Some of New Zealand's top exponents of the quite ancient craft of wool-classing will be in Napier next week for a field day, run by the New Zealand Wool Classers Association.
It will be held on Tuesday at the PGG Wrightson Wool Store, the New Zealand Wool Testing Authority and Hawke's Bay Woolscourers, with about 50 people expected from the lower North Island.
Certification of New Zealand wool classers has been around for many years, with examples of education board involvement more than a century ago.
Wool classers sort wool into categories according to breed of sheep, age, colour, length and micron (fibre thickness), and may work in woolsheds or wool stores, ensuring removal of contamination and complete identification and documentation prior to sale.
Association executive officer Bruce Abbott, who has had about 50 years in the industry, holding a diploma in wool classing from Massey University and having worked in stores, woolsheds, scours and for the Wool Testing Authority, said contractors had been asked to get senior shed hands involved, along with the certificated wool classers who had reached the goal of a "Q" stencil - effectively the trademark of their expertise.