Top wool advocate bales out
The conversion of productive farmland into trees has pretty much annihilated the wool industry.
Wool is on the cusp of a renaissance that will kick off Monday in the presence of the Prince of Wales, says Federated Farmers.
Feds' meat and fibre chairperson Jeanette Maxwell and president Bruce Wills will attend the Shear Brilliance, which the Prince is opening.
Maxwell says the Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre Council has resolved to publically support the Campaign for Wool, of which, the Prince of Wales is patron.
"Natural fibres, like wool, are the most sustainable things we can put into our homes and businesses, or on ourselves for that matter. The global wool industry has been on the back foot and as farmers, we realise the need for us to get on the front foot," says Maxwell.
"That is why president Bruce Wills and I are attending the Shear Brilliance event because wool is brilliant.
"To prove we are putting words into action, Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre Council further resolved to encourage members and indeed, all farmers, to get involved in the Wools of New Zealand discussions now taking place.
"We are publicising meetings and will provide forums for discussion because the status quo has failed us farmers. That means it is incumbent on farmers to grab the comb and get stuck in," Maxwell says.
New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF) has launched a new initiative designed to make it easier for employers to support their young team members by covering their NZYF membership.
Sheep infant nutrition maker Blue River Dairy is hoping to use its success in China as a springboard into other markets in future.
Plentiful milk supplies from key producer countries are weighing down global dairy prices.
The recent windstorm that cut power to dairy farms across Southland for days has taught farmers one lesson – keep a generator handy on each farm.
The effects of the big windstorm of late October will be felt in lost production in coming weeks as repair crews work through the backlog of toppled irrigation pivots, says Culverden dairy farmer Fran Gunn.
With the current situation in the European farm machinery market being described as difficult at best, it’s perhaps no surprise that the upcoming AgriSIMA 2026 agricultural machinery exhibition, scheduled for February 2026 at Paris-Nord Villepinte, has been cancelled.

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