After decades of decline, New Zealand’s wool industry is making a comeback

From the publisher

John Hargreaves’ family has farmed sheep and beef in Kaiwaka, north of Auckland, for generations. In the 1960s they had 3,000 ewes but in the decades since, as the value of wool declined and shearing costs grew, his flock slowly decreased to just over 1,700. But now, for the first time in roughly six years, his wool is making money. New Zealand’s once-famous wool industry is showing signs of a comeback, after the mounting costs of producing synthetic fabric triggered global demand for natural fibres. “We’re now covering our shearing costs and making some sort of a profit,” Hargreaves says. Sheep farming and wool production dominated New Zealand’s agricultural industry…

The source's own excerpt, unedited