Wool Pool delivery day: a 60+ year tradition

Writer’s note: Back in March I wrote a story that described the way wool used to be sold and shipped along the Hi-line. In 2002 a new system was started that consolidated a large number of points where smaller producers shipped their wool to a new system of collecting wool.

The people who organize the Hi-line wool pool sale each year invited me to come see how the system works. I drove to Malta, on a Saturday morning in early Ma,y to see firsthand how things work during wool delivery day. Here’s what I learned:

About 30 members of the Hi-line Wool Pool made their annual trek to Malta, on a brisk but sunny Saturday morning in May, to deliver their wool to be sold in the pool. The tradition dates back to the 1940’s when wool producers with smaller herds organized to pooled wool for shipping, via the railroad, from loading points across Montana.

In 2002 that selling process changed with the formation, statewide, of a series of consolidated wool pools—‘pools of pools’ as it were. The main purpose was to enable the combining of many small amounts of wool from individual producers into a large enough volume to bring a better price when sold. Part of the new process involves grading the wool, by lines (quality), and baling it for efficient transportation by truck to a centralized warehouse in Montana and, ultimately, to container ships to be exported.

Wool Pool delivery day process:

Marko Manoukian, the MSU-Extension Agent in Phillips County, greeted me on my arrival. Manoukian, along with former Blaine County Agent Mike Schuldt, were two of the driving forces to recreate the new way of selling wool. On this delivery day the wool was accepted at the ‘county garage’ in Malta.

It was a great facility as the mobile scale and testing equipment and the baling machine, as well as the computer equipment used to compile the data for each producer, was all inside the shop building. That would have made the conditions for the volunteers, staff and producers more acceptable if the weather had been nasty.

Most producers brought their bales either in stock trailers or pickups. They would back up to a designated shop door and volunteers would begin rolling the bales onto the scale and testing machinery located in the shop. Asked about the volunteers, Manoukian said, “Well, some are on the pool board, some are MSU extension staff and some are people who just volunteered to help.” Even the producers get involved in dragging bales or helping while their wool is being weighed, graded and processed.

Most wool comes already in bale bags. The ideal weight is 300 pounds or more. Some were nearer 500 pounds. Once the bale is weighed, it’s slid, on the same trailer mounted machine, to the area where samples are taken.

A ‘grab’ sample and a ‘core’ sample are taken from each bale. Don Cornell, a Turner-based producer and wool pool board member, was running the core sampler. With a small hot iron device he would burn a slit in the bottom of the bale, insert a hollow corer and pull out a long core about one inch in diameter. The cores went into bags labeled by ‘lines’ of wool—the quality of the wool being graded.

Dr. Lisa Surber, with MSU’s Sheep Institute, would then use another device, pushed in through a burned slit on the side of the bale, to pull a ‘grab’ sample. That sample, sometimes done twice, was used to grade the line of the wool—strand diameter and length, color, amount of vegetation in the sample, etc.

It’s important to have the wool graded by quality so the producers get the best price. When wool was all combined, like the old days, buyers would only offer an average price for the bags. Oh, the burning of the slits allows the sampling equipment to be poked into the bag. The searing is done so the bale bag doesn’t split where it was penetrated.

After each bale is weighed and graded, the pertinent information is written on the side of the canvas-type bag around the bale. Each producer’s unique number is also written on the bag. Surber then enters that data into a laptop computer and a printed page shows the producer the lines ((grades) of the wool they delivered and the weight for each line. The information, for each producer, is stored on the computer to complete payment once all the wool is sold.

Other parts of the operation

While the major portion of the wool is already baled when delivered by the producers, there are usually additional black or clear garbage bags with additional wool delivered as well. This wool, that wouldn’t fit in a bale bag or (tags and belly wool), is graded and weighed then baled as well. There was one crew that baled the loose wool, from several producers, to make bales that met the transportation and sales requirements. There was a lot of activity going on.

Completed bales were hauled, on hand trucks, to the far side of the shop. Outside a flatbed was already partially loaded. Manoukian said, “By 11am all the producers will have delivered their wool. The crew will finish baling the loose wool and make sure it’s ready to load. By 2pm we should have 100 bales loaded and ready to ship to the warehouse in Jordan.” Manoukian later reported that 33,458 pounds of wool was delivered, which equaled 80 bags delivered to Jordan.

The marketing has a cost to the producers. Manoukian wrote the total cost to the producer is $.156 per pound. That fee covers a membership in the Montana Wool Growers Association, costs of delivery day for the Hi-Line pool and the total transportation to the Eastern Consolidated Pools to transport the wool and store it. In 2014 the number one line of wool (best quality) sold for $2.30 per pound.

One very important part of any gathering of farmers and ranchers is the opportunity to see friends and catch up on news of families and businesses. Delivery day has a social aspect as well…lots of visiting among the producers and volunteers handling the wool. As the number of small producers has diminished, the remaining group is even more of a close-knit group.

Perry and Ruth Benson, from the Zurich area, have been delivering wool to sell since 1988. They had one bale of wool. Perry said, “We used to raise about 100 ewes, now we’re kind of in a retirement mode and have 40 animals we shear.” They have seen the number of small producers contract in the nearly 30 years they’ve been involved with the pool.

Still, the ‘pool of pools’ provides an important and convenient outlet for many producers. Likely the pool, as it has since its creation, will continue to adapt to the times and the needs of its members. And to paraphrase a response to the old question, have you any wool? Hi-Line pool members can truthfully say, “yes sir, yes sir, 80 bags full” this year.