TELLING growers they intend cutting costs is one thing, but practising it is another, if the latest global trotting by Australian Wool Innovation is anything to go by.
It was a busy time in Washington and London last week when an AWI party led by chief executive Brenda McGahan, AWI director David Webster, and staffers Stuart McCullough and Geoff Linden met with the US National Retail Federation and the British Retail Consortium to exchange views and updates on the mulesing issue.
The AWI posse first met with the NRF in the US before winging it to London where the meeting also included AWI director Laurence Modiano and AWEX chief executive Mark Grave.
AWEX opted to visit the British meeting which included about half a dozen representatives of retailers including Marks and Spencer.
It had invited the BRC to provide input to the latest review of the National Wool Declaration.
WoolProducers president Don Hamblin and executive director Greg Weller were also invited by BRC as observers to the London meeting.
After the London meeting, WoolProducers organised a meeting with the NRF and lo and behold, WoolProducers was stunned to find that David Webster and Stuart McCullough flew back to Washington to act as "observers" at the WoolProducer-NRF meeting.
No wonder AWI lobbied for a continuation of the 2 per cent levy.
C&C understands that WoolProducers paid its own airfares and accommodation.
Investment options
THE Graziers Investment Company held its annual meeting in Melbourne last Friday.
And while C&C didn't attend, he hears the GIC board will consider the option of shareholders retaining a share in the company rather than providing a blanket wind-up after selling any remaining assets in 2012.
GIC is the shell of the former Australian Wool Services after the Australian Wool Innovation bought the Woolmark business two years ago.
GIC is owned by more than 45,000 former and current growers who paid wool levies in the three years to June 2000.
It has two major assets - namely, $13.3 million of cash investments and the New Zealand Andar business manufacturer of wool processing equipment and workshop tools.
It also has a liability - the Woolmark's UK Pension Fund, to which it has been contributing $2 million a year.
The last instalment is due this year.
The Andar business reversed last year's result to record a profit of $1.1 million.
