ROOMMATE ARGUMENT ENDS IN DEATH PUBLIC SAFETY, A3
Gallup Sun VOL 10 | ISSUE 483
www.gallupsun.com
June 28, 2024
Quality, market, knowledge, tools challenging Navajo sheep industry “It’s a hard deal, and I really hate it for our people because they’ve done this forever,” Byerley said. Another person who understands how difficult or the Diné, sheep are a part of their history. it is to sell wool that comes from the Southwest is The animals are in their creation myths, and Mike Corn, the owner of Roswell Wool. when the Spanish colonists first brought churro Corn grew up in the sheep industry. He’d always sheep, which are now called Navajo Churro sheep, to been around ranches, and when he turned 30, he the Southwest, the animals soon became a part of the decided to go into business with his two brothers, Diné economy and culture. two of his cousins, his uncle, and one of his uncle’s But the days of sheep camps and flocks roaming friends. the plains and valleys At the time, there were in the Nation are long two wool wa rehouses in gone. On two separate Roswell, New Mexico. The occasions the Navajo men decided to buy one of Churro sheep came the warehouses, then a couclose to full extincple years later they bought tion. Counting over - Mike Coin, Owner of Roswell Wool the other one too. Thus, one million head at Roswell Wool was born. one time, there were The men’s main goal was reportedly less than 500 left in the world by 1977. to market New Mexico wool to the rest of the A CHANGING INDUSTRY world. Now, over 30 years later, Corn is the sole As someone who works closely with ranchers owner of the business. And he’s definitely seen a who bring in their wool to sell, Dudley Byerley is decrease in business. concerned about the future of the Navajo Churro Less than 100,000 pounds of wool was produced sheep and the wool industry in general. in southeastern New Mexico this past year. That’s Byerley and his wife own Cowtown Feed & down from the 3.5 million pounds Roswell Wool Livestock. They’ve been buying wool from ranch- saw when they first started their company. Now, ers for 40 years, but now he’s seeing a change in Corn relies mostly on wool from California from the industry. He hasn’t bought wool from anybody his main warehouse in Bakersfield. The California this year, and that’s partly due to a loss of quality. side of the business produces about 2.5 million Wool clothing is often thought of as high quality. pounds of wool a year. Wool is durable and long-lasting, and makes up fine “Production here in southeastern New Mexico clothing such as suits, slacks, blouses, and socks. has gotten smaller and smaller,” Coin said. “Labor But when the raw product itself isn’t high quality, shortages and droughts have contributed to peomanufacturers aren’t interested in buying it. ple just getting out [of the sheep industry], and it’s “When you buy a wool shirt or make a wool mostly these family-operated ranches. It’s the dad shirt, it’s got to be the number one fine white wool,” who’s still at the ranch and then most of the kids Byerley said. “If you make it out of any of those have not come back to the ranch, they’ve taken jobs other wools it’s scratchy, it’s coarse, it’s itchy. We and are doing something else as a career. So, the used to be able to send those bad wools to Pakistan old man’s having to do a lot more of the work and or Indonesia and they’d make throw rugs out of it, it’s just difficult for him to find help.” but they won’t even take it anymore.” LACK OF PRECISION, KNOWLEDGE Nowadays, Byerley says people aren’t very interByerley said part of the problem comes from ested in wool that comes from a Navajo reserva- people of the younger generation not knowing how tion. When he tells people from other countries to shear wool properly. that the wool came from New Mexico, they say He remembered a recent encounter where an they don’t want it. older woman came into his store and told him that By Molly Ann Howell Managing Editor
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“A
s long as there’s wool to be sold, I think I’ll stick around.”
her family had just sheared their sheep. He asked who sheared the animals, and she said her nephews did it. Byerley’s heart sank. He asked if anyone had been supervising when the young boys sheared the sheep, and the woman said no one else had been around. “Those kids don’t know, so they just mixed it all up,” Byerley said. “It just makes the wool useless.” Sheep shearing is something that requires methodical and precise work. Professional shearers use a wooden board so that they don’t get manure, hay, twine, dirt, or other unwanted
See NAVAJO SHEEP, Page A8
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