Wool’s future seekers standing firm on history
The wool industry is proud of its history, but the new generation is passionate about creating a future industry just as illustrious.
Seven members of our wool industry have their say
Woolgrower Adam Stobart, from Carrick in northern Tasmania, believes the 200-year anniversary is an ideal opportunity to focus on the relationship between the fibre he grows and the finished product.
Image: Woolgrower and TAFWA organiser Liz Foster from New England, NSW
“I would love to see this as a closer relationship than currently exists,” Mr Stobart says. “Ideally, I would like to be able to walk into a shop and proudly say: ‘My wool is in that garment’.
“If I could see someone wearing my wool, that I’ve grown in the paddock, under an Australian label, that would be even better.”
For Mr Stobart, there is a close link between what happens on his farm and in the fashion industry: “When people ask me what I do for a living, I often say I am in the textile industry. What happens in the fashion houses of Milan and London affects what happens on my farm. Fashion trends are set at least two years ahead, so as woolgrowers we have to pay attention to fashion and fashion trends.
“Taking an interest in the fashion industry gives you the ability to change on-farm. It is a little like steering a large ship. It takes a lot to change direction, but if you know where you are headed, you can make those changes and adapt to them with more ease.”
Mr Stobart’s family has been in the wool industry since Richard Willis arrived in Van Diemen’s Land in 1823 and, in 1824, founded a stud called ‘Wanstead’ at Campbell Town, based on sheep selected from King George III’s flock in Kew, England.
But notwithstanding the industry’s rich history, growers such as Andrew McFarland, from ‘Oxley Station’ in the Riverina of southern NSW, also have their sights fixed firmly on the future.
Image: Woolgrower Adam Stobart from Carrick, northern Tasmania.
Mr McFarland describes the vision for his business as ambitious, but one that he is working hard to achieve through his involvement with the breeding group Multi-Purpose Merinos (MPM).
“We are working to breed what we believe is a new type of Merino,” Mr McFarland says. “We have been applying the same breeding principles for four years, and working with the MPM breeding group for two.
“The new breed is a ‘wrinkle’-free Merino, which requires minimal or – in the more advanced flocks – no mulesing, and will have faster-growing wool. Our long-term goal would be to be able to shear the breed every six months.”
Another focus for the McFarland family is organic accreditation: “We are listening to consumers; they don’t like chemicals and we don’t like using them, so we are applying this to our business. I see huge potential leveraging from a ‘clean and green’ image.
“Our vision is pretty ambitious. We want to breed a new Merino that has low inputs, in terms of labour and chemicals, that is organic and produces a natural soft fibre, giving profitability back to the grower.”
Fourth-generation South Australian woolgrower Cameron England says there seems to be a positive future for wool and he is confident that there will always be demand for the fibre: “As an industry we are always looking for new markets, and it is encouraging that wool is now being used in everything from sportswear to underwear,” he says.
“Dad and I have both completed the Prograze® course, which has influenced the way we farm, and we are members of a local farm group, which also keeps us up-to-date on some of the latest farming techniques. But our farming is also influenced by the fact that we inherited top-quality sheep and have a good bloodline.”
For many in the industry, the 200-year milestone is an opportunity to profile its modern face. Champion shearer Dwayne Black, who holds six shearing records, feels it is important that workers such as shearers – who have in many ways been the historic face of the industry – are seen as modern-day professionals, who must maintain a high level of physical fitness and technical skill to meet the demands of their job.
“There is a perception of shearers as hard-working drinkers and smokers,” Mr Black says. “But like others in the wool industry, we have changed with the times.
“I focus on the sport aspect of the business, because at the top level we really are athletes in terms of our physical performances.”
Mr Black says he can see the same increasing professionalism in the younger generation of shearers in the industry who, like him, are passionate about wool as a fibre and about the history and romance of wool.
Gunning NSW woolgrower Kelly Dowling’s family has been in the industry for six generations: “Wool has played a part in making me who I am,” she says. “I believe that the wool industry has so many opportunities and I want to push it along, to make it work not just for our business but for the whole industry.
“My vision is for wool to gain a greater market share and an increased profile, as well as an improved image for the Merino as a breed.
“Like many other woolgrowers I also want to challenge and change the negative perception some people have of farming and farmers. I want people to know that we are an innovative industry and we are making smart decisions in the way we farm. We are here not because we have to be, or because we can’t do anything else, but because we made a conscious decision to work in an industry we love, and to make a difference.”
Armidale’s Liz Foster sees wool from the farm and the fashion-industry perspective. The organiser of Australia’s largest wool fashion awards, the Australian Wool Fashion Awards (TAWFA), she also runs 3000 superfine Merinos with her husband on a property in New England, NSW.
“The world’s leading designers and fashion houses recognise that wool is a wonderful fibre,” Ms Foster says. “Through the awards I can see there is a bright future for wool as it continues to be the fibre of choice for designers.
“Innovative products that exemplify Australian wool’s advantages, and add new characteristics that consumers want, are fundamental to the ongoing success of Australian Merino and ensuring continued demand for Australian wool.
“Wool is our life,” she says, adding that she and her husband are fifth-generation woolgrowers.
“I would like to see wool back to being a profitable commodity for woolgrowers – as it was in the boom days,” Ms Foster says. “By educating and encouraging consumers and designers about wool we are ensuring continued demand for Australian wool, which will mean the greatest return to woolgrowers.”
Tony Overton, a woolgrower from Walcha in northern NSW, says his approach to farming and wool growing is influenced by his father, an engineer by trade, who packed up and went farming in his mid-20s. He moved to Gravesend, where Tony grew up on a mixed sheep, cattle and cropping enterprise.
He believes that it is important for woolgrowers to be more focused on the end product.
“Many people see their clip leave the farm gate and that is the last they think about it, but I believe we need to b