Over sixty wool producers went through Fox & Lillie Rural’s Wagga store last week for MerinoLink’s annual conference, a three-day event featuring the latest Merino information and development, attracting wool producers from across the region,
It was the first tour through the new wool store with Fox & Lillie Rural Wagga recently moving their operations five-minute’s drive down the road to a new location at 560 Byrnes Road, Bomen.
Fox & Lillie Rural’s Wool Buying Manager, Daniel Charters explained that the major reason for the move was to keep up with the growing operations of the business and they were very pleased to take their first group through last week.
The store tour gave wool producers the opportunity to learn about the complete process which takes place once wool leaves the farm right up until it is shipped out.
Michael Field from T.A. Field Estates said “we were very pleased to be able to show wool grower members what happens when wool leaves the farm and arrives at the wool store.”
Jeff Angel, Fox & Lillie Rural’s Wagga Store Brokerage Manager said the tour was highly engaging, “many of the attendees hadn’t had the opportunity to explore a wool store before and learn about the processes involved from when wool leaves the shearing shed, right up until post-sale when the wool is shipped out.”
Michael also commented that “the tour also highlighted the need for good wool preparation and accurate paperwork”, which improves the efficiencies in store to process wool faster for sale.
Fox & Lillie Rural’s new store will improve on the company’s current service offerings who pride themselves on a quick turnaround from shed to the auction, tender services, private trade and store door buying services with prompt payment and on-farm pickup service.
Supporting the local and surrounding communities has always been at the heart of Fox & Lillie Rural, who employ a number of staff from the area and sponsor many of the local events and sporting clubs, including the MerinoLink Conference.
The company has a big focus on employing young people to ensure the transfer of knowledge and skills passed down to younger generations who are coming up through the industry which was a value that clearly shared with MerinoLink.
“It really stood out at the conference that there was particular attention and support offered by MerinoLink to encourage up-and-coming producers which was fantastic to see.” commented Daniel Charters.
“Overall, we were really impressed with the conference and how well-organised it was and we look forward to being involved in the future.”