WoolPro Bledisloe Bulletins
WOOLPRO Bledisloe Bulletin
No 1. August 2000
The following news was sent out as the first in a series of e-letters from WoolPro. It is sent to all growers who ask to be on the mailing list, and all registered sellers on Woolnet.
In the August 2000 bulletin:
1. Bledisloe?
5. Ready to be quality assured?
8. Ideas please
This bulletin is named after the Bledisloe Cup competition run by WoolPro to encourage farmers to send us their internet addresses. The winners (see the Spring 2000 Wool Grower) were GR and JM Sargent of Balclutha. They were there at Wellington’s Westpac Trust Stadium when the Wallabies beat the All Blacks in the extra time. What an experience!
We’re keeping the Bledisloe name because of the link between Bledisloe and excellence. If it’s good enough for the All Blacks and Wallabies, it’s good enough for us.
The aim of the bulletin is to alert you to information which may be of help to you as a wool grower.
If you would like to get on our email list, send your email address to us at: info@woolpro.co.nz . All we need is for you to put ‘Updates’ in the subject line, and to give us a contact name, phone number, farm name and brand.
Talking of the Spring 2000 Wool Grower, did you read the price outlook comments on page 31? We haven’t shouted them from the rooftops because it wouldn’t be politic right now.
ABARE in Australia predicts that prices for apparel wools will be 12 per cent higher this season than last. And the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts the overall New Zealand market indicator will close at 500c/kg this season – implying crossbred price increases in the 10-15 per cent range.
By the way, if you want to keep up with auction prices this season, we can send you reports after each sale by email (preferably) or by fax. Alternatively you can log onto www.woolpro.co.nz or www.woolnet.co.nz and see them for yourself.
If you want to get regular auction price reports (these are free to levy payers), ring us at 0800 4 WOOLPRO (0800 496 657) or click here
All we need is for you to put ‘Auction Sale Reports’ in the subject line, and to give us a contact name, phone number, farm name and brand so we can check we have your details recorded correctly.
Overall wool prices jumped late last season, thanks to the Chinese. But nothing has changed when it comes to premiums for quality. It still pays you handsomely to do things right in the shed.
On average last season, the net benefit to growers (after all costs) of following FQP in-shed wool preparation standards was 47 c/kg for lambswool, 12 c/kg for crossbred fleece, 85 c/kg for mid-micron and a whopping $2/kg for Merinos.
These margins are driven by manufacturers supplying the top end of the apparel and carpet markets.
Crossbred growers should take particular care. NZ carpet mills will not buy wool which contains more than 0.2 per cent vegetable matter. Some have an even lower tolerance.
By leaving thistle heads or seedy necks and face pieces in an otherwise sound line you could be costing yourself 30 c/kg.
If you are using Woolnet, you will have noted Version 5 is now running. This upgrade means Woolnet now has a fixed price selling option. This will give more certainty to buyers needing to urgently ‘cover’ an export contract or scourment.
Woolnet sales manager John Paton has also had good feedback from Southland growers about this feature. Several members of the Winton Wool Focus Group told him earlier this week that during busy periods they would prefer to sell at an agreed fixed price through a service provider.
Coming up shortly is a price discovery mechanism and a number of features to assist service providers in their everyday use of Woolnet. Click here to visit the Woolnet site.
5. Ready to be quality assured?
During July and August, CM Research conducted a survey of growers on behalf of WoolPro. While the results have yet to be fully analysed it’s clear that many growers intend to become quality assured, but haven’t got around to it yet.
If you are one of those with good intentions, click here. All we need is for you to put ‘FQP please’ in the subject line, and to give us a contact name, farm name and phone number so we can get the ball rolling for you.
Quality assurance is not complicated, costs nothing to join and can be extremely rewarding. How about an obligation-free chat? Call tollfree: 0800 4 WoolPro (0800 496 657)
If you participated in the CM Research survey, thanks for your time and feedback. Much appreciated. We hope to release more results in the next Bledisloe bulletin.
From late-September to mid-October, WoolPro and Meat New Zealand will be speaking at a series of farmer seminars about how to make best use of the internet. The Rural 2000 seminars are being co-sponsored by Telecom, the National Bank and Computer Concepts.
If you are interested in getting an invitation to a seminar near you, click here. All we need is for you to put ‘Rural 2000 invitation’ in the subject line, and to give us your name and phone number so we can get in touch quickly. Invitation numbers are limited and will be allocated on a first-in first-served basis: be in before mid September!
At 12.30 p.m. each Sunday from the end of August, TV3 is screening the new No 8 Wired TV programme. Produced by Gibson Group and sponsored in part by WoolPro and Meat NZ, it will be much more cost-effective than the familiar No 8 Wired video.
Give us your feedback. We are sponsoring the programme for an initial three months and will be gauging farmer response during that period.
And in case you read the Hound’s nonsense in Rural News, rest assured, No 8 Wired will continue to be strictly non-political. Video or TV, the programme has one aim: to give you practical, unbiased information you can apply to your farm business.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the information we should be including in the Bledisloe Bulletin, please let us know.
If you would like to get on our email list, send your email address to us at: info@woolpro.co.nz. All we need is for you to put ‘Updates’ in the subject line, and to give us a contact name, phone number, farm name and brand.
Thank you for your interest.