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Oct 29, 2024

Entrepreneurship Environment

Kelly Carlson, photos by Grace Cremeens | October 29, 2024

Two Chippewa Valley shepherds, Janelle Sworski and Elizabeth Ivankovic, started Ewe and Me Wool Company to promote their passions for sheep, plants, and sustainability – all in the form of a tiny wool pellets.

Historically, when shepherds sheered sheep, it was likely that some felts not used for yarn or other end products ended up composting in a pile. From that exposure, after a few years, felts breaking down in the soil acted as a natural fertilizer that helped grow stronger plants and healthier soil.

Fast forward to 2023 when locals Sworski and Ivankovic purchased a pellet mill to start recycling felts from sheering their own sheep, and something new was born: bite-sized pellets that break down in soil in a matter of months. These pellets are packaged and sold as Woolly Belly Pellets. Who knew a sheep could be so helpful in my garden?

“(Woolly Belly Pellets) are for your backyard farmer or gardener or plant enthusiast in general. … (They’re great for) house plants, raised beds, community gardens – any plant loves wool,” the owners said. “(Planting with wool) saves water, it fertilizes, it grows soil. It puts carbon back into the soil.”

Another common alternative, peat moss, is promoted as a fertilizer yet is shown to form acidic soil conditions, actually wavering a plant’s ability to survive. Unlike peat moss, wool is pelleted into small ovals and added into soil, where it breaks down naturally to add carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other essential nutrients into the soil. Plus, it absorbs three times its weight in water, helping to moisten the soil over a longer period of time.

Woolly Belly Pellets are 100% wool and are OMRI (Organic Material Review Institute) certified, ensuring that the processing of pellets for production is entirely safe, organic, and useful for all farm or productions. “Sheering is a humane thing to do for the sheep,” Sworski and Ivankovic said. “It keeps them cool, and the wool is such a great fiber. We are kind of biased, but, we think sheep are the perfect animal,” they laughed.

“We’ve sold at farmers markets and vender fairs and craft things. … We’ve given talks at Master Gardener groups and the Eau Claire garden club,” they said. “We’re happy to give anyone a talk about Woolly Belly Pellets!”

In addition to pop-ups, folks can find Ewe and Me Wool Company in-house at local businesses, including Season’s Harvest Greenhouse in Menomonie, Curve Hideaway and Trees in Eau Claire, and Pondview Lavender Farm in Chippewa Falls.

“We would love to ramp up to more of a large scale,” the duo mentioned, having worked on large batches for farmers in the Midwest previously. Ewe and Me Wool Company hopes to also engage with other shepherds who might be looking to pellet their sheep’s felts.

Next spring, when their sheep are being sheered and pelleting season begins, pellets will be offered at a larger variety of locations in the area so that everyone can plan ahead and plant mindfully. “We want (a gardener’s) first thought (when beginning planting) to be, ‘Where are my Woolly Belly Pellets?’ ”

Find information on upcoming events from Ewe and Me Wool Company on its website • Keep up with the business on Instagram and Facebook