Farmers in New South Wales, Australia, Use Scrap Wool on Fields to Reduce Evaporation, Increase Soil Moisture, and Provide Slow-Release Nutrients

     According to a Daily Galaxy article, farmers in New South Wales, Australia, are using wool waste, the part of the wool that is unusable for fiber, as a farm field additive. This waste wool has been costly to dispose of and has, in the past, been considered a nuisance. Now, it is being applied to fields considered marginally suitable for crops in order to fertilize the fields and retain moisture in the soil. The wool contains carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen, and its structure is suitable for retaining moisture. The wool is able to absorb and retain moisture. The wool can be used in its raw form, as wool hydrolysate, or as pellets, mats, or it can be composted and used. Using the wool as mulch offers moisture retention and weed control. The nitrogen is released slowly, which is ideal for increasing soil fertility.

     

     Wool fibers consist of approximately 16 to 17% nitrogen, 3 to 4% sulfur, and 50% carbon. These are bound in keratin, which resists decomposition. It also contains lanolin, which is a mixture of wax and sweat. The wool fibers have hygroscopic properties. This means they absorb and retain moisture better than other materials. They also release that moisture when it becomes dry. They also help to aerate the soil and prevent compaction. Wool is also considered to be a fire-retardant material.

“Fibers can absorb between 1.5 and 2 times their own weight in water, holding it near the root zone where plants can access it. When mixed into soil, the fibers create micro air pockets, addressing the compaction that often accompanies degradation. The combination of moisture retention and aeration is unusual. Most soil amendments provide one or the other.”

     The raw wool can clump and block water movement. Thus, it is being processed into other forms like pellets/granules and composite mats that may also contain other organic matter. The wool has been found to increase moisture retention time by 25-40%.

     Field trials were conducted from 2022 to 2025. The Australian sheep industry produces about 200,000 tons of waste wool annually. Thus, reusing it beneficially would be a great boon to developing a waste wool circular economy.

“In Victoria during 2024, more than 40 wool recycling startups began operations, creating approximately 2,500 jobs in rural areas.”

     The results of field trials were published in papers in the journal Agronomy and in the journal Animal Science and Genetics. It can get very hot in Australia, and the country is susceptible to droughts that can deplete soil moisture. Below is the abstract and conclusions in the Agronomy paper.

     It can get very hot in Australia, and the country is susceptible to droughts that can deplete soil moisture. According to the paper in Animal Science and Genetics:

“The term soil flash drought (SFD) is used to describe a rapid decline in soil moisture. This phenomenon has been a major challenge for agriculture in recent decades. More than 74% of land is already experiencing drought, and more land areas are predicted to experience it due to the transition to a warmer climate (Ma, Yuan, 2025).”

     A ton of waste wool can produce nearly 900 kilograms of pellets. Those pellets have a market value roughly three times that of raw wool. Waste wool-based mulches and soil amendments are also being tested in several European countries.

 

 

References:

 

A country is covering its barren fields with sheep’s wool, and the results are turning heads. Arezki Amiri. Daily Galaxy. February 17, 2026. A country is covering its barren fields with sheep’s wool, and the results are turning heads

Turning Waste Wool into a Circular Resource: A Review of Eco-Innovative Applications in Agriculture. Francesca Camilli, Marco Focacci, Aldo Dal Prà, Sara Bortolu, Francesca Ugolini, Enrico Vagnoni, and Pierpaolo Duce. Agronomy. 2025, 15 (2), 446. Turning Waste Wool into a Circular Resource: A Review of Eco-Innovative Applications in Agriculture | MDPI

Using the natural properties of sheep wool in the design of drought-reducing composites. Julita Szczecina, Marcin Niemiec,Piotr Szatkowski, Ewa Szczepanik, Ishenbek Zhakypbekovich Alykeev, and Edyta Molik. ANIMAL SCIENCE AND GENETICS. Volume: 21, No.: 2, 2025. Published: 29-06-2025. Using the natural properties of sheep wool in the design of drought-reducing composites