Sheep farmers hit by house slump

The wool depot in Bradford has seen a decline over the years

Sheep farmers in Yorkshire have been hit by the recession as the downturn in the housing market has led to a fall in demand for wool.

The slump has led to a decline in demand for carpets which has had a knock-on effect on the wool industry.

For many farmers, it now costs more to shear one sheep compared to what it will sell for at market.

Ilkley sheep farmer Susan Ellis said she would be paid £419 for the fleeces of about 750 sheep.

She said: "Luckily we shear our own but if we were having to pay £1 or £1.20 a sheep to shear then that would have to come off the price."

Wool used to be Britain's biggest export and Bradford was at the centre of the trade.

Turnover has been halved and shows absolutely no signs of growing again in the immediate term, so survival is the name of the game Nick Crossley, carpet mill owner

Thousands of fleeces are still processed in the city but it's an industry that is shrinking as farmers pull out.

Chris Rowan, manager of the British Wool Marketing Board depot in Bradford, said there had been a big decline in the number of farmers producing wool over the last 20 years.

He said: "It does make us feel concerned but on the positive side of things we've managed to keep our weight at five million kilos and so, as a depot, we've managed to maintain a steady throughput this year."

Nick Crossley, who owns John Crossley Carpets in Halifax, said his business had been badly affected by the fall in demand for new carpets.

"I've personally been making carpets here in Halifax since 1982 and I've never seen anything remotely like this," he said.

"Since November, turnover has been halved and shows absolutely no signs of growing again in the immediate term so survival is the name of the game.

"If people aren't buying carpets and people aren't buying clothes in the quantities they were expected to, then the wool market will be extremely badly affected.

"It's a very long-term industry if you've got a flock of 10,000 sheep one year, you can't just cut it to 5,000 six months later because people aren't buying sweaters anymore."