Dealer Index located on Page A10
APRIL 2023
Volume 41
48 Pages
PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308
Phone: (509) 397-2191
Number 1
SHEEP TO SHELF
Family-run ranch creates vertically integrated wool clothing business
Courtesy of Kyle Niego/Duckworth
Evan Helle urges the sheep forward with his dogs, Buddy and Paisley. The sheep will move next through timberlands where predators live.
D
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press
ILLON, Mont. — A family-owned sheep ranch has put a spin on the “farm-to-table” concept by trademarking a similar slogan — “Sheep to Shelf” — that captures its unusual business model. In 2013, John Helle, a third-generation sheep rancher in Western Montana, co-founded a wool clothing company called Duckworth Co. The brand sells shirts, hoodies, socks, hats and other clothing made from the wool produced by ranch’s roughly 10,000 sheep. At a time when wool producers and the American textile industry are struggling, the Helle family is going against the trend by expanding its operation. The Helles plan to partner with additional mills and ranches to boost production in the coming years. See Sheep, Page A9
John Helle
Evan Helle
Weston Helle
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