About 17,000 sheep farmers will be asked to vote in the wool producers referendum on October 10. If successful a 2-5c/kg levy on wool will fund an industry-good body.
“We want to inspire and invigorate the new generations of wool growers who are not currently engaging with or influencing the direction of the wool industry,” says Faulkner.
“The average value of raw wool exports increased by 38% between 2010 and 2014 and our industry is now worth $700m. New Zealand is the world’s third-largest wool exporter supplying 45% of the world’s carpet wool.”
Yet, she says, wool is the only primary sector not represented in the 30 industry-good bodies in New Zealand.
Faulkner says growers are represented beyond the farm gate by Merino NZ, Primary Wool Co-op and Wools of New Zealand. “These companies do a great job on behalf of their shareholders but about 50% of wool growers don’t belong to these companies.
“A farmer levy means an industry-good body will be consistently funded and work in the best interests of all New Zealand’s wool producers.”
The Wool Levy Group says through the referendum process it also wants to encourage farmers to let them know what they think. The group also includes Derrick Millton, chairman, Wool Research Organisation; Bruce Wills, Federated Farmers president; Jeanette Maxwell, hair, meat and fibre section, Federated Farmers; Hamish de Lautour, director, Primary Wool Cooperative; Colin McKenzie, chief executive, Cavalier Corporation; and Derek Daniell, principal, Wairere Rams.
The October referendum will ask sheep farmers to fund a new industry body by approving a levy of 2-5c/kg of greasy or slipe wool at the first point of sale.
This equates to $4.6 million based on 3c/kg for the 154,000 tonnes of wool produced in New Zealand each year. About 17,000 sheep farmers will be eligible to vote.
A positive grower vote, both by number and weighted sheep numbers, is required for the wool levy referendum to be presented to the Minister for Primary Industries before the he can enact the necessary regulations under the Commodities Levies Act 1990.
Faulkner says the referendum followed extensive work by the Wool Levy Review Group, a pan-sector group set up in 2012 to investigate collective grower investment.
The research found there was a case for setting up a respected industry-good organisation to:
• Provide a shared vision for the sector
• Act as a point of initial contact for pan-industry information
• Provide a sounding board for government bodies eg the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
• Assist with trade policy and negotiation to gain market access and reduce barriers to entry
• Provide an overview of and investment in industry-good R&D
• Leverage government and industry funding
• Provide funding for initiatives promoting the awareness of wool.
Farmers at the Beef & Lamb NZ annual meeting in March this year voted in favour of the referendum proposal and the Wool Levy Group has now been set up to run the referendum.
