Farmer’s Yarn began as an event.
It has since become something else.
When I first started working with our own wool on the farm, it was difficult to find information on how to build a yarn business. Much of the support came from attending yarn shows and meeting others working in a similar way.
For small-scale businesses, there is strength in community. That was the thinking behind Farmer’s Yarn from the beginning.
Over time, more people began asking whether we held RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) accreditation. This led us to explore what a wool accreditation for UK producers might look like. We commissioned a report with HYPA Consultancy to better understand the landscape.
One of the key findings was that farmers often carry the greatest responsibility, while much of the benefit sits further along the supply chain.
It became clear that, within shorter and more transparent supply networks — where people know and trust one another — additional layers of certification are not always what is needed.
What is needed is a shared understanding.
A promise.
The conversations, the relationships and the work with fibre pointed towards a different way of thinking. Not just about British wool, but about how we conduct ourselves in business. One rooted in traceability, proximity and closer connections across the supply chain.
Rather than existing as a single annual gathering, Farmer’s Yarn is evolving into a way of working.
It brings together farmers, mills, producers and textile brands who want to work more closely with wool and where it comes from. To understand its origins, how it behaves and how it is handled at each stage.
At its heart is a simple idea: that wool should be valued not just as a material, but as something shaped by land, livestock and the people who work with it.
Farmer’s Yarn is not a certification.
It is a shared commitment to working with wool in a way that is transparent, considered and grounded in real relationships.
Much of this work takes place at a smaller scale, where those relationships are possible and where fibre can be traced back to individual farms.
In time, many of these supply chains will grow and develop further within the wider British wool system.
Farmer’s Yarn sits alongside that system, supporting the early stages, where ideas are tested, connections are made and new ways of working with wool can take shape.