The Rural Voice, 1986-08, Page 18DUALITY
JP
WORKWEAR
at affordable prices
CHARMANS
519-528-2526 Lucknow
DON POULTON
REAL ESTATE
KINCARDINE
We need good cash crop and
livestock farms. small acreages,
vacation homes, commercial and
income properties for our
prospective buyers.
Eastern Huron County
Dairy Operation; 291 acres, well
drained soil; free stall, double 4
milking parlour; new heifer barn; 2
silos: automatic feeding.
Nice brick home
Quota - 212 L #1, 149,000 L MSQ
can be bought with or without
cows and quota
Colborne Twp.
147 acres.
Excellent home, near town, on
paved road
Goderich Twp.
76 acres, scenic farm, 38 acres of
cropland, balance hardwood and
cedar bush, no buildings.
Kincardine Twp.
249 acres, beef and hog barn,
good house, only a few miles to
town or hwy.
WERNER RITGEN
Sales Representative
Residence 519.529.7783
Business 519-396-8444
16 THE RURAL VOICE
scoured, spun, and dyed. The
finished wool will be sold for $9 a
pound. Bourgeois's commission
will be 10 per cent or 90 cents per
pound. He adds his commission to
all the costs and the balance of the
money goes back to the farmer.
Thus, a farmer will receive bet-
ween $2.11 and 2.23 per pound for
his wool, including the initial 50
cents per pound payment.
Bourgeois could get a larger com-
mission for himself, but he's not
greedy and would rather see wool
prices improve to all farmers.
The system sounds fairly simple
but involves a great deal of
background work which Bourgeois
has already completed. One big
problem was finding a mill to wash
or scour the wool. He has had the
wool scoured in Prince Edward
Island, and in Quebec, and now
has settled on having it done in
Pennsylvania. There is no local
scouring centre that can handle the
volume he wants.
Bourgeois considered setting up
a scouring mill himself, but when
he investigated the cost, he chang-
ed his mind for the time being. It
would cost about half a million
dollars to set up a scouring mill.
However, there isn't the volume to
justify the cost. In 1985, the Cana-
dian Wool Growers' Co-operative
bought 1.8 -million pounds of
wool. If he washed all the wool
available for this national wool co-
operative with a scouring train that
could wash 5,000 pounds per day,
he would be done in 150 to 175
days. Bourgeois's farm is near the
Bruce Energy Park, so he hasn't
completely ruled out the possibility
of setting up a scouring mill some-
day, but for now it is not feasible.
Bourgeois will contract out his
work now and still be able to pro-
vide farmers with a good price for
their wool. But, like anything, a
farmer can't expect something for
nothing. To have high quality
wool, a farmer must have
specialized management on his
farm.
Farmers who produce higher
quality wool will be favoured and
will earn more because they are
paid according to yield. Wool that
loses yield to dirty straw -ridden
patches will not net as much
money. "I'll focus on the top
profit -share with the farmer. As a
wool broker, he will have the wool
yielding farms. Those who don't
manage their wool will end up at
the bottom of the list."
To produce good wool, a farmer
shouldn't floor -feed the animals,
and he must practise pasture
management, Bourgeois explains.
The sheep must be worm -free.
When the sheering is done, the
wool must be sorted in a clean
spot. After the sheep is shorn, a
farmer skirts it on the table and
takes out stained wool, straw, or
any other visible particles.
Clumped or inferior wool is also
removed. In his own flock,
Bourgeois had 20 pounds of waste -
wool from a total of 300 pounds.
After the wool has been
gathered and processed, the farmer
will come to the Philosopher's
Wool Company to help wrap the
wool and label it. The wool will
carry the company's name and also
indicate the farm that it came from
if the farmer so chooses.
Buyers want good quality wool
and it's in the best interest of pro-
ducers to carefully scrutinize the
quality they provide, to ensure a
steady, quality market in the
future. Although some people
criticize the quality of Ontario
wool, Bourgeois says, "Ontario
wools are some of the finest in the
world because of their bounce and
durability."
In 1985, Bourgeois himself
started creatively marketing his
wool rather than accepting the
traditional 50 cents per pound. He
earned $7,500 from the sale of
lambs in his 50 -ewe flock last year,
and earned $638 from the sale of
wool. Wool was 8.5 per cent of his
income from sheep, thus can be
considered a profitable by-product
of sheep production.
He has received great co-
operation from all aspects of the
wool industry, including spinners
and wool retailers. Bourgeois has
come a long distance in his goal to
obtain a better price for wool to
Ontario sheep producers, and to
make Ontario wool popular, but
he knows better than anyone that
the journey has just begun. ❑