FORMER Prime Minister Paul Keating was a walking advertisement for the Zegna suit.
And Queensland Premier Anna Bligh had no difficulty last year accepting an appointment as an ambassador for wool.
Overseas, US President Barack Obama and his entourage donned woollen overcoats during his post-inauguration walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC last year, while Prince Charles also wants us to go back to nature and wear wool.
C&C is now wondering how long it will be before the marketing folk at Australian Wool Innovation sees an opportunity to deck out the federal Opposition leader and fitness fanatic, Tony Abbott, with a wardrobe of cycling tops made from Merino Perform.
If it was OK for former Prime Minister John Howard to do his daily stroll around Canberra and Sydney in rugby union and cricket clobber, advertising beer and phone services, then there has to be an opportunity for wool on the back of Mr Abbott.
Down for the count
THE Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee has penciled in its next meeting for July.
But that meeting, and even the future of the committee, is hanging in the balance as Australian Wool Innovation weighs up the cost of the forecasts.
AWI has given production forecasting a low priority 4 rating.
For this financial year, AWI allocated $170,000 of its on-farm research spending to the forecasts, which include surveys and costs incurred by former Woolmark chief economist Chris Wilcox who organises the meetings and compiles the data.
Despite the AWI input, committee members - comprising growers, brokers, state departments of agriculture and the Australian Wool Testing Authority - pay their own cost to participate.
Acting AWI chief executive Stuart McCullough told C&C last month the board was not happy with the "forecasting model" but did not go into details.
Crying poor
THERE is no argument that Australian Wool Innovation had to cut its costs in the wake of the falling clip and the corresponding reduced levy revenue.
But while the cuts have hit various programs and staff, there is a limit to how far AWI can continue to cry poor.
In October, levy payers voted for a 2 per cent levy which at the time was projected to raise $33.4 million for 2010-11.
This projection was based on a very conservative Eastern Market Indicator of 775c/kg clean and a clip of 330 million kilograms.
But with the EMI now averaging 870c/kg for 2009-10 and predictions of next season's clip rising to 350mkg, on C&C's calculations, AWI should have an additional $5 million in the coffers.
