Hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland make a living from farming and not all of those own land, have livestock or are agricultural contractors.
Dairy, beef, sheep and pig farming all extend much further than from the fields that they are raised in. For this month’s edition of Irish Tractor & Agri, we took a closer look at where sheep’s wool goes to.
Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. After shearing, the wool is separated into four main categories: fleece (which makes up the vast bulk), broken, bellies, and locks. The quality of fleeces is determined by a technique known as wool classing, whereby a qualified person called a wool grader, groups wools of similar gradings together to maximize the return for the farmer or sheep owner.
The wool is then bought by wool merchants who sell it on to various industries where it can be used in clothing, blankets, horse rugs, saddle cloths, carpeting, felt, wool insulation and upholstery. As an animal protein, it can be used as a soil fertilizer, being a slow-release source of nitrogen.
Global wool production is about 1.3 million tonnes per year, of which 60% goes into apparel. Australia is the leading producer of wool which is mostly from Merino sheep. New Zealand is the second-largest producer of wool, and the largest producer of crossbred wool. China is the third-largest producer of wool. Breeds such as Lincoln, Romney, Drysdale, and Elliotdale produce coarser fibres, and wool from these sheep is usually used for making carpets.
One of Ireland’s longest serving wool merchants is G McFadden & Sons in Breenagh, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
This family run business was established in 1939 by Gerard McFadden who sole purpose was the buying and exporting of wool to the UK initially and then to places like Italy and France
Gerard was a hard worker and a real innovator as he added grocery and hardware store to the list of services provided. Around 1960 Gerard became unwell and after a short illness passed away at just 43-years-of-age. His son Raymond left school at 14 to come on board and he has been running the business ever since.
“My father was probably ahead of his time. He wasn’t afraid to give something a go and he worked really hard to make a success of the business,” said Raymond.
“In the mid-sixties, we gave up the grocery and a few years later became wines, spirits, soft drinks and beers wholesalers as well as being wool merchants, which was an unusual mixed business. We also worked as potato merchants in the past.”
Their experience in the textile industry has been sought after, by buyers and sellers alike. This experience has introduced customers from a variety of countries with which they now trade, including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Irish wools have always been renowned for their unique properties, which allow them to be used in carpet, clothing and construction materials alike. G McFadden & Sons is part of a group of companies specialising in products where wool is the inspirational material.
Wool’s scaling and crimp make it easier to spin the fleece by helping the individual fibres attach to each other, so they stay together. Because of the crimp, wool fabrics have greater bulk than other textiles, and they hold air, which causes the fabric to retain heat.
“We were dealing with a lot of local farmers with regards to the wool and we have built up that customer base over the years. An awful lot of our customers have been with us many years now and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support.”
Raymond revealed that they still export all of their wool. “We would send all of our wool to the UK and China where is used in a number of industries, but mainly for processing carpets.
“It can be a very topsy turvy market, but we’re happy enough with the way business is going. We never got too big and have learned from the numerous recessions that we have come through.”
G McFadden & Sons is very much a family run business as Raymond and his wife Shelia, who looks after the administration side of the business, are joined in the company by their three sons Gerard, Joseph and Fergal.
“We still supply wholesale drinks, while we also have a haulage licence and we have rigid and tractor units operating here. We sell fertiliser, while we also do some general haulage as well.
“Like I said, we’re kept going and business is going well. We would have no real plans to expand at the moment, I’ll leave that up to the lads, they are the next generation of the family coming along,” smiled Raymond.
G McFadden & Sons
Breenagh,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal
Tel: (074) 9137009
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 3 No 10, November 2015
