Sheep Industry News February 2023

Quality Counts For Producers Looking To Sell Their Wool W ith wool prices lower in the past year it might be tempting to cut corners on shearing day, but in dustry experts say quality counts more than ever wool marketing for the association. "Most of our producers have done a good job in recent years of implementing the steps necessary to produce a quality wool clip. And that makes it easier to market American wool both domestically and inter nationally."

as wool growers look to sell their 2023 clips. There's certainly hope that the new year will bring a turn around in the industry. The Australian wool market returned from its annual three-week recess just as this issue went to press. Prices were up slightly in the first sale of the new year. In addition, the market was up three of the final four weeks to close out 2022. "My crystal ball is pretty foggy," said Darrell Keese of Keese International in San Angelo, Texas. I hope that prices will be at least as good as last year for 24 micron and finer. But there's a lot of wool in barns around the country and China hasn't bounced back yet. It was a really quiet fall. If we'd had more activity then, I'd be more optimistic." In a stagnant market, quality counts more than ever. "When the market is like this, the lesser-prepared wools ei ther get lower bids or, in some cases, no bids at all," Keese said. "Now is the time for wool producers to do their best to prepare their wools for sale. Buyers are always looking for quality. That doesn't change. They want wools to be prepared properly. If it isn't, there are going to be discounts." With that in mind, the following pages offer steps for every producer to put their best foot forward during shearing. The tips are taken from ASI's Preparing for Shearing brochure. Email Heather Pearce at heather@sheepusa.org to request cop ies of the brochure. While you can't turn a 26-micron wool into an 18-micron wool on shearing day, you can certainly make your wool clip more desirable to buyers by following these generally-accepted practices. "Tags and bellies might not be worth much, but if you keep the dirt and contamination out of them, they'll probably be worth something," Keese said. "A clean shearing area makes a big difference in the quality. Shearing day is so important. I've seen lots of wool clips that didn't sell for what they could have because they weren't prepared correctly." The good news is that American wool producers seem to be getting the message in recent years. Clips are coming in cleaner and more well-prepared than ever. "We just don't want to see producers let their guard down on quality because wool prices have been down in the past year," said ASI Deputy Director Rita Samuelson, who coordinates

Regardless of the price, wool producers are still selling a product that must meet customer demands for staple length, micron, etc, said Anodyne's Haynes Burnside. "If you can't meet those standards, then they won't be buy ing your wool," he added. "Contamination adds costs on our end, so quality is important." Burnside said there's still wool available from the past two seasons, but that some of that has been moving in recent months. "I prefer to have a sense of optimism," he said. "A lot will depend on how and when things open up again in China. But we're seeing places in South America and Southeast Asia filling in some of those holes in the supply chain. That could drive prices to a new normal, but it's too early in the year to know what that new normal might be. There's no doubt that well prepared clips always hold up well in the market."

Skirting is an important step when it comes to producing a quality wool clip.

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