A five-year extension of the wool fabric program was approved last week by the U.S. Congress when the large and controversial tax and financial stabilization bills passed, said Glen Fisher of Sonora, first vice president of Englewood, Co.-based American Sheep Industry Association.
"Even though this legislation may seem remote to West Texans, it will have a significant impact on our sheep industry as well as fund the promotion efforts of the association," Fisher said.
The nation's wool production is down from 36 million pounds in 2006 to 35 million pounds in 2007, yet Texas remains the top wool-producing state with 4.4 million pounds. The 10 leading counties in the Lone Star State are in the Concho Valley starting with Crockett at 14.6 percent; Val Verde, 11.3 percent; Pecos, 7.7 percent; Schleicher, 5.7 percent; Tom Green, 5.1 percent; Concho, 4.5 percent; Gillespie, 4.1 percent; Sutton, 3.6 percent; Menard, 3.4 percent; and Sterling, 3 percent.
Fisher said sheep producers will recognize the portion of the wool fabric program as the American Wool Trust, which the industry uses with domestic manufacturers for wool product development, market expansion and quality improvement.
"If this wool textile program were allowed to lapse, a number of wool-clothing manufacturers and their employment base would be lost from the U.S. economy and have a further impact on American wool growers if firms were no longer available domestically to buy wool," said Peter Orwick, ASI executive director.
Fisher said: "Many of us remember when the U.S. textile mills consumed nearly all of the domestic wool production. However, in the last five years, many of the mills have either closed or moved their production facilities to other countries."
Because of the industry shift, export markets, along with the U.S. military, have become increasingly important to U.S. producers, Fisher noted. Major wool processors remaining in the U. S. include Burlington, Pendleton, Woolrich and Chargeurs USA.
According to the ASI weekly newsletter, the association leaders have been involved legislatively with the wool program since 1996, when it supported U.S. wool textile firms fighting an unfair trade loophole created by the North American Free Trade Agreement that allowed Canadian wool firms a huge advantage over American wool clothing companies.
U.S. textile firms and ASI struggled for years on how to address the trade issue equitably. With an agreement eight years ago, the two parties have now cooperated to reauthorize the program five years.
In addition to its well-known uses in woven apparel, sweaters, hosiery and upholstery, American wool also is used to make insulation, hand-made rugs, tennis balls, bedding products and cleanup pads for oil and chemical spills.
"Wool garments are a great investment," Orwick said. "Since wool fibers resist pilling, snagging and breaking, wool garments typically outlast synthetic sweaters. Furthermore, since wool fibers are naturally elastic, wool garments don't wrinkle, bag or sag out of shape."
He said wool is the only fiber that naturally resists flaming. Unlike most artificial fibers, which often melt and stick to the skin when on fire, wool usually only smolders or chars.