22
Western Farmer-Stockman January 2007
Livestock
Merino sheep ranch uses wool
to spin perfect yarn in Montana
By LISA SCHMIDT
Key Points
T seemed a perfect fit. John and
Leanne Hayne run 500 Merino sheep.
Leanne loves the sheep and needed a
little more income to help support the
ranch. John thought of it first: Sell yarn
on the Internet instead of sacrificing it
all to the wool pool.
That was seven years ago. Now
Leanne sells 700 to 800 pounds of yarn,
or about 2,800 to 3,200 skeins, each year
from her kitchen in Dupuyer, Mont. —
population of 65 on a good day and 75
miles from the nearest yarn retail shop.
“Our daughter, Erica, is good with
computers, and she helped me get
■ Merino sheep herders sell 700 to 800
pounds of yarn each year.
■ Family sold yarn on eBay and now has
their own Web site.
■ Production from shearing to dyed yarn
takes out six months.
I
started selling on eBay,” Leanne says.
Business on eBay was good so
Leanne, no computer guru but wanting
to expand, and Erica set up a Web site.
“We bought a package with a shopping
cart so we can accept Visa, MasterCard,
Discover, American Express and
PayPal,” Leanne says. “Most people use
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PayPal. I’d like to offer gift certificates,
but it would cost $150 to add to my Web
package and that’s a lot to me.”
Her customers range from college
students to elderly knitters, but all want
wool yarn.
“Some of them want it because it is
mulespun. Some are allergic to chemicals, so they need the gentle processing.
Some want to buy from companies who
practice responsible consumerism.
They want to know where the yarn
came from and no Chinese sweatshops,”
Leanne says.
Production from shearing to dyed
yarn takes about six months, so the
Haynes have to follow fashion trends.
John follows color and pricing trends
by scanning Web sites.
“I can’t type, but I can read,” he
says.
John follows knitters’ blogs, too,
so he knows how they feel about
Beaverslide Dry Goods yarn.
“They appreciate our customer service,” he says.
“I get e-mails that say a buyer had
such an enjoyable experience buying
my wool,” Leanne says.
To learn more
T
O find out more about yarn production, internet marketing or
Beaverslide Dry Goods, visit www.
beaverslide.com or e-mail Leanne
Hayne at [email protected].
Advice from a pro
L
EANNE Hayne learned her internet
marketing business the same way
most people do: by trial and error.
“Being a farmer and a rancher,
we’re used to making our own decisions and just doing it. I probably
should have consulted more people
before I started,” she says.
After seven years of experience,
she offers the following advice for
those who might try a similar enterprise: Price your goods right.
“You don’t want to be the cheapest,”
Hayne says, or people will assume
your product is of low quality. Her
100% wool yarn sells for $8 to $12.75
per 4-ounce skein.
Research what others offer and
charge. Hayne’s husband, John,
spends a lot of time on the internet
comparing their business to others’.
Stick with your plan for at least
three years. “It takes three years to
really get it going,” Hayne says.
Offer a range of prices. Some
people need less expensive products
while others will purchase the most
expensive because it must be the
best, Hayne says.
Understand your financial position.
Hayne began by borrowing funds from
a bank to pay for inventory shipments,
but soon discovered she could lower
her interest costs by juggling special
transfer deals from credit cards.
“My bank loan was 10.9%. I got
that down to 5.9% on a credit card.
I use one credit card for a shipment
and then don’t add to it again,” she
explains.
Know your product. The Haynes
do not crossbreed their ewes, even
for larger terminal cross lambs. If they
did, they would not be able to sell
the lambs’ wool and the lower price
per pound would not bring more net
income.
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2
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WOOL GATHERER: Leanne Hayne says it is worth it to go to the extra trouble of
hauling her raw wool to a mill in Carstairs, Alberta, to be carded, spun and dyed;
then tying each skein with her Beaverslide Dry Goods tag; sending out color
card samples of her yarn; and mailing each order. She adds to the ranch income,
does not have to commute and business is seasonal. Yarn orders usually drop off
about lambing time. They pick up again after the Haynes’ wheat is harvested.