increase font size
The wool sector should not waste more resources on research, says former Wool Equities Ltd chairman Clifford Heath.
He says it should instead tap into past research reports lying on shelves and use these to produce technically superior yarns that could become commercially successful.
Heath told the NZ Primary Industry Summit that the wool industry has 2500 documents of past research, funded by farmers through wool levies and the Government; these are held by research organisations, WRONZ, Canesis and AgResearch.
“The past research, almost without exception, has never been commercialised,” he says. “There was an acute waste of funding in the past; we need to pull some of the documents and see if we can use them.”
Heath says the need is to produce unique yarns and take them to garment makers throughout the world. “There are garment makers out there who are looking for a competitive edge; if we can present them a right yarn that works for them then we have a real future.”
Heath believes there is a need for a small onshore processing facility, similar to Icebreaker, the successful Merino wool clothing company.
“Just as Icebreaker established onshore and was effectively globalised offshore, we need to do this again and again and again.”
Scientists from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are part of an international team working to develop a low-cost diagnostic tool that could significantly improve food crop production in developing countries.
Scion is running experimental research burns near Christchurch from March 3-14, to test new theories on how wildfires spread under various conditions.
OPINION: The politics of science or is it the science of politics that is driving research in New Zealand?
Two Waikato producers have joined forces to create the world’s first tea-infused cow’s milk cheese.
A new agreement between wine education and science providers “paves the way” for research and collaboration, say those behind the move.
A $20 million dairy beef programme will help farmers capture greater value from their animals.
A precautionary State of Emergency was declared for the Far North District at 1.18pm today (Thursday 26 March), for an initial period of seven days.
A New Zealand red meat product range with “tongue-soft” texture for elderly or unwell people has won the 2026 Meat Industry Association (MIA) Dragon’s Den competition.
The New Zealand Future Food and Fibre Summit, E Tipu 2026, is the place for farmers who want to stay ahead in a rapidly changing sector, says FoodHQ chief executive Dr Victoria Hatton.
OPINION: For some of us the threat of a fuel crisis is something we have dealt with before and are still here to tell the tale.
New Zealanders are spontaneously joining in the 60th birthday celebrations of the nation’s iconic rural programme, Country Calendar.
OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of…
OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the…
