The 2009 Biella merino ambassadors leave for Italy this week to learn more about the textiles end of the merino supply chain.
Blythe Rees-Jones of Mt Maunganui, a product designer, and Richard Gloag, farmer of Buscot Station, Omarama, will be traveling to Italy for three weeks to study in the heart of the Italian textile industry, the town of Biella.
Both feel this scholarship, funded by Meat & Wool New Zealand and Merino Inc, and organized by Merino Inc and The New Zealand Merino Company, will improve their understanding, and subsequently their influence on the development of the industry in the future.
Blythe works for Locus Research, specialists in sustainable design and development. In the past he has been involved in a range of highly creative projects involving merino and is currently investigating new opportunities for introducing merino into the healthcare sector.
Richard is a committed merino grower who is lifting farm profitability through irrigation development, cropping and integrated sheep and cattle grazing. He is a committee member of the Mackenzie Waitaki Merino Association.
As well as fostering the relationship between New Zealand and the Italian market, both ambassadors will be imparting knowledge from the experience for the benefit of industry groups on their return.
