New Sustainable Wool Research Highlights Carbon Sequestration

For those following the US involvement in the 2026 Winter Olympics, one bright spot is that Shaniko Wool has been chosen for the 5th time as the supply source for Ralph Lauren's designed uniforms for the US Olympic team.

Wool producer and entrepreneur, Jeanne Carver of Imperial Stock Ranch from Shaniko, Oregon has been a long-time Holistic Management practitioner and the team on her ranch have used holistic planned grazing. She has been on the forefront of a multi-year research project as part of a carbon research initiative as well as helping to develop the standards for sustainable wool.

In collaboration with a team from Oregon State University the team of 10 ranchers across seven western states supplying wool to Shaniko Wool have helped provide data to the research team so that the study could better analyze the connection between soil carbon and sustainable rangeland grazing.

Jeanne Carver on the Imperial Stock Ranch

This effort is something Jeanne supported because she wanted to be able to demonstrate that sustainable wool could be carbon neutral or better.

The article, titled "Conservation management on an Oregon livestock ranch supports net soil carbon and nitrogen storage," is published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment and available online here.

Researcher taking soil samples

The highlights of the study noted that:

• Soil carbon and nitrogen increased in areas with 20 years of improved rangeland management.

• Increases in carbon and nitrogen were observed in topsoil layers, not in deeper layers.

• Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture were offset by carbon sequestration on grazing lands.

The ranchers who supply wool to Shaniko Wool manage over 2.5 million acres. Initial research showed exciting results that kept Jeanne motivated. She noted: “The net impact on our ranch (the one with the most data) for the last three years in the high desert with less than 8 inches of annual precipitation is that we capture about 60,000 tons of carbon/year in the soil on our 32,000-acre ranch while producing beef, lamb, and wool. That means we draw down more than 218,000 Tons of CO2! We have a negative greenhouse gas emissions total because we are increasing our biomass and feeding the soil which, in turn, grows more biomass."