Savvy merino farmers profit
Merino farmers front-footing environmental and animal welfare standards are finding better paying niche markets opening up for them.
A property in the Ashburton Lakes area had secured a contract to sell wool direct to a major American retailer, said Rakaia Gorge runholder Willy Ensor.
‘‘I can’t name the property yet, but one of the reasons they pulled it all together was because they had a very traceable animal welfare system and an audited farm environment plan.
‘‘This is the sort of option that gets opened up for farmers who have gone through these processes.
‘‘It’s not all about appeasing the regulators. There are benefits in that it gives the buyers confidence that the garments they are selling on the street have an ethical history.’’
Buyers of fine wool garments increasingly wanted to know the history of the products they bought and that they came from farms that stuck to sound environmental and animal welfare standards, said Smartwool brand president Travis Campbell, when he visited New Zealand in December.
The US company sourced most of its wool from New Zealand. Travis said that was why the company partnered the farms they did.
There was a growing worldwide trend, particularly in New Zealand, Europe, Japan and the US, where consumers wanted to understand where their products came from and the story behind the brand, Travis said.
He said the trend was, without a doubt, only going to become more critical.
High-end Norwegian merino clothing company, Devold which sourced wool from five South Island high country stations insisted its farmer partners adhered’’ to the ‘‘five freedoms for animal welfare.’’
They include freedom from hunger or thirst, discomfort, pain and disease and fear and distress.
Devold chief executive Cathrine Stange said quality and branding was essential to Devold.
’’We feel the ‘paddock to shop’ story told from sourcing wool in New Zealand is fantastic. It’s essential we choose farmer partners that farm ethically and environmentally.’’
As part of ensuring animals were treated well the company didn’t accept wool from farms which still used mulesing - the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech of a sheep.
Ensor said the Australian merino industry was mostly still mulesing.
‘‘And then you have organisations like PETA who are doing their best to disrupt the industry, boycotting stores that sell Australian wool garments. So if these guys [manufacturers] can source their wool from New Zealand farmers, who can show they meet these environmental and welfare requirements, it gives us a marketing edge.’’
Ensor said he sold his wool through New Zealand Merino, which had developed the ZQ auditing process. This provided customers with certainty that product quality, animal welfare and environmental values were followed. Compliance was assessed and audited by third-party auditors, who visually inspected sheep, farms and facilities.
‘‘There are advantages to having this kind of credibility behind you. That’s the way you are going to leverage a bit more money out of the market,’’ he said. ‘‘I think there’s a positive message to get out to farmers and I see more and more farmers taking up the regulations.’’
The biennial South Island High Country Field Day will be held in the Ashburton Gorge on March 8 with a line up of farming, conservation and Maori speakers. A speaker will talk about the successful merino wool marketing deal with the yet to be named station owners because of the credibility they gained from animal welfare and environmental programmes.