In January 2023, Jeanne Carver participated in a panel discussion hosted by the University of Nebraska: Carbon Markets for Livestock Operations: Producer Perspectives:

Jeanne Carver, president and founder of Shaniko Wool Company, has won the American Sheep Industry Association’s 2023 Innovation Award, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of an individual or organization that has improved the US sheep industry in a game-changing way.

Jeanne Carver’s sheep ranch, outside Shaniko in north-central Oregon, illustrates an idea that she hopes will transform her unique corner of agriculture: fiber production. In this case, wool from Merino sheep.

Season 5, Episode 8: “Listening to Jeanne Carver talk about her family's goals and results for their ranch offers an inspiring message for those of us who love wool and ecosystem conservation …”

Jeanne shares her journey with host Kara Duffy, about going from hardworking rancher to business owner, organizer, and now a leader in setting the standards for land conservation, and sustainable, regenerative wool production in the U.S.

NATIVA™ Regenerative Agriculture Program is a robust system with a triple impact, one based on scientific research and backed by data. It protects the land by bettering its soil quality, safeguards the animals by ensuring their healthy keeping, and supports farmers and local communities by improving their livelihoods.

The new issue of Inside Outdoor highlights the work Shaniko Wool is doing to change the domestic wool landscape in terms of enhanced land management, and giving major brands, such as Ralph Lauren, a source of American-grown wool with a pristine, verifiable sustainability story that they can use in the marketing of their products.

Born on the Oregon Trail, pioneer Richard Hinton came to the high desert of Central Oregon in 1871. He staked a homestead claim and began raising sheep. More than 150 years later, the ranchers still raising sheep on Hinton’s land provide wool to outfit Team USA Olympians and Paralympians.

Listen in and hear the incredible story of how a small sheep ranch in Oregon wound up providing the wool that has been worn by the first lady of the United States and used in the official Olympic uniforms for Team USA.

One of the early settlers in the Shaniko area of north central Oregon was August Scherneckau, who came to the area in 1874, after the Civil War. The spelling of the town's name reflects local Native American pronunciation of Scherneckau's name.

Shaniko Wool Company proudly supplied the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)-certified wool used in the 2022 Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremony beanies, and Closing Ceremony sweaters.

Shaniko Wool Company and Jeanne Carver of Oregon have donated a 2022 Winter Olympics sweater, identical to the ones that will be worn by Team USA during the games’ opening and closing ceremonies on February 20 in Beijing, China, to ASI. The sweater will be auctioned off during the RAMS PAC Auction on January 21 at the ASI Annual Convention in San Diego.

Textile Exchange has created a landmark framework for the fashion and textile industries to understand, communicate, and invest in regenerative agriculture through its 2022 Regenerative Agriculture Report. Shaniko Wool’s efforts to obtain data and proof of our member ranches’ regenerative impacts with our Carbon Initiative model are detailed in the report.

Los Angeles hat and accessories designer Janessa Leone, a favorite of Meghan Markle, Taylor Swift and others, is launching her first clothing line. Made from regenerative, carbon negative wool in partnership with Shaniko Wool Co. in Oregon, the Reciproque sweater collection is a reimagining of fashion consumption and production for the designer, highlighting the relationship between what we wear and the land where it is sourced.

Jeanne Carver spoke at last month’s Textile Exchange conference in Dublin, Ireland, about how Shaniko Wool Company is conducting research with its Farm Group producers on carbon sequestration and biodiversity support, with their first-of-its-kind Carbon Initiative.

What’s unique about the work you do?

At this time, in 2020, Shaniko Wool Company is the only supplier of RWS certified wool in North America.

Like the proverbial tree falling in a forest, a company’s sustainability efforts may not make noise without the right observation. Oregon-based farming group Shaniko Wool Company has launched an initiative that scientifically measures its producers’ carbon sequestration through a combination of soil and bio-based sampling, laboratory analysis and modeling. Aside from improving transparency and backing.

Leslie Davis Burns and Jeanne Carver have co-authored Stories of Fashion, Textiles, and Place, which follows the journeys of five companies with evolving sustainable supply chains in the fashion and textile industry. Each of the profiled companies are committed to advancing cultural traditions of a particular place.

With a back-to-the-land approach that considers the betterment of the Earth’s future, Jeanne Carver has been a force in the wool and textile industry for over two decades.