The last secret of anti-drought farming is literally burying sheep’s wool
The wool we have in our clothes today may be seen as something insignificant, but in the past It was considered “white gold” that supported the economy of many countries around the world. Currently, Australia is one of the giant producers worldwide that has two types of products: fine wool, which sells very expensive, and low quality wool that is left unused. but science has already found a way to take advantage of it in agriculture itself. An underused resource. The scientific literature that has been growing in recent months suggest that this residue is actually an underutilized piece of biological engineering that is able to retain water where no one else can. And this is something that is very interesting for the most desertified lands, such as what happens in Spain, for example. And in those countries that are more arid, such as Australia or in Spainthere are several problems: the lack of water and the speed with which it evaporates from the ground. That is why this is where the “microsponge” function that wool can have comes in. The essays. After seeing that wool has this property to retain water, science began to work on it. It was then that scientists began to apply processed waste wool in agriculture, as pellets or in compressed form. In this way, after placing it on top of the earth, it was seen how the compacted and dry soils were beginning to regenerate. Simply a layer of wool on the soil can reduce surface water loss by up to 35%. This is something really positive, since it has been observed an increase in microbial activity of between 30 and 50%, and also the test crops showed increases in production of between 12% and 18%. A simple idea. Wool acts as an insulating blanket that prevents the sun from incinerating the soil, but it also acts as that hygroscopic sponge that allows water to be provided without it evaporating quickly. There are nuances. If we go down from the enthusiasm of field trials to the coldness of the laboratory, we find something different. A study published in 2022 pointed out that wool waste not only does not damage the microbiota, but rather stimulates it. Unlike other materials that can “steal” nitrogen from the soil to decompose, wool degrades by slowly releasing nutrients. More recently, in a 2025 studyan analysis of the use of wool pellets in lettuce cultivation. The water retention figures here are more conservative, but equally valuable: they documented improvements in soil moisture of between 3% and 25%. Everything always depended on the specific type of soil, being most effective in sandy soils that are most prone to drying out. Why it works. The key to the sponge as a true help for our crops is in its physical and chemical structure. It has been specifically seen that wool can absorb up to twice its weight in water without much problem. This is essential, because when it rains or is watered it will be able to store a lot of moisture and will gradually release it when the environment dries out. But also, we are talking about a slow fertilizer. This is explained because, being composed of keratin, wool is rich in nitrogen and sulfur. In addition, its biodegradation is slow, making it an organic alternative to synthetic fertilizers. Circular economy. Beyond its function in the field, the research frames wool within the need to reduce fossil inputs. Currently, manufacturing nitrogen fertilizers consumes large amounts of natural gas, so using wool as fertilizer can help us meet this large consumption. In addition to all this, the rancher gets rid of waste that previously cost him money to eliminate or took up a lot of space and the farmer obtains a material that protects his soil from erosion and drought. Images | Sam Carter Mike Erskine In Xataka | Extremadura has become master of an unexpected sector: the cultivation of tobacco “made in Spain”
