THIS WEDNESDAY'S Highland Sheep event at Contin, Strathpeffer will give wool producers the opportunity to interact with a number of key British Wool personnel and gain insight into the work British Wool is doing on their behalf.

British Wool is a mainline sponsor of the event, and will be showcasing the full range of its activities, including explaining the wool supply chain from start to finish as well as hosting a series of shearing and wool handling demonstrations throughout the day on the stand.

British Wool’s Scottish northern board member Donald Fraser said: “We know from past experience how much wool producers value the opportunity to interact with staff and board members at these events.

“It is the best opportunity they have to learn more about what British Wool is doing on their behalf to maximise the value of their clip and also gives them a chance to understand what they can do on farm to help produce high quality wool.”

Mr Fraser said the importance of wool produced in Scotland to British Wool shouldn’t be underestimated, with Scottish wool producers contributing a significant volume of the wool handled and sold by British Wool each year.

“The organisation’s stand at Highland Sheep will be a focal point for all that is important in the wool sector and will give producers the opportunity to quiz key British Wool personnel, myself included, on the current trends in the wool market and more importantly what the board is doing for them," he said.

Regional manager Colin MacGregor added: "These regional sheep events provide producers with a great opportunity to meet and socialise, but there is an important business element too and British Wool is all too well aware that producers want to know more about what their wool is worth in the coming season.

“We’ll be explaining the latest wool values and helping farmers understand what they can do to maximise the value of their clip. British Wool is unique in UK agriculture and it is in producers’ interests to support the organisation in its work to sell British wool on their behalf to buyers across the world."

Mr McGregor said that in addition to learning more about the work of British Wool, visitors to the stand will also be able to try their hand at an ‘Identify the Breed’ competition, with entrants having to identify fleeces from six different breeds of sheep.

“While the core focus of the stand will be the business of wool, this competition is a light hearted element, but is still highly educational and provides event visitors with the chance to handle fleeces of different types to better understand why some wools are more highly valued than others.

"Highland Sheep is a pivotal event in the sheep farming calendar and we're looking forward to meeting plenty of sheep farmers to help them appreciate the work British Wool does and listen to their queries and concerns on wool marketing," he added.