The use of WoolClip surged in 2022. Photo – Melanie Kate Photography.

UPTAKE of Australia’s world-leading digital on-farm wool platform surged last year, reaching more than 100,000 bales for the first time.

WoolClip was developed by the Australian Wool Exchange with industry to ensure integrity through the wool value chain.

The WoolClip digital platform captures critical wool data, associated declarations and information from the farm to the warehouse and potentially beyond.

WoolClip plays an integral role in the traceability of Australian wool, said AWEX WoolClip Program lead John Cox.

He said WoolClip’s exceptional results this year marked significant steps in setting up the Australian wool industry for the future.

“So far, the use of WoolClip has grown by 68 percent this year (2022) alone.

“With every bale documented and transmitted through WoolClip, users are guaranteed efficient transfer and accuracy of clip information. It provides the traceability customers are looking for.”

With WoolClip, users can complete the National Wool Declaration and create easy-to-read Wool Classer specifications, minimising paper-based errors and delivering significant efficiencies through the chain. Throughout 2022, WoolClip has been embraced by prominent wool brokers, growers and classers across Australia who appreciate the platform’s ease of use, Mr Cox said.

AWN clients are taking up WoolClip

Leading broker AWN has around 45 percent of its client base using WoolClip. AWN’s national wool and livestock manager Mark Quartermain said using WoolClip in their business is vital in guaranteeing traceability and protecting wool quality, ultimately strengthening its reputation and marketability.

“It’s a program that provides the assurance that customers are looking for, and it also minimises issues in the wool store caused by inaccuracies and errors in documentation which cost growers time and money to fix,” he said.

Mr Quartermain said in 2022 AWN made a commitment to promote the uptake of WoolClip through training its staff nationwide, and engage directly with clients to get them on-board.

“The experience has been positive, even with those in remote areas who are able to use the platform when they have no phone reception, and then upload the information when they’ve internet coverage. We will be looking to see this growth continue in the next 12 months.”

AWEX is also anticipating even larger uptake amongst wool growers in 2023, Mr Cox said. This coincides with the rollout of eBale, electronic packs with a unique RFID number stored on a chip and as a QR code. Data transferred through the chain, including the eBale unique-ID, is captured on-farm through WoolClip.

“With all commercial wool packs using eBale technology by July 2023, we also expect to see increasing uptake of WoolClip.

“As grower awareness continues to rise, and customers demand biosecurity, quality and provenance information, WoolClip and eBale complement each other in meeting these demands.”

A National WoolClip Working Group, that includes high-volume growers, brokers, training providers and contractors, will ensure WoolClip continues to expand into the future.

Mr Cox said AWEX is fully committed to assisting brokers, growers and classers give Australian wool the leading edge.

AWEX – with the support of industry – has committed to securing 5 million eBales for the Australian wool market, a provision for 2.5 – 3 years of wool production. The introduction of the technology will cost 60 cents per pack. eBales will be commercially available to wool growers in the first half of 2023 and by July, all packs imported will be eBale packs. People will be able to use their old packs as the industry transitions to eBales.

Source – AWEX.