A day in the life of Stephen Preston, Depot Manager and wool grader at Ulster Wool

How long have you worked for Ulster Wool?     

I joined the team 19 years ago, originally as a warehouse assistant and eventually progressing through the trainee grader scheme to become a fully qualified grader.

What does your role entail?

Most of the time you will find me grading in order to keep production going, producing bales of consistent types and making them available for auction.

Do you ever come away from the grading table?

I always help out where I’m needed, if there’s bottles necks on the floor then I will jump on the packing machine. In the summer, I also help out at some shows and judge fleece competitions. I am Joint Depot Manager with Jayne and we will often attend events such as UFU farmer meetings.

How is the wool delivered into Muckamore depot?

Over 64% of the wool we receive is delivered by producers themselves from all over Northern Ireland, some like to make a day of it and before Covid-19 some would like to see their clip graded. The remaining wool comes in from one of our many collection sites that are located throughout Northern Ireland.

How would this differ out of the busy season?

From the beginning on May up until the end of March, we are grading the wool non-stop. The break in April allows us to undertake skep weight checks and service all of the machinery. We still take wool in at any time of year, it’s just the grading that stops at the end of the season in March and then we start up again in May

What type of wool do you come across most frequently?

Fine wool, particularly grade 232 and 226 which most Suffolk wool falls into and the medium type, grade 399, 338 and 345, which is a Texel type.

What is your favourite wool to grade?

If the wool is rolled, it makes it much easier to grade.

Have you noticed a change in the types/styles of wool coming through Muckamore depot over the years?

It changes every year, there’s a lot of crossing of different breeds that creates different characteristics. We process over 70 grades in Northern Ireland, but there are 120 across the UK grading system.

What variances do you find in the wool year to year?

In a good dry year there will be less natural discolouration. The weight doesn’t really change that much unless a farmer shears too early and the sheep aren’t ready for shearing. This year the wool doesn’t seem as naturally discoloured, maybe due to the better whether, as we are able to make better grades for farmers which will be worth more.

To find out more about Ulster Wool, click here, to learn more about how Ulster Wool collect, grade and sell sheep wool on behave of the farmers, and to find your nearest collection site or haulier follow the link to our depot network searching tool.