More than 1,000 people at the Northumberland County Show have backed a drive to represent local hill farmers at the 2012 Olympic games.
That’s how many visitors signed a petition launched by the NFU to help revive the fortunes of British wool by making sure it’s showcased on the biggest stage of all. Such is the determination to beat off stiff competition from the manufacturers of synthetic alternatives, a special range of carpets has now been designed especially for the Olympics to help trace the story of a unique product.
The brainchild of Yorkshire wool merchant Martin Curtis, the carpets are made from undyed wool and so celebrate the diversity of sheep breeds to be found across the UK. By sticking to the natural colour range of the wool, the aim is to make a feature of the darker fleeces that come predominantly from hill breeds and traditionally have been worth less than paler lowland fleeces that can be readily dyed.
“Wool has been in the doldrums for too long, with the result that farmgate prices have not even covered the cost of clipping,” said NFU livestock board member and Northern representative for the British Wool Marketing Board, Malcolm Corbett.
“We have seen a serious decline in the size of the national wool clip – down from more than 50 million kilos a decade ago to less than 30 million now – and while that is driving a long-overdue increase in prices, this is a trend we must turn around if we are to achieve a sustainable sheep sector for the future.
“The drive to get wool into the Olympics is an important part of this bigger Campaign for Wool, but is especially appealing to sheep farmers because it seeks to highlight the contribution made by more than 60,000 farming families around the country and the ‘tapestry’ of sheep breeds they keep.”
Click here to add your weight to the campaign (remember to add your name and where you are from to the email message).
The petition:
'British wool is produced by more than 50,000 sheep farmers across the UK rearing a huge variety of sheep breeds that thrive on different landscapes. Wool is completely natural and biodegradable and comes from a renewable and sustainable source. It has a heritage spanning many centuries and today is vital to the thousands employed in the British wool textile industry.
Given its green credentials, its natural qualities and its importance to the British sheep sector, we the undersigned call on the organisers of the 2012 Olympic Games to ensure they provide a showcase for one of the nation’s most enduring, unique and environmentally friendly products.'
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