James Kilmister estimates the financial breakeven point for his crossbred wool clip is between $4 and $5/kg.
This year the Hunterville sheep farmer will get about $1/kg for his 30,000kg – and face writing out a cheque for $25,000 to cover his shearing costs.
His last financially decent year was 2015, when wool revenue exceed costs by about $70,000.
Ideally he believes the wool should be fetching $10/kg but said some brokers and exporters have for years not put in the effort to promote the fibre and maintain a reasonable income, let alone generate that return.
If prices remain this low, he fears that in two to three years there will not be a wool industry left given the costs of production.
Kilmister says higher wool prices would be the third income cog to his sheep and beef business and would also help the viability of hill country farmers facing competition from forestry.
