Dealer Index located on Page A10
June 2023
Volume 41
48 Pages
PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308
Phone: (509) 397-2191
Number 3
WHY
SO LOW?
WHEN IT COMES TO WOOL PRICES, THE ANSWER ISN’T EASY
T
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN Capital Press
Courtesy of Maria Rooney
Maria Rooney with one of her favorite ewes.
his spring, Capital Press got a question from a reader who raises Rambouillet and Merino sheep in Eastern Oregon: “Why are wool prices so low?” The answer is both simple and complex. The simple answer is the global wool market faces oversupply and sagging demand. But the complex piece is how the industry got to that point. Many factors — long-term trends and recent developments — have created the current market conditions. Farmers are worried about wool prices, calling the market “dismal,” “on a downbound trajectory” and “borderline alarming.” Producers of medium, coarse and black wools are especially suffering. “It’s hard,” said Maria Rooney, who raises Coopworth, Romney and horned Dorset sheep in Silverton, Ore. Rooney has been in the industry for nearly 35 years and has faced challenging times, but she said the past few years have been so difficult she questions whether she can remain in business. In 2022, the average price paid for wool nationally was $1.53 per pound, according to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, down 19% from the 2019 average of $1.89 per pound. Pricing varies significantly based on the breed, quality, amount of vegetable matter and micron, meaning the wool diameter. In recent months, experts say producers of medium wool have commonly been paid 20 cents per pound — not even enough to cover shearing costs and at least 60% below pre-2019 pricing. How did we get here? See Wool, Page A9
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