 The following is a production of New Mexico State University. The Four Corners region where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona meet is a place of extremes. Striking rock formations emerge from the dry, windy desert. Rushing rivers flow through the lush green forests in the northern mountain ranges. Sunsets draw color from the stark desert landscapes. These areas are special to the Navajo and Ute people and everyone who calls this area home. Here the mix of traditional Native American culture and modern life makes this region unique. Navajo families have been producing lamb and wool products as a necessity for centuries. Relative newcomers brought and developed traditional ways as well. Today, area farmers, meat and wool processors, weavers and artists continue many of these traditions. But these small lamb and wool producers face stiff competition from larger companies across the United States and from the sale of imported lamb and wool and cheap synthetic fibers. However, they are finding their niche in the marketplace by capitalizing on a unique cultural history, a respect for the environment and a desire to provide fresh, healthy food and high quality wool and wool products. Foxfire Farms has been owned and operated by the Parry family in southwest Colorado since 1913. They are building clientele by promoting their commitment to healthy organic products. Our overall marketing strategy for Foxfire Farms is to try to provide our customers with some of the nicest quality products that they can have. Not only are they going to be healthy, but they're going to make their families feel better. I think the most important feature of our lamb to our customer is the fact that it's grass-fed and it's also organic. Those two things, the grass-fed and the organic, are what gives the value to the customer. And through our product labeling, through our branding, is also what provides the customer with the insight or the security that the product is really from the farm and it is raised humanely. On this 500 irrigated acres, we have it divided roughly into 50 paddocks and the paddocks are 10 acres in size. And during the fast growing season like this, we will move fairly rapidly through the grazing cell. And we'll spend two to three days in each paddock. But again, that's with a large group of cattle or a fairly large group of using lambs. And then there will be about a 30 to 40 day rest period before we come back with the livestock. And it's also very important that one thing that we do, the reason we multi-species graze that we have sheep and cattle, is we graze the cattle through a paddock and then 30 days later we graze the sheep through the paddock. And the reason why is the two species cancel each other's parasites. And that's one of the things that helps us to be certified organic under irrigation. For Foxfire, having a well-managed grass-based system makes it relatively easy to go organic. To me, everything off the ranch should be marketed as having the unique flavor of this area. Because no matter what, they're all eating the grass, which is really taking from the nutrients in the soil. In addition to selling lamb, Foxfire Farms markets wool pelts. The pelts we sell at the farmer's market are an extra product for us to sell off our farm. It's a product that's usually thrown away or given away to another company. And in this way, we can take our hides, get them tanned and then sell them. And some people like them as a novelty. Some people like to decorate with them. And it's just another way of adding products to your farm that you may not have thought of. For smaller farms, selling pelts can be financially tricky due to rising tanning costs. Foxfire Farms began providing background information to add value and interest to the pelts. Tell your story. Tell the story of why there are different colors, what the species are behind it, and create a value for your customer. And then they'll be willing to spend the extra money for your pelts because it is from you. Another way to help increase sales is by creating an appropriate label. Sunnyside Meats outside Durango helps meat producers develop labels that describe both the attributes of the product and how it was produced. I think labeling is very important for the marketing of meat. In the case of a farmer's market, there is the face-to-face interaction perhaps between the producer and the consumer. But other than that situation, what label is on there has a lot to do with, I think, the reception that is going to get in the marketplace. Generic labels featuring only weight, price and description of the cut do not require USDA approval. If you have a brand name, if you start throwing in claims about how this animal was raised or how it tastes or how much it enjoyed life on your farm, then that gets more complicated. To help producers be more successful, Sunnyside Meats helps them with the application process for labels if necessary. My name is Roy Cady and I'm a generational Navajo Cheroshi grower producer and also a master fiber artist working with the Navajo Cheroshi. For Roy Cady, following the Navajo traditions of raising sheep and producing wool adds value to the final product. Roy's extensive knowledge of area plants fulfills the nutritional needs of the flock. A lot of the plants that they eat and how we know that it is good for them is usually a lot of the plants that grow and that are native to this land that they eat is usually plant that we can also consume, that we can also use medicinally to cure ailments, disease. And so with the sheep grazing and using rotational grazing because there are hundreds of plants that they eat, not just grass. A lot of times the animals with their instinct they know already that they're yearning a particular plant. Roy not only raises sheep in the Navajo tradition but also processes the wool using resources from the land. He begins by searching for a yucca plant, digs down and cuts off a root, careful not to damage the entire plant. Using a sharp rock he strips the yucca root. He places the root in a large bowl of spring water. The yucca root acts as a sudzing agent. After straining the yucca root Roy pours the soapy water into a wash tub filled with clean water. He uses spring water since it does not contain chlorine which can damage the wool. Roy washes the wool thoroughly, removing all the dirt and vegetable debris. Then he hangs the wool from a tree to dry it in the open air. He cards the wool to remove any additional debris. Then he handspins the raw wool into yarn. Next Roy dyes the yarn. The dyes are made of vegetable matter such as mistletoe boiled in spring