The Yarn

Hear from AFL superstar and dual Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps about growing up on a Merino property, life lessons from the town of Northamption in WA and the journey wool takes from the shearing shed to AFL jumpers.

We hear from Richard Eckhard, Professor of Livestock production at Melbourne University who not only breaks down the carbon debate into common language but has good news in terms of trading and the future with biodiversity.

It has been the driest 5 months of record for many woolgrowing areas and many are now facing new challenges they haven't seen before. Dr Jane Gaussen of The Livestock Vet talks us through some of the challenges through this difficult time.

Over decades, Australian Wool Innovation has invested extensively to help woolgrowers protect their stock from flystrike. Hear just what is available to woolgrowers in this regard, to keep Australian woolgrowers the very best in the world.

The biggest sheep experiment in the world is drawing to a close and with it a treasure trove of data to explore. With the New England MLP site has come the added opportunity to develop Flystrike Breeding Values: hear from the experts about how this MLP site has been crucial in driving the Merino industry forward.

Vietnam has been an emerging market for Australian wool for some years with some significant headway now achieved. Hear from Trudie Frederich, Regional Development Manager - Emerging Markets & India about how Vietnam is becoming a growing supply chain for Australian wool.

Woolmark regional manager for Western Europe Damien Pommeret discusses in detail the large amount of work Woolmark conducts on behalf of woolgrowers in this important market. In particular highlighting the renewable and biodegradable nature of wool in a world of fast fashion.

With the third largest GDP, Japan has been a significant market for wool for a long time. South Korea also as a cold climate country with a large population is a growing market for wool. Samuel Cockedey is the Woolmark manager for these two important markets and explains why he is upbeat about the natural fibre’s future in these markets.

Italy is one of the style-capitals of the world with leading brands as well as some of the globe’s significant upmarket wool processors and manufacturers. Hear AWI/Woolmark regional manager for central and eastern Europe, Francesco Magri discuss the latest wool campaigns and trends in Italy and why he is optimistic for our fibre in this crucial market.

China is by far the largest destination for Australian wool, not only got processing but also, ultimately, sales. What is less known is the dependence of the enormous Chinese wool processing industry on Australian Merino wool. Hear AWI/Woolmark Country Manager Jeff Ma discuss the latest developments for our fibre within China and why he believes Australia and China with stay wool-dependent on each other for a very long time.