Ranch), Mike Corn (Corn Ranch) and Andy McMurry are WeatherWool Advisors and will gladly speak with you about our garments and their ranches and wool in general.
Conditions vary from year to year and there are a lot of factors that can affect the fleece of a sheep. And so the sources of our wool may change from year to year and as time goes by, particularly as WeatherWool continues to grow, we will continue to work with more ranches. And people who have heard my crazier ideas know that "WeatherWool Ranch" is bouncing around in my noggin.
Genopalette® McMurry Ranch, Missouri
Russell Leonard Ranch, New Mexico
PM Ranch in Winter (-30F/34C)
Because of our commitment to American Wool, we were honored with an invitation to speak at the American Sheep Industry Association's 150th Annual Convention in Reno, January 28-31, 2015. Kind of crazy speaking to a hundred-plus career sheep-industry professionals, every one of which knew more about sheep (but not more about turning wool into clothing!) than us!
They spelled "Ralph DiMeo" and WeatherWool correctly ...
(not a given!) ... and "Jersy" seems an improvement.
And ... ASI invited us to speak again at their 2024 convention! My main point in 2024 was that woolens ought to be, and will be, MUCH more popular than they are, if we can show people that wool makes tremendous clothing. Most people just don't know.
26 January 2024 --- Ralph
