Strong wool: growing a sustainable future
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Authors
Date
2011
Type
Monograph
Abstract
New Zealand was developed off the sheep's back.
It seems unfathomable that the strong wool industry, once our largest export
earner, is today fighting for survival. Worse than that, until recently, there was a
widespread view it had little chance of remaining viable, both economically and in
the volume of fibre produced.
During the Korean War farmers received £1 for a pound of wool. It was white
gold, its insulation properties recognised, and competition from synthetic fibres
negligible. Returns from wool as recently as 1980-81 made up half the income
from sheep. Now, that contribution can be less than 10%. The reality is that farmers need wool
returns to improve to make sheep
farming more viable. I believe there is now an entire generation of strong wool growers in
New Zealand who have little idea or
interest in their industry beyond their
own woolsheds. I know they have a
very different handle on where their
meat goes, often putting considerable
effort into gathering the information
they need (discussion groups, meat
company audits, etc)
How do we change this?
Since the McKinsey Report was
released, no one has gone to the
industry beyond our farm gates to
see how they are faring (we tend to
assume they are just out there making
money at our expense). What has
changed? What is working? What is
not working? What needs to change?
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