Wool debate points to desire for change

Where to now for the farmers that produce 30% of crossbred wool and were prepared to invest in the Wool Partners Co-Op idea?

This article in The ODT criticises farmers for thinking short term in both the wool and red meat sector and for not being prepared to commit to a long term vision.

It also compares the small investment sheep farmers were asked to commit to a downsteam industry to secure its future as a pittance, compared to dairy operators investment in Fonterra.

Are these criticisms fair, and if sheep farmers fortunes continue to improve, will you consider investing along the product chain in the future?

The wool debate of 2010-11 must not be allowed to end with the failure of farmers to fully subscribe for shares in the proposed Wool Partners Co-operative. The fledgling co-op's $65 million target was unrealistically high, but the fact it attracted $40 million sends a strong message that producers of more than a third of the country's strong wool want changes to the way the fibre is marketed and sold.We can and should better market a fibre which ticks all the boxes of what modern, discerning consumers want, but as happens too often with sheep and beef farmers, politics and short-term considerations have dominated their thinking.

Regular comment was passed during the debate that some farmers were uneasy with PGG Wrightson's involvement, even though it would have been at arm's length from Wool Partners Co-op (WPC). Some also questioned if there were sufficient fresh faces to run WPC, but the strong wool industry has been depressed for so long it has hardly been the sector of choice for many bright young people. Once again, the industry has been looking over its shoulder when boldness and courage is needed to address 15 years of falling prices.

While the $15,000 to $20,000 investment was significant for some farmers, it is a fraction of what dairy farmers have had to invest. A farmer buying shares in Fonterra for 300 cows would have to pay $500,000, but they view that as an investment, something sheep and beef farmers have traditionally not done.

Wool has followed a similar path to the red meat debate several years ago when momentum for change was lost, in part due to a cyclical improvement in price.Wool prices have similarly risen, not because of anything industry players have done, but due to supply chains being exhausted of inventory. This is exactly when change should occur.

So what is likely to happen?All the parties are talking about changes, but will it go far enough?Given the silo mentality and animosity that pervades the wool industry, who will drive it and how will they get any agreement?Successive governments have tried unsuccessfully to unify the sector, so why should growers have confidence there will be peace now given the aggressive tone of the recent wool debate.