As a farmer who has spent a lifetime depending on
crossbred wools to provide a significant part of our “on farm” income (for
years, it represented approximately 1/3rd of the average sheep and beef
farmer’s income but now it is regarded as a significant cost), l know how
important this product had been to our economic survival until relatively
recently.
The facts are these.
Currently, the only positive the crossbred wool clip
represents is in the number of jobs it offers rural communities in the shearing
gangs it has traditionally supported but that is changing rapidly simply
because farmers can’t afford to be running sheep that in fact add negatively to
the “end of year” balance sheet.
Consequently there has been a relatively significant move
away from crossbred sheep that need to be shorn towards breeds that malt
naturally in the paddock and the demand for these “full frontal” more popular
semi nude alternatives is reflected in sale topping receipts at weekly sheep
sales around the country.
It isn’t hard to work out why this transition is taking
place but where it will end and how important it will become to the shearing
industry is still anybody’s guess.
What we do know is that the nation’s total crossbred clip
is a massive 140,000 tonnes of greasy wool most of which is exported. We are
and have been for a long time, the largest exporter of crossbred wools in the
world.
So, if this previously major contributor to overseas
funds were to be recycled here at home what would the pluses and minuses be for
the internal economy? - a good question
but the answer is not quite that simple to find.
The statistics bandied around on the Sunday programme
were obviously being used to scare the hell out of those watching and, from my
perspective, easily succeeded in achieving that objective. That programme was
designed to shock us into thinking about what we must do to reverse these
alarming environmentally polluting trends.
How many people would have known that it won’t be long
before “there are more pieces of plastic in the ocean than fish.
However, surprisingly we were not told, and it remains a
mystery as to why - what are the alternatives to this huge tonnage of synthetic
product that is destroying our planet simply because it is non-biodegradable.
Well, this is where the nation’s crossbred wool clip
should come in.
It is no secret that crossbred wools make some of the
best carpets and home insulation products on offer yet we appear to be
reluctant users of them in the building industry to anywhere near the potential
they represent.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out how
this alternative positive use of a product that is otherwise becoming a
millstone around the nation’s neck is a no brainer.
Unfortunately, this proposal has been sitting there for
some time, apparently waiting for a government decree or some such “order in
council” that would allow it to happen.
Why isn’t it happening?
One can only assume that the building industry barons are
politically more powerful than the government itself.
Really! Perhaps the Sunday Programme editors were too
frightened to ask that question.
Too bad - the nation should be demanding answers if we
are serious about doing what we can to save the planet here at home. Forget the
grandstanding on overseas stages.
Our responsibilities to do our part in averting the
consequences of climate change should remain focussed on our abilities to take
action here at home.
Join me in asking your MP what he or she is going to do
about it.
Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.
7 comments:
The compelling question for NZ residents is why would you deliberately burn ,potentially kill your family in a home fire by using plastic instead of wool. Oil based (synthetic) home furnishings, floor coverings , furniture , home appliances and personal clothing burn like fury with explosive acceleration, whereas woollen products smoulder with minimal toxic effects protecting your family.
Insurance companies have a huge burden of responsibility to increase the price on insurance product in relation to the percentage of synthetics the home is constructed with.
Interesting summary. I love wool. It is so diverse in its uses. And whether we like it or not a sheep is multi useful and totally recyclable at the end of the day.
( remember, vegans and eco warriors need to choose between petroleum based products - plastics and the like- or animal based products-such as leather for their shoes. Or of course other manufactured options, unless they choose bare feet. That said, I love my cork sneakers from Portugal).
But back to wool - weave it, knit it, felt it, fluff it - carpets/furnishings,clothing, insulation. That’s just for starters.
It’s warm and cool, and waterproof and fireproof and comfortable (even though I can’t wear it against my skin). Infinitely (almost) wonderful wool.
And yet it has become so unloved?
Crazy.
PS let’s not forget wool as footwear. German Monaco Duck beat Allbirds any day. Wool as extremely comfortable, sustainable, structured footwear. Incidentally apart from owning shoes from each brand I have no vested interest in either. It’s just that imho Monaco Duck show what great use can be made of wool.
It seems to me that this is the same discussion we were having forty years ago when the only market for X-bred wool seemed to be South-East Asia (Most I saw went to Katmandu).
Forty years on and we still have no genuine options, no advancements that would make the stronger x-bred wool become a necessity world-wide; which is, of course, why the price is so low.
Maybe that is where we should be looking rather than forcing people to do things through legislation.
Phil Blackwell
Of course it is always better if we do things by choice rather being coerced or forced to by the passing of a law but in a democracy governments are elected to serve the people and sometimes that may mean using legislation (particularly if it can be supported by all parties) to get a result that is clearly in the country’s best interest.
The current impasse you refer to is obviously something most voters don’t regard in the same light as other things that affect them more personally.and, as a consequence, are unmoved by the damage caused by their ambivalence towards change for the greater good.
Maybe the time has come for us all to take this problem more seriously - by benign force if necessary.
The fact remains that while we procrastinate, the environment continues to be downgraded.
This is a painless way of rectifying a very serious problem by replacing the policy allowing it to happen with one that is in the best interests of us all - not least the planet.
Compare this process to the one being proposed by the government zealots which would force farmers to slaughter a significant number of their herds in pursuit of an idealogical goal that can be achieved without cutting the throat of a single cow.
In a democracy we elect governments to operate in our best interests but don’t expect them to always introduce legislation that appeals to the majority of the people - we give them a mandate to operate as they see fit until they start to play fast and loose with that power.
At such a time the party that is considered to have abused it’s office is unceremoniously removed and the offending legislation is repealed.
- a simple but effective method of keeping the fox out of the chicken house.
In the end the people will decide whether laws introduced - even those by Order in Council, are acceptable and should remain on the statute books.
As usual, just follow the d$llar. When we closed most of our industries down, for cheaper mainly Asian production, which put greater profits in the fands of the multi-national-corporations, they found that synthetic fibres were more convenient when it came to supply & manufacturing. So until wool can compete pricewise, I am afraid the oil industry will be the winner. This is one time, when the 'alarmists' should be protesting in the streets, but unfortunately most have been indoctrinated to HATE farmers, so this will never happen..
I ran a 1000 cross breeds in the 80s and 90s, the old storey, by the time the bales hit the market there was no money in it, what with shearing costs, freight, fertiliser, and general costs to running a farm, my paddocks have reverted back to manuka and kanuka, my income now is from oil extracted from those 2 plants, along with honey, mainly manuka honey, but it looks like that kanuka oil and honey are now becoming very popular. If the wool price came back I would love to be running sheep again?
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