AID TO SHED PREPARATION

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32879, 30 March 1972, Page 9

AID TO SHED PREPARATION

In the next few days fanners throughout the country will be receiving a set of six cards to hang up or nail up in their woolsheds to help them with the preparation of their wool. Some 35,000 sets of these cards are being sent out by the Wool Board.

The board has been holding meetings in wool selling centres throughout the country to explain these “Shed Preparation Guidelines” to representatives of growers and those who are involved in advising fanners on wool handling. One of the first of these meetings was held in Christchurch this week. Mr L. P. Chapman, a member of the Wool Board, who presided at the Christchurch meeting, said that the guidelines were for the “present day,” and Mr M. M. Agar, chief appraiser of the Wool Research Organisation, said that as requirements of manufacturers changed so must preparation methods. The guidelines, he said, were an attempt to provide a more consistent form of advice, which could be readily understood. About two years ago Mr Chapman recalled that the Wool Board had decided to carry on some work started by Dr I. E. B. Fraser, of the Wool Research Organisation, on standards of preparation of wool for sale. The standards committee

then set up, comprising executive staff of the brokers’ and buyers’ associations, the Wool Research Organisation, the board and Wool Commission, had two areas of work —to conduct trials of the sale of wool on the basis of small samples supported by objective measurements, an? also to work towards the preparation of these shed standards. The standards committee had set up a sub-commit-tee, comprising people with wide experience, to work on these standards, but the board had felt that before they were put out to growers they should be submitted to a very representative gathering of wool people, and this had been done in Wellington a month or two ago when they had received unanimous agreement from everyone represented. Mr Chapman said that each of the cards in the set dealt with a major category of wool and should be easily followed by fanners.

Today changes were being seen in traditional methods of wool prepare -

tion. In some areas of New Zealand no preparation at all was becoming an accepted practice, in part due to the difficulty of obtaining trained shed labour and to the high cost of shed labour, the apparent indifference of buyers to pay more for a well prepared as opposed to an unprepared article, higher prices for meat relative to wool, although this might not be so important now with the happy recovery in wool prices, and the increase in the export of scoured as opposed to greasy wool. If wool preparation was allowed to slide it could reflect badly on New Zealand wool as a whole, continued Mr Chapman, but the grower could not be pressurised to do more than was justified in the current situation. The board considered that the guidelines satisfied the criteria of a minimum cost to the grower while at the same time meeting market requirements. They did not involve any sweeping changes and the majority of farmers throughout the country would already be preparing their wool in accordance with the guidelines. However, they did require a greater degree of preparation than was now being practised in some areas, but in certain categories of wool the guidelines represented a relaxation in the standards being achieved by some growers. The board was very aware that amongst growers and the wool trade generally wool preparation was a very controversial subject. No doubt many would be able to quote specific examples where wool prepared according to these guidelines had not paid, or even worse, had actually cost money. It could not be said that if growers prepared their wool according to these guidelines that they would always receive a higher net return. So long as wool was sold under the auction system premiums and discounts would be obscured and anomalies would occur. But it could be expected that if the majority of growers prepared their wool according to the guidelines, wools which did not conform would be obvious to the buying trade. Farmers over the years had tended to receive conflicting and confusing advice on wool preparation and complaints were continually being heard from growers that they had no clear idea of the levels of preparation which were appropriate to the kinds of wools they produced. These guidelines should clear up mis confusion.

Mr Chapman saw no question of these guidelines not fitting in with the programmes of the wool marketing corporation, which has still to be formed. The corporation would have to proceed veiy much along the lines laid down by the trade and industry and in due course he saw it being in a position to pay premiums for good preparation.

The first card of the set of six explains how they should be used. It says that the first thing to decide is the style description that applies to the bulk of your clip. Style descriptions are set out and it is stated that the bulk of every farmer’s clip will fall broadly into one of these categories. And if you are unsure of the style description that applies it is suggested that the grower should consult his wool broker, wool merchant or a sheep and wool instructor. Having determined the style into which the bulk of your clip falls, the guidelines for skirting and grading, according to that style, should then be followed. In general it is stated that wools of 48s, 50s and finer require careful preparation and should be handled by a competent classer. However, wools that are 48s and stronger can generally be bulk prepared without need of the services of a classer. Where possible it is advised that fanners should draft before shearing so that different breeds or

widely differing finenesses and lengths of wool are not mixed during shearing. Drafting in this way will greatly assist subsequent preparation. Two main points came out of the discussions that! developed while Mr Agar discussed the detail on the cards. He emphasised, in response to a question, that in the case of wools of . 48s count and stronger, it would be open to both registered classers and farmer classers to make up these wools in wide range quality brackets but if a classer was seeking registration he would have to be able to show that he could class to a finer specification.

It was suggested at the meeting that a letter should be sent to registered classers clarifying this position. Mr Agar said that the guidelines laid down minimum standards of preparation and there would be farmers who would continue to treat their wool as they had done in the past. Where extra strong halfbred and Corriedale wools were shown on the cards as being 50 525, 50s and 48 50s, Mr Agar said it was not visualised that these quality brackets should be all classed together. The meeting closed with Mr E. R. Sandes congratulating those who had prepared the cards. They were excellent, he said, and would be of great help to farmers.