The long-awaited Wool Feasibility Study offers nothing new to farmers. According to IFA Sheep Chairman Kevin Comiskey, €100,000 has been spent and a lot of time lost for a report that merely confirms what industry and farmers already know.
He said the recommendations of the Wool Feasibility Study are another tactic to delay supporting farmers for what is a huge cost burden on sheep farms. The IFA will certainly actively participate in the Wool Council, but this forum if successful will not have any meaningful impact on the price of wool at the farm gate for the foreseeable future. “We are in another clipping season with wool prices of 20c/kg providing no incentive for farmers to present the wool for further added-value use,” he said.
“There are no immediate pathways identified that will increase the value of wool at the farm gate and direct support for farmers for this critically important animal health and welfare practice on farms must be provided,” he said.
The IFA has sought the inclusion of shearing as an action in the new Sheep Improvement Scheme throughout the CAP process, but this has been excluded. Comiskey called for Government to present proposals to support sheep farmers directly for the shearing costs with incentives to ensure the wool is presented in optimal condition for further added-value uses.
“Sheep farmers are already under enormous pressure with input costs. They do not have the capacity to absorb these costs. Shearing is a significant annual cost for sheep farmers which the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue can address if there is a will to do so,” he said.