How Woolgrowers Manage native vegetation & biodiversity on New England wool properties

Abstract

In 2003, the Land, Water & Wool Northern Tablelands Project (NSW) conducted a survey of woolgrowers in southern New England. The survey aimed to find out what woolgrowers thought about biodiversity in relation to wool production, how woolgrowers manage their farms in ways that affect biodiversity, and what it would take for them to adopt management practices that would enhance biodiversity. A one-page questionnaire was mailed to 934 growers, with two follow-up mailings shortly after. The final mailing was a shortened version of the questionnaire designed to see if growers who hadn't responded initially, varied in their responses to the earlier respondents. In all, 347 questionnaires (37%) were returned, results being adjusted for non-response bias detected by the third mailing.