Farmers find a warm glow from rise in fleece price

From that position two years ago, sheep farmers are now more optimistic. Some Cheviot sheep, widely recognised as one of the softest fleece varieties, are commanding about 170p/kilo, with some averaging about 5 per fleece.

Malcolm Corbett sees both sides of the picture. He is a sheep and cattle farmer and a board member of the British Wool Marketing Board based in Bradford. "Two years ago when the price of wool was very low a lot of farmers were rightly very disappointed in their wool cheques," he says. "There was a great deal of unrest and I was quite concerned about the future of the wool board.

"I wasn't a member at the time and I knew very little about it. But I did understand about the concept of a marketing board. I know many dairy farmers and I have never met one who wouldn't go back to the days when we had a Milk Marketing Board.

"So I stood for election for the wool marketing board, it's something all sheep farmers should support. It is well supported at present, but it has a problem in that independent wool buyers from abroad come into the UK and pick wool up from off the farm.

"When the price was on the floor, they were handed a golden opportunity to buy at a very low price, simply because they were offering a little more."

Malcolm understands the logic behind sheep farmers looking to make money where they can. But he also feels that sticking together to market wool collectively is a better long-term option.

"I certainly don't blame farmers for taking the biggest cheque, but I remember one prominent dairy farmer telling me 'we sold the dairy industry down the road for an extra half penny a litre'. The result of that is there for us all to see today. We now have a dairy industry that is fragmented and we have had poor dairy prices for years.

"Our challenge is to make sure that the off-takes from farmers' wool cheques are as low as possible while maintaining a service that helps all of our members."

The off-takes are the handling fees charged by the board.

The board came into being with the Wool Marketing Act in 1950 and has 53,000 registered producers. But keeping everyone happy has always been the trickiest jobs for any agricultural marketing board because farms are so varied in size and location.

It is not easy to sell to farmers who are well positioned and produce significant amounts, that they should concern themselves with others in far flung corners and with lower production.

They all have to pay the same fee to the marketing board.

"We are in a position where we are obliged to pick up wool all over the British Isles. Last year I was in the Outer Hebrides and saw farms where they had two or three sacks of wool to be collected. I just thought 'how the hell do we pick up those sacks and end up still being profitable?'

"If you're sitting within 10 miles of Bradford and you're producing five tonnes of wool, you are subsidising these farmers in the Outer Hebrides. But that's how a co-operative works. We are not about isolating people."

Malcolm puts it down to a very simple economics.

"The demand for wool has risen dramatically and it looks as though it will stay relatively strong in the short-term. The main reason is shortage of supply. If you look worldwide sheep numbers are plummeting. The New Zealand flock has halved, Australia has a lot less sheep too.

"We still produce a great, natural fibre which in an era of climate change and green policies fits well."

This country is the seventh largest wool producer in the world. Prince Charles got behind the industry earlier this year launching the Wool Project which encourages thinking up new uses for it.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society was ahead of the game and for its new building housing the regional agricultural centre, farm shop and restaurant, installed wool as wall insulation.

The society's deputy director Heather Parry is so keen to promote it that she insisted the builders put in a transparent panel so that visitors could see it.

Keith Stones who farms at Marrick in Swaledale runs a flock of North Country Cheviots, Cheviots and Texels and sells wool to the marketing board. He understands the value of both the wool he trades and the benefits of the board. He has just started shearing his flock.

"Cheviot wool is all white fibre and is a fine wool for weaving.

"All of the top quality Scottish tweeds are made from it. The fleeces are worth shearing now. I shear all of my flock but those who had to pay shearing contractors, when the price was poor, will have been well out of pocket.

"We need the wool marketing board because we cannot sell on the world market as individuals. We need it as an umbrella and to give us some strength.

"Because it is produced in rural areas it is the transport cost that really nails wool. It's bulky stuff and it must take ages to collect it all."