Into battle for wool sale rights

A group of Wairarapa sheep farmers is leading the battle for the rights to sell New Zealand's wool.
Anders Crofoot, Emily Crofoot, John Dalziell and Tony Boyle form an advisory group to Wool Partners Co-operative.
For several months the company, formerly known as Wool Partners International, has been lobbying farmers to buy shares in a co-operative aiming at better wool prices.
The company aims to attract initial investment of $55-$65 million and handle close to half of New Zealand's strong wool supply.
Some wool buyers, led by the Wool Exporters Council, have been lobbying against the change.
But Mr Crofoot, who is also Federated Farmers Wairarapa chairman, is urging farmers to take control of their own future while they still can.
He said sheep in Wairarapa and the east coast of New Zealand grew the best strong wool in the country, because of climate and other factors, and the region's farmers had the most to gain by joining forces.
Wairarapa is represented on the board of Wool Partners Co-operative, which includes Sir Brian Lochore and former Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung.
While the co-operative bid might have seemed to come out of nowhere late last year, Mr Crofoot said, this was "only because people haven't been paying attention".
He said behind the co-operative launch had been two years of planning.
Three deadlines in November and December came and went while the co-operative looked for support, and the new deadline is February 16.
But Mr Crofoot said several factors were behind the early lack of support.
Because it was a public launch, the backers were subject to "a whole set of rules about what you can and can't do", and complying with these took time. The initial plan had also come at a very busy time of year and when farmers were short of cash.
"By January-February, they've had their lamb income, they've had their wool income, the overdraft has probably been paid off, they're in a much happier frame of mind."
Farmers had told the co-operative they needed more information, including financial projections, and this had now been done, Mr Crofoot said.
Mr Crofoot said shareholders would own a company with rights to brands such as Wools of New Zealand and Laneve, established by Wool Partners International.
A strong co-operative with guaranteed supply could command a premium on these brands from their buyers, Mr Crofoot said.
This was not a higher price for the raw wool but an extra charge for the right to use the brand.
Mr Crofoot said perhaps half the extra payment might go to marketing investment, and half directly back to the grower, instead of being diluted by "ticket-clippers".
He said overseas buyers were also interested in New Zealand's wool marketing assets.
"People might say, I'll just wait until next year, but it's a whole jigsaw puzzle and next year some of the pieces of the puzzle might not be there any more," Mr Crofoot said.