Butler teens turn sheep wool into local fertilizer business

Wool from a Butler sheep farm is getting a second life as fertilizer, and two Otter Tail County teens are the ones turning it into a business.

Jana and Jacob Hendrickx, who were 13 and 15, were marketing organic fertilizer pellets made from sheep wool through their venture, Hendrickx Wool Company. The pair had already secured retail partnerships with local stores, giving the product a real path beyond the family farm and into the hands of gardeners and small growers who want a local soil amendment with a practical use.

The idea fit the region well. Wool pellets can serve as a natural bio-enhancement in gardens, and South Dakota State University Extension says wool contains nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and potassium. The same extension also notes wool can help with water retention and plant health, two traits that matter in dry spells and in raised beds where homeowners are trying to stretch every watering can.

Research has backed up the concept. A 2022 study in Agronomy found pelleted sheep’s wool performed comparably to commercial fertilizer in spinach and tomato trials, with few differences seen among the fertilized treatments. University of Vermont Extension has also pointed to pelletized wool as a soil amendment that can recycle low-value wool, a useful angle in places where wool is not always easy to sell as a raw commodity.

For Otter Tail County, the significance is bigger than a clever youth project. The Hendrickx siblings showed how a byproduct from a local farm can become a value-added item with a market at garden centers, farm stores and hobby plots. It also reflects a broader shift in rural small business, where families increasingly look for niche products that can be made close to home, sold locally and built around existing agricultural resources.

The Hendrickx name is already familiar in Butler, and the family’s ties to the area helped give the business instant local footing. With Jana and Jacob still too young to drive themselves, their wool pellet venture suggested something larger than a teenager's side project: a county-grown idea that connected farming, sustainability and small-scale retail in one product.