Southland-based meat processor Alliance Group is one of seven successful applicants to benefit from a funding boost of more than $500,000 for entrepreneurial wool projects.
The funding, announced yesterday by Beef and Lamb New Zealand, comes from a contestable fund set up to share out the remaining wool levies. The money will go to businesses demonstrating the greatest potential to pump money back into the wool industry, and ultimately into farmers' pockets.
Alliance Group plans to incorporate wool production into its Hoofprint software package, which was developed in conjunction with Dunedin-based AbacusBio to measure on-farm carbon footprints.
It will work with New Zealand wool producers and marketers to gain extra market value for Hoofprint-accredited wool products.
Launched in February, Hoofprint is an internet-based system which allows farmers to calculate their farm's carbon dioxide emissions and allows them to identify ways to reduce those emissions. They can also compare their performance with that of their peers.
The successful applicants were chosen by an advisory panel from 28 bids by farmer groups, wool industry service providers and manufacturers.
Each of the projects will be matched 50:50 with funding from the applicant group.
The other successful applicants are. -
• Eastbourne-based Potroz-Smith Technologies Ltd is researching the production of an environmentally friendly super-absorbent wool-based material for use in personal hygiene and wound-care products that will be natural, non-toxic and biodegradable.
• Christchurch-based New Zealand Wool Services International will focus on developing practical tools to avoid underweight bales, which costs the industry an estimated $4 million a year.
• Wellington company and sustainable textile inventor the Formary is looking at blending New Zealand strong wool and a waste material to develop a range of commercial and domestic interior products.
• Wool Partners International and Banks Peninsula Wool Growers Group are working together to develop a truly sustainable carpet using natural processes and materials, including low pesticide, ethically-produced, traceable New Zealand wool.
• Wool's ecofriendly properties are the basis for a project by Matamata manufacturer Wool Equities, which will carry out market research, design and produce samples, and establish markets for high value bed blankets for premium international markets.
• The New Zealand Shearing Contractors' Association will use the funding to establish a quality assurance programme, underpinning recent work to ensure accredited shearing operators provide consistent product descriptions and demonstrate socially sound and sustainable business practices.