water. Roy adds ashmorton to the mixture and puts the yarn in the pot to soak overnight. Finally the yarn will be rinsed in a vinegar bath to seal the color. After the yarn has been dyed it goes to the weaving process where it is transformed into beautiful handcrafted blankets. To better tell the story behind the weavings Roy gives a summary of his work to his buyer. It's a photo documentary. I provide them with the whole scenario of how even in the design what inspired me to do the colors or the design in my pieces. And so they have a whole worksheet that explains to them from day one to the last finished product. And so that's how I'm able not just to educate them but to also give them what to me is important for them to know. While people like Roy Cady use traditional methods of wool production others rely on more modern methods. Mountain high fiber ladies is a small family owned and operated wool processing mill designed to produce shorter stable fibers. This is very small actually very small system and it's designed to actually be put up in a garage. It requires no special electrical and people run them out of their backyard in a shop or a garage or a very small facility like we have. They're designed to be a cottage industry type business. We literally follow that fleece through and if we know the animals name that name stays with the fleece and we feel like they're close personal friends by the time we finish with the product. This small operation provides the flexibility needed to process wool according to the individual producers needs and desires. Unlike conventional wool mills a small operation can process each fleece differently. This special treatment may cost more but if the result is a product that attracts more discerning customers it can be well worth it. We can just scour, we can scour and de-hair or we can take it on to roving for hand spinners and we can do blends of fiber, take sheep's wool and put soy silk with it or mow hair or whatever people would like. But blending at the carter is a very easy thing to do and it makes a beautiful product. Sometimes the wool is taken from the carters to the draw frame where it is then prepped for the spinner. The spinner can spin anywhere from a single ply up to four ply. We can spin different sizes of yarn, we can car different sizes of roving. So there's a large variety of things we can actually do and make. Wool growers who properly skirt the fleece to remove hay, tags and very dirty wool reap multiple benefits. The condition of the fleece coming in our door makes a huge difference to how we have to deal with it in terms of getting it prepped and ready to go to the scouring machine. It also makes a huge difference in what the producer of the fiber has to pay us to take that fleece and give it value or make it a value added product. The more weight that comes in the door is what it's going to determine what we charge you to scour that fleece. So the cleaner it is, the better it is for you in terms of your cost and the better product you will ultimately get back from the mill. A new addition to mountain high fiber ladies is in development. This side business called Four Corners Fibers will use wool fibers raised and produced in the Four Corners region to make the final product more attractive to customers who find this area of special interest. It might be roving or it may be drawn roving or it may be yarns that we would then sell to knitting shops, fiber stores, at least beginning in the Four Corners area. And then once it's sold, the producer would receive a percentage of the wholesale price. You would get a little better return on your product. Stories behind the products and about the producers often add great value that would otherwise be lost. If you go to the effort to process by hand, use your own wool or even diet naturally, be sure to relay this information to your customers. Local markets provide the best opportunity to tell the story and find customers who share the producer's values. Buying food from local farmers markets is ideal because it can be fresher and of better quality. These markets open the lines of communication between the consumer and the producer. And it can help reduce cost, pollution and greenhouse emissions due to fossil fuel use in the delivery of products from state to state. Many customers are looking for local products because buying from local markets helps keep money in the community and supports local farmers and ranchers. Supporting local agriculture ensures land preservation and more open spaces. Although Foxfire Farm sells their product on the Internet, they also sell at various farmers markets and to local stores and restaurants, which allows them to tell their story beyond what can be conveyed on their label and website. There are many ways to market lamb and wool products. Find ways to sell products that would normally be discarded. Look for those simple things you can do to add value to your product, to have more of a story to tell and connect with your customers. Form a partnership with local outlets or processing plants. Increase the value by providing more information about the product. Use print and other media and, best of all, talk to the customers in person at local farmers markets. Tell them how your product is unique or unusual, how your operation is sustainable, why you are proud of your products and how you produce them. Consider using the Internet also, which offers more ways to tell your story, not only to distant customers, but to local ones as well. If necessary, travel to shows and markets to find clientele who better understand the unique value of your product. This type of direct contact allows the producer to interact more effectively with the customer. And that's why I like doing a lot of the markets, like the Herd Museum in the market, or the Santa Fe anymore. Because you have, a lot of times, you have three or less pieces to show, because that's all you can produce in that time frame. And so, I think, from my experience, in order for you to have a comfortable living, to have a sustainable financial stability, you have to do that. You have to put in more effort into making, in refining and making this unique about you, your sheep, your people, your land, and telling those stories. It makes it more meaningful to the collector to know about, you know, all that. And that's what gives it the price that it deserves. That's what puts the bread and the butter on the table. The preceding was a production of New Mexico State University. The views and opinions in this program are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the NMSU Board of Regents.