THE importance of the wool industry was stressed yesterday by the Minister for Agriculture when he announced details of the All Ireland National Sheep Shearing Championships to be held in Nenagh on June 9th.
The increase in the number of sheep over the past decade is reflected in a increase in wool output, Mr Yates said, adding that in 1995 more than five million ewes and rams produced about 15 million kilos of wool.
The wool was worth £13 million to sheep producers, he said.
"However, if we are to maximise the contribution that this product can make to the sheep enterprise, we must take more care and pay more attention to detail at farm level," he said.
The Minister added that most wool is exported for further processing and, while the quality is generally high, problems occur with fleece presentation, uniformity and contaminants.
It takes a year for a sheep to grow a fleece but a few minutes' careless shearing can ruin it and that was why shearing is so important, Mr Yates said.
More than 20,000 spectators are expected to attend the event.
