The primary task of the Norwegian Wool Advising Office is to educate and provide further training for wool classifiers, as well as to conduct follow-up inspections of classing at wool stations on behalf of the Directorate of Agriculture. Additionally, the Technical Service for Wool is involved in various other tasks related to wool. We share information about wool and its quality at different meetings, teach on the subject, and collaborate on various wool-related projects.
Norwegian Wool Types and Classing
Every year, just over two million sheep and lambs produce nearly four million kilograms of wool. In 2022, 3120 tons of wool were classified at the wool stations. We estimate that this is approximately 90% of all the wool produced in Norway. In Norway, only wool from sheep is classified.
In Norway, we have three main types of wool: crossbred wool, spæltype wool, and wool of fur type. Crossbred wool makes up between 80 and 90% of the total amount. We get most of the crossbred wool from the Norwegian white sheep (NKS), but there are also several other crossbred breeds, both white and colored.
Research and Projects
VerdifULL
- NIBIO, NORSØK, and Animalia received support from the research funds for agriculture and the food industry for a pre-project titled 'VerdifULL'. The project consisted of three parts: 1) Possible measures to increase the proportion of first-class wool, including how many farmers do not submit their wool and the usage of this wool; 2) Compilation of potential uses for downgraded wool; and 3) Testing of felted and woven wool fabric as ground cover in a strawberry field.
Krus
- The research project Krus - Increased Utilization of Norwegian Wool aims to highlight the qualities of Norwegian wool through quality work in the value chain, enhanced knowledge, and improved marketing. Krus is interdisciplinary and covers the entire value chain from farm to quality clothing.