by Sue Newhouse
This is the fourth in a series on local farms in and nearby Denton County
In my search of farmers, I’ve discovered that not all farmers grow food. Some, like Regina and Troy Dale of Bartonville, raise animals and plants for the fiber that can be made from their wool or material.
The Dales’ purchased the raw land some 15 years ago. When they saw the huge pecan tree near the front of the property, they fell instantly in love with the land. They have a round pen and adjacent pasture that is home to 9 gelded Huacaya and Suri alpacas, 7 angora goats and 2 Corriedale sheep.
Alpacas are a cousin to the llama. Huacaya alpacas are fluffy outside and crimpy near the base. On the other hand, the Suri have a curly overcoat and smooth undercoat. The Suris’ outer hair is reminiscent of dreadlocks and is professionally sheared once a year. Regina uses only that taken from the saddle area of the animal due to its superior quality. Once collected, she either processes it herself or sends it off to a mill for professional processing. She uses the resulting fiber for weaving and knitting.
The fiber sheared from the angora goats is called mohair. The Dale’s shear them twice a year, resulting in approximately 3-4 pounds of useable mohair with a 2”-3” staple length from each shearing. It’s important, for alpacas, goats and sheep to be sheared in a timely manner to insure they’re kept cool in our hot Texas climates.
The two Corriedale sheep, appropriately named Bo (brown) and Peep (white) weigh about 200 lbs. each.
These animals are sheared only once each year, each providing about 6 lbs of wool.
Since good feed is essential to a good quality fiber, Troy cuts and bales his own acreage of coastal. This ensures they know how the fields are managed and what’s being fed to their animals.
The last fiber grown here is actually a plant – cotton. Did you know cotton comes in three natural colors – white, Mississippi Brown and Nandine Green? These plants are part of the hibiscus family and are grown here in containers from seed as an annual. The plant flowers for 1 day and then closes and creates the seed, or the bol.
Left alone in nature, the cotton would carry the seed by air for dispersal, but we’ve intercepted that product as a fiber source.
Regina plans to sell her fibers next summer at the Bartonville Farmer’s Market. To learn more about Regina and Troy and the products they offer, check out their website at www.howlingwolfherbs.com, or email them directly at hwh@pwhome.com
For more local farm info:
www.SlowFoodUSA.org
www.LocalHarvest.org
www.NaturallyGrown.org
www.EatGreenDFW.com
More importantly, if you know of great farm in your community, email me at suenewhouse@yahoo.com
