NSA Wool Symposium

The National Sheep Association Next Generation Wool Symposium 2024 took place at our Head Office in Bradford on the 14^th and 15^th of October.  

The Wool Symposium is a biennial event organised by NSA Next Generation and Ulster Wool partners British Wool. It offers up to twelve young people aged from 18 to 35 the opportunity to go behind the scenes at our Bradford headquarters and debate the UK wool sector and the role of young people within it.  

The symposium is ideal for young sheep farmers and wool enthusiasts to gain a more thorough understanding of this fantastic fibre, the processes involved in taking it from farm to consumer and the role sheep farmers can have in ensuring the best return is achieved. 

The journey started at Bradford Headquarters, with Andrew Hogley, the CEO, giving participants an insight into British Wool and the latest trends. This was followed by an insightful tour in our depot, experiencing the wool grading process and preparation of members wool for auction. The day finished with a presentation from Graham Clark, Marketing Director, on end-user marketing and the many initiatives in place and work being done to promote British wool to consumers. 

The next day, started off with a demonstration showing the auction process, which included an insight into the type of wool sold and how the auctioneers work to gain the best price for wool. The next stop Haworth Scouring to experience what happens once the wool has been sold, from blending the wool to washing and combing. The final visit was the onsite testing lab to gain knowledge on the types of tests conducted, not just on the wool fibres but the waste too.  

Colin Jarvis Area Manager and Claire Jenkins Member Administration Manager from British Wool were hosts for the visit and Claire commented “We thoroughly enjoyed out interaction with the members of the Wool Symposium. British Wool are committed to supporting the next generation who are a key group within our industry. Their profound passion for wool was evident and greatly appreciated”.

Nicola Noble, NSA Project Manager, joined the group and commented: “It was an interesting two-day event filled with open discussion and a fantastic opportunity to engage with a group of passionate, young sheep farmers with the drive to understand, innovate and educate within the wool sector.

Fiona Parker, NSA who organises the event tells us: “The Wool Symposium is a joint initiative with British Wool which began in 2022, to give enthusiastic young sheep farmers the opportunity to see first-hand what happens at every step of the wool processing journey, from arrival at a grading depot to transformation at the scouring plant into a pristine fibre and the sale process at a British Wool auction.

Tilly Abbott who attended the tour commented “I had seen the wool symposium in previous years and always thought it would be a great educational point for both myself and to take on my shearing rounds. I am often involved within conventions with customers regarding wool and often get asked questions on why the wool value is ‘low’ and what they should do with their wool. I now feel that I am equipped to answer people’s questions and can back the valuable work British wool is doing to market our clips”.

Hannah Richardson one of the attendees tells us: “I applied for the NSA Wool Symposium after returning to my family farm and seeing the disparity between the effort involved in shearing, wrapping, and sending off our wool compared to the prices we receive. I wanted to better understand the factors behind this decline in value and explore how the industry is addressing it. The symposium also provided a great opportunity to engage with experts and seek ways to improve the profitability and future of wool production. My biggest takeaway from the day was seeing the vast scale of the Bradford depot and the Haworth scouring plant, where I observed the full process from sorting fleeces which have been delivered to creating a mix and carding for specific colour and fibre orders. Additionally, I valued meeting industry experts who work behind the scenes to market and sell wool, which provided valuable insights into the industry's operations and challenges”.

George Orphin from, Kent says “As a sheep farmer and shearing our own Romney sheep on the farm the NSA Wool Symposium was a great opportunity to learn and see firsthand what happens to wool once it leaves the farm on its journey to the retailer. Wool is and has been at rock bottom prices so to some it’s not something to get overly excited about but the event made me aware of small things which can be done on the farm to add value to the fleece and I came away with a greater understanding of the grading  systems and standards British Wool work to, traceability of wool and what happens in a Scouring plant. Sheep farming and Shearing are both hard jobs, so wool wants to become a valued product rather than a by-product to the meat industry. British Wool are working hard to find new outlets for wool which is beginning to show early sign of increasing its value which will be welcomed by all farmers. I would encourage any farmer young or old to take up the opportunity of visiting a grading depot or scouring plant.”