Wool

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
I was always told the value was most when the russian army (and others) made their great coats from wool , along with other uniform pre ww2 . The practical nil value of (polluting ) petroleum based clothing is whats doing most damage . It does hurt though to walk into a high street retailer that sells wool based clothing or flooring to see the price, its shameless marketeering

If you track the price of wool you will always see that the highest prices were always just before Wars. The last time the wool price was very high was at the start of the Korean War when the USA was still using the old pre war planning blueprint which said you needed to buy up all the wool in the world as you needed it for tunics and blankets.

The price of wool before WW2 did not go so high because the government effectively requisitioned it at a fixed price, the deal with the farming unions was that after the war the government would set up Marketing Boards and give a guaranteed price of which the BWMB is the only survivor.

The BWMB sells around 27 million kg a year for producers at one point it sold 54 million kg. back in the late 60's. The number of sheep have declined since then and especially when headage payments disappeared.
 

Gulli

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
I really don't get everyone's issue with the wool board. Sell direct to the Irish and watch them screw the price down once they have enough market share. Tried and tested!

Other options include breeding sheep with wool that has a value, or processing it yourself and making something high value.

Not a lot different to meat when you get down to it!
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
So by 1916 prices , I’d be due approx 14.5 k for my lovely 1.3 tons of Romney wool.
At those sort of prices, I’d be telling @hendrebc to shove his shedders, and I would sell him one of my Romney tup lambs !:unsure::ROFLMAO:
At £11+ per kilo of already have fluffy headed romneys! And be picking up wool off the floor and off dead sheep like my uncle did in his childhood. That's an unbelievable difference isn't it.
 

LAMBCHOPS

Member
There was a farmer locally, in my great grandfathers day, who used to keep his wool back for a couple of years, cash it in and buy a farm, his decendants would still be some of the biggest landowners in these parts.
My great grandfather kept his wool for six years in the depression years. Small talk perhaps but that was 15000 fleeces. He kept 2500 sheep mainly whethers on the hill for six years and He grew the crop which was wool not meat.sold the lot in 1922 and bought 300 acres .whether s had increased in value from 50p in value to 2 pound after WW1 .dairies and bank books here to prove it. Give talks on the change in Farming over 100 years as have detailed written daily info to prove it will write a book one day when I have time. 13 kids and no subsidy and had plenty of money
 

LAMBCHOPS

Member
In defence of the wool board 100 years ago it was all woolen clothes no nylon no central heating all horse and cart all woolen blankets to keep warm in and out of the house. Things have changed wool is a waste product i am tempted to use will as litter but will bag it up probably and hang it up in the eaves of the barn like g grandad did .
 

delilah

Member

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
I really don't get everyone's issue with the wool board. Sell direct to the Irish and watch them screw the price down once they have enough market share. Tried and tested!

Other options include breeding sheep with wool that has a value, or processing it yourself and making something high value.

Not a lot different to meat when you get down to it!
Sadly your right, just as inevitably any organisation with a guaranteed income stream will abuse it and allocate themselves higher wages and better conditions to the detriment of the businesses supplying them. I can be seen throughout agriculture such as the AHDB, is it too much to ask these outfits to supply value for money?
 

Gulli

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Sadly your right, just as inevitably any organisation with a guaranteed income stream will abuse it and allocate themselves higher wages and better conditions to the detriment of the businesses supplying them. I can be seen throughout agriculture such as the AHDB, is it too much to ask these outfits to supply value for money?
Do they not? I Chuck my wool in a bag, someone picks it up and money arrives in my account.

Wools been worthless for as long as I've been farming, if the wool cheque is that much of a difference then you've probably built your business wrong.

As for the ahdb they have added more value to my business than I can on my own. But hey I'm not an expert on international trade
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
Do they not? I Chuck my wool in a bag, someone picks it up and money arrives in my account.

Wools been worthless for as long as I've been farming, if the wool cheque is that much of a difference then you've probably built your business wrong.

As for the ahdb they have added more value to my business than I can on my own. But hey I'm not an expert on international trade
If you think paying some of the top guys over £100k just to pick up your wool and sell it at auction is value for money then fair enough , many do not share your view, myself included.
I know the AHDB is a bit of a tangent but on their watch we have total dominance of the abattoir sector by a few players who are dictating one of the lowest meat prices in Europe whilst they waste our money sending us leaflets about controlling foot rot ( information which is all freely available on the internet) whilst their own overheads have vastly increased ahead of inflation.
As an industry we need a root and branch reform of our key organisations, post subsidy they will not simply be enough money to go around. Any not giving value for money should lose the right to exist, as what happens in any other industry.
 

Tim W

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Wiltshire
Sadly your right, just as inevitably any organisation with a guaranteed income stream will abuse it and allocate themselves higher wages and better conditions to the detriment of the businesses supplying them. I can be seen throughout agriculture such as the AHDB, is it too much to ask these outfits to supply value for money?
I do agree with this sentiment (but don't think it has much to do with the price of wool)
Best example of organised income leading to abuse that springs to my mind is land subsidies
I guess we as taxpayers are starting to ask for a bit more value for money in this respect so maybe wool producers should too?
 

Gulli

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
If you think paying some of the top guys over £100k just to pick up your wool and sell it at auction is value for money then fair enough , many do not share your view, myself included.
I know the AHDB is a bit of a tangent but on their watch we have total dominance of the abattoir sector by a few players who are dictating one of the lowest meat prices in Europe whilst they waste our money sending us leaflets about controlling foot rot ( information which is all freely available on the internet) whilst their own overheads have vastly increased ahead of inflation.
As an industry we need a root and branch reform of our key organisations, post subsidy they will not simply be enough money to go around. Any not giving value for money should lose the right to exist, as what happens in any other industry.
As I said before feel free to sell direct to the Irish and watch them screw the price once the board is gone, the majority of farmers aren't in any position to put wool up for auction themselves.

AHDB don't control who you sell your stock to. Farmers dug themselves into that mess on the promise of a little bit extra same as with milk producers.
Also to be fair I've never had a leaflet on footrot from them but I take your point on that bit.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top