Farmer-To-Farmer Advice: What's the Best Way to Sell Raw Wool in Australia?

Some 85% of all raw wool produced in Australia is sold on the open-cry auction system (Bolt 2004). Current debate among wool growers highlighted the need to explore other methods available and, of these, determine what are the most preferred. Four focus groups were conducted in regional Western Australia to ascertain primary producers' opinions on the options available for selling their raw wool. Focus group p articipants were given a series of scenarios to brainstorm, these focused on offering advice to a new neighbour who had n ever grown wool. Results of the research showed that auctioning wool via the services of a broker is by far the preferred selling method. Forward contracting and internet-based selling were options that were unfamiliar but worthy of trial while futures and op tions trading, value-added selling and selling direct to mills were the least favoured methods. Further to this it was found that producers are willing to try selling methods that shorten the wool supply chain and they also favour relationship-based systems.