“British Wool is proud to be a partner of the National Sheep Association (NSA) for the valuable work”, said Joe Farren, British Wool’s chief executive officer, while inaugurating, NSA Sheep South West 2017”. He further commented that British Wool is keen to work more closely with the NSA on key industry issues as well as promoting British sheep products, be it wool or meat.

The South West of England is hugely important in the world of sheep farming for updating the audience on wool prices. Wool prices at auctions fell 10 per cent in 2016, mainly due to a move in Chinese fashions away from the use of our finer wools in clothing.

Farren also discussed on the improvements currently being made within British Wool, the producers’ business. All depots are being run more efficiently and have targeted a 3p/kg reduction in depot floor costs for the 2017 clip. British Wool works with the NSA in many areas including: co-participating in their Next Generation Ambassador programme which seeks to encourage and support young sheep farmers; many of the NSA’s regional managers are also representatives on British Wool regional committees; platforms are shared at agricultural shows and industry events and British Wool news is extensively covered in the NSA newsletter.