HELENA — One Helena small business is making sure its products are just as healthy for the environment as they are for the consumer.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, it is an idea called regenerative agriculture, "meant to restore soil and ecosystem health, address inequity, and leave our land, waters, and climate in better shape for future generations."
"I don't think I went into it thinking, 'We are going to start a small business.' It kind of just ended up happening," said Molly Moore.
After returning home to Helena in 2020, she and her husband, Jon, started adding animals to their property.
But within the last year, they fully committed to launching their small business, Hoof&Paw Farm.
Molly said, "People have kind of forgotten where their food comes from, where the materials for their clothing come from. That's been really important for us, that education piece of where does your stuff come from."
Hoof&Paw sells just about every goat and sheep product you would expect.
From milk and cheese to wool and soap, all products are made with a focus on regenerative agriculture.
"Everything that comes out of a sheep can go back into the natural environment without doing any damage. You are trying to use what nature has and not add things to it that are going to interfere with it coming back [to the environment]," said Jon.
The married couple runs the business independently and only gets outside help with sheering.
The sheered fleece is used for multiple products. It is sold raw, used for mulch and dryer balls, or spun into yarn.
Molly said, "One of the most important things people like when they get our wool is to know the name of the sheep it came off of. So, they like to know 'This is Odin,' 'This is Hogan.'"
The Moores have shipped wool throughout the US and as far as the Netherlands.
The products are sold on Etsy, social media, and their website.
Customers may contact Hoof&Paw to schedule a pick-up for their cheese and milk items.
