Wool Quality Improvement Program

The Wool Quality Improvement Program supports sheep producers with direct funding, technical assistance and market-building resources. Producers use it to improve wool quality, put conservation practices in place and reach new and expanded markets for American wool. The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) runs it with partners Fibershed and New York Fibershed, with funding from USDA NRCS's Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative.

The program will work with 100 wool producers until March 31, 2028.

• Sheep operations located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New York, South Dakota, Utah or Wyoming.

• Farm records established with the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), with a completed Customer Data Worksheet (AD-2047).

• A W-9.

• Control of the land for the term of the contract.

• You can't enroll practices that are, have been or will be enrolled in other conservation programs (such as EQIP, CSP, CRP or easements) on the same ground within the practice lifespan.

• Every participant must join the Practice Implementation Fund and complete at least one conservation practice to be eligible for the two optional funds.

• Practice Implementation Fund (required): cost-share for NRCS conservation practices: cover crop, crop rotation, fence, no till, pasture and hay planting, prescribed grazing, range planting, reduced till and soil carbon amendment. Rates are the NRCS EQIP 2025 rate for your state plus an additional 50%.

• This is reimbursement. You pay the up-front costs and are reimbursed once the practice is complete and certified to NRCS specifications. Practices must be approved before you start.

• Wool Improvement Fund (optional): reimburses best-practice shearing and wool handling, such as separating belly wool and off-sorts. One shearing per sheep can be claimed each year.

• Market Innovation Fund (optional): supports equipment, processing and handling infrastructure, value-added wool products and marketing. This fund is still under development.

• Payments aren't bound by the payment limits and adjusted gross income (AGI) limits of other USDA programs.

Apply through the application form linked from NCAT's program page, and someone from the team will contact you about next steps. A regional team reviews each application, and status updates come from woolprogram@ncat.org.

Approved producers sign a Producer Agreement and send in their current-year FSA subsidiary print. The regional team then works with them on practices and on which funds to join.

If you applied to or enrolled in the earlier Climate Beneficial Fiber Partnership, you must submit a new application if your acres or number of sheep have changed by 20% or more.

Questions: woolprogram@ncat.org.