[jodane]

As you all know, there isn't a wholesale broker that cashmere producers can sell our raw fiber to. I started wondering if we could get a USDA grant to see if this is a feasible thing to create. I don't have all the details and logistics of how this would work, but as I'm working with UGA about the grant, they tell me we need a feasibility study, and I need to find some other Cashmere fiber producers that might be interested in helping with their data for the study. Are you willing to help with the study if I can get the grant that far? if you are, please let me know how many cashmere goats you have, have you had your herd's cashmere tested at some point so you know it's truly cashmere, and what state you are in.

 

[Lisa Storksen]

Sorry, we have Angoras. All we have heard of is local spinners who make local hand done yarns and fiber art. Good luck.

 

[elvis&oliver]

Sorry you didn’t get more feed back. I don’t think there’s many fiber owners on the forum that I know of anyway. I have Pygoras and I also with you the best of luck

 

[jodane]

Sorry you didn't get more feed back. I don't think there's many fiber owners on the forum that I know of anyway. I have Pygoras and I also with you the best of luck

Thanks for writing. It doesn't surprise me that there aren't more people doing fiber as there's really not a way for the fiber to get into the market. It's tough selling it. I guess this is what I wanted to try and change.

 

[Lady of the Woods]

So i raise cashmere goats. I have 18 heads including kids that will be sold. But i am looking to expand. Its a one buck herd. The adults fiber was tested shortly before i bought them so it is legit cashmere but i cant remember exactly how many microns. Can tell you later.

Id be happy to participate in your study. I live in washington state. Feel free to pm me for more info. Keep in mind i live in a really rural area so my reply might take a while.

 

[Dwarf Dad]

Welcome to the forum!:cowboy:
Our fibrous friends will be pleased to have another on here.

 

[jodane]

So i raise cashmere goats. I have 18 heads including kids that will be sold. But i am looking to expand. Its a one buck herd. The adults fiber was tested shortly before i bought them so it is legit cashmere but i cant remember exactly how many microns. Can tell you later.

Id be happy to participate in your study. I live in washington state. Feel free to pm me for more info. Keep in mind i live in a really rural area so my reply might take a while.

Thanks for responding I will definitely put you on my list. Couple more questions for you? Do you harvest the cashmere and sell it? Do you belong to the either of the two Cashmere Associations? and lastly What color are your goats/and fiber? The color question is because I have found someone through a contact in the Eastern Cashmere Association who is buying white cashmere and producing a product with it, and he's having trouble sourcing enough white cashmere. So if you have white, I may be able to help you sell your cashmere by connecting you to him.

 

[Lady of the Woods]

So gunna answer your questions here. Im a fairly new operation. I comb the cashmere but am still trying to find a mill to process and a good place to sell.

Found most mills process alpaca or sheep wool and pretty much just do large batches which is not so ideal for cashmere and its small harvest. So i am currently looking into cleaning and carding by hand myself to sell online to either ebay or etsy if i dont find other buyers. I may do it in two year batches to make it more appealimt size-wise since my herd is still growing.

I bought my goats from a lady from NWCA (northwest cashmere association) I intend to join as well but their site was having trouble for a while and life happened. Havent gotten back to it yet.

My buck is kind of a golden white color. He carries both black and white genes. His cashmere is an off white goldish color. Almost all of my other goats are silver (want to say white with black roaning almost) they produce an offwhite cashmere. Its not pearly like a pure white goat is. I do have one pure white goat but she was born this year so no harvest from her yet. I have 3 black goats as well that produce a smokey brownish grey colored cashmere.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[jodane]

So gunna answer your questions here. Im a fairly new operation. I comb the cashmere but am still trying to find a mill to process and a good place to sell.

Found most mills process alpaca or sheep wool and pretty much just do large batches which is not so ideal for cashmere and its small harvest. So i am currently looking into cleaning and carding by hand myself to sell online to either ebay or etsy if i dont find other buyers. I may do it in two year batches to make it more appealimt size-wise since my herd is still growing.

I bought my goats from a lady from NWCA (northwest cashmere association) I intend to join as well but their site was having trouble for a while and life happened. Havent gotten back to it yet.

My buck is kind of a golden white color. He carries both black and white genes. His cashmere is an off white goldish color. Almost all of my other goats are silver (want to say white with black roaning almost) they produce an offwhite cashmere. Its not pearly like a pure white goat is. I do have one pure white goat but she was born this year so no harvest from her yet. I have 3 black goats as well that produce a smokey brownish grey colored cashmere.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

I have heard that Still River mills is the best mill for cashmere. i have not yet had mine cleaned so I can't speak from experience. I have also heard that it can take the better part of a year to get your cleaned cashmere back from most of the mills.

As far as selling, You should also look into whether you have any hand spinning groups around. This is a good market for selling your fiber as these people are hard core fiber enthusiasts. You could also sign up for a booth if you have any local fiber festivals and sell it there.

so unfortunately, if it's not White, the person I recently met, wants White....so that wouldn't work for him, sorry.

I'm interested to see how the hand cleaning goes for you. I was doing some hand cleaning, but it's a long process.

 

[Lady of the Woods]

Good deal thx for the heads up. Im thinking im going to just clean it by hand and card it and get it ready for spinning. I might be able to find local spinning groups. Didnt think about that.