HERDWICK sheep farmers paid a fact-finding trip to a Kendal business to have a close look at how their wool is being turned into top-quality carpets, reports Michaela Robinson-Tate.

The visit to Goodacre Carpets of Kendal was organised by farmers and the British Wool Marketing Board to help strengthen the links between the people whose animals produce the wool and the manufacturers who depend on supplies.

“What we wanted to do was get closer to the farmers so they knew what we were doing and where the Herdwick wool was going,” explained Goodacre director David Poole.

Goodacre Carpets is one of the firms taking part in a National Trust scheme to boost Herdwick wool prices and guarantee an income for farmers, which works through the trust acting as a non-profit making middleman.

Mr Poole said the company’s Naturally Herdwick carpet was proving successful so far, and he explained to farmers the importance of keeping up the supply of wool.

He also outlined the substantial costs involved in the production process, to reassure farmers who received low sums for fleeces that they were not being conned when they saw the price of the finished carpets.

Herdwick farmer Eric Taylforth was one of those on the visit. The Great Langdale farmer, who has 2,500 sheep, has signed up to the National Trust scheme and wanted to highlight the initiative to others.

He said the key to the success of Naturally Herdwick would lie in marketing it as a Lake District product and explaining how farming had helped to create the landscape.

“I’m very impressed with the commitment that they have to the Herdwick,” he said after the visit.

“It’s a big venture for them but as they say, they have got a carpet that also tells a story and that’s what’s selling it for them.

“It just shows how we have got to work as a unit together and not as individuals.” Mr Taylforth said they wanted to spread the word about the National Trust scheme to encourage farmers to stop burning fleeces.

“I think most farmers have burnt it over the last three to five years. We were one of the first to start burning it in protest at the prices.” The farmer pointed out that the sheep had to be clipped whatever happened to the wool and so the new scheme, which guarantees 50 pence per kilo, would at least cover the cost of packing up the wool.

In the future, Mr Taylforth said he hoped the initiative would bring changes to the market place and boost wool prices: “It’s heart-breaking to see it being burnt after you have struggled to get it off the sheep, and this is something that should be a lot better for us.”