Ag&Ed

Volume 123 I September 19th, 2022 I email:agined@agrihq.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined

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WOOL IN AND WOOL OUT

It is hard to fault wool for all sorts of reasons. It is a great fibre for clothing as it insulates but also breathes. Its fire retardant as well as insulative qualities make it a great option for furnishings, carpets, and insulation within homes. Add to this the environmental upsides to using wool and it seems like a no brainer. However, cost is a barrier for a good portion of people and sometimes this limits the ability to buy wool products over other options. Follow this link to read about Kurt Houton who is a farmer and builder from Waitomo.

https://www.pggwrightson.co.nz/ news/waitomo-farmer-and-builderlooking-wool-both-ends-pipeline?fbcli d=IwAR0HdWfokZ5MXkQyMJidvyAKifCR lo20heP2QAMG3KegaEKJQXhML9NBmog

Kurt champions wool and its value within the building industry and shares his views as both a consumer and producer of wool.

1 What do Kurt and his wife Alisa farm? What do Kurt and his wife Alisa farm? 2 What breed of sheep do they carry? 3 When do they shear?

STRETCH YOURSELF:

1 How much wool do Kurt and Alisa produce collectively from their ewes and lambs? 2 What are the benefits of using wool insulation within buildings? 3 What are the current drawbacks of using wool insulation within buildings? 4 How does Kurt think these issues can be resolved? 5 Who do you think could fund the research needed to improve the density of wool insulation so that wall cavities do not need to be thicker than standard? 6 Do you think that Kurts idea of mandating the use of wool insulation and carpets in new schools, hospitals and government buildings would work well? Explain why you think this. 7 Is there a way to lower the cost of wool products so that they would be an equitable option for more consumers?

Explain why you think this.

NZ shearers are some of the best in the world but how do our pay rates compare to other countries?

IN EARLY JUNE SHEARING PAY RATES WERE LIFTED IN RESPONSE TO THE INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING IN NZ

To see how pay rates stack up against other countries follow this link:

https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/ how-does-nzs-rates-compare-toother-shearing-nations/

1 Why are sheep shorn? 2 What is crutching? 3 What does a presser do?

STRETCH YOURSELF:

1 What is the average wage for a shearer with up to three years experience here in NZ? How does this compare to the other countries mentioned? 2 Which country/countries has the highest pay for an experienced shearer? How much more is this than their NZ counterpart? 3 What is a significant difference between many of the other countries compared to NZ? (Hint; think about climates and associated seasons) 4 Why can shearers work almost year round here in NZ?

Using the total wool export graphs from 2019-2022 answer the following questions:

1 What month/s and year were export volumes at their highest? 2 What month/s and year were export volumes at their lowest? 3 What month/s and year were returns at their highest? 4 What month/s and year were returns at their lowest?

STRETCH YOURSELF:

1 What do you think caused the decline in exports seen in April-June 2020? 2 Looking at both graphs, have prices improved or decreased since 2019? 3 Have total exports increased, decreased or held at relatively static levels? 4 What is the difference (in tonnes) between the lowest and highest total exports?

YOU CAN HAVE A GO AT SCOURING YOUR OWN WOOL

Scouring is the process of preparing and washing a batch of raw sheep’s wool to remove impurities such as grease, dirt and suint. Follow this link to learn a simple process to scour raw wool yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ksPPt_w4Hc

1 What type of sheep is the wool in the video from? Do some research on this breed. What is their country of origin and what are their main characteristics? 2 What is suint? What creates suint? 3 Why do we scour wool? 4 How many things do you have/use that are made of wool? (these could be in your house, in your wardrobe, in your classroom)

What is wool classing?

Do some research

1. What does a wool classer do? 2. Wool classers sometimes also work as wool valuers.

What is a wool valuer’s job? 3. Like shearers wool classers are paid based on their experience and also the type of classing. What are they usually paid in NZ?