News ...
FROM THE BOARD...
As part of a regular review of operating costs and charges
the AMMO Board has made some important changes to policies and charges.
These changes are important so that AMMO can remain financially viable
and continue to serve the mohair industry. They have been brought about
by a decrease in mohair production and continued rising costs, which up
to this point, have been absorbed by the company. These changes will take
effect from the B2011 selling season.
Wool Pack Rebate:
AMMO Ltd has offered a rebate for new woolpacks used by producers that
consigned mohair to AMMO. This rebate was the equivalent to half the price
that AMMO paid for new woolpacks (most recently $4.00 per pack). The rebate
was introduced when the price of woolpacks jumped from $4.00 to approx
$11.00 each “overnight” in an attempt to relieve the immediate
pressure on producers who needed to purchase new packs. AMMO was the only
company to introduce this measure at the time. As the price of new woolpacks
has now been stable for some time, AMMO we will no longer continue to
pay the rebate.
Direct Entry Payments
Whilst AMMO has continued to offer both cheque and direct entry payments
for mohair sales, the costs of issuing cheques has risen to a point that
makes it no longer practical for payment to be made in this manner. As
a consequence, producers who have received payments by cheque will be
asked to supply financial institution account details for direct payment
in the future. Producers who continue to receive payment by cheque may
face an extra charge for this service.
Commission Charge
The commission on the sale of mohair will increase from the present 3.5%
to 5%. This is the first time in at least 14 years that this rate has
increased.
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MANAGEMENT MEMO ABOUT RECEIVALS
As a result of storage constraints (i.e. available space) due to the
setting out of bales traditionally displayed prior to auction, the we
ask that whenever possible, producers not consign or drop off bales for
the next sale in the week prior to, or immediately following, the current
auction date. This is to allow staff time to arrange bales for shipment
according to the buyer, and to reorganise the warehouse back to its operating
configuration after the sale, before commencing to receive and class fibre
for the next sale.
We trust this does not cause any significant inconvenience to producers,
and whilst we are always ready to negotiate delivery dates should the
need arise, we ask that you consider this 2 week period when organising
to deliver or consign fibre to the Narrandera warehouse. This should make
movement and organisation around the warehouse much easier in the future.
James Stanley
Warehouse Manager
AMMO sale offerings
The introduction of a core and grab sampling machine to our Narrandera
store has effectively reduced the time we spend setting up for sales and
significantly reduced the O H & S risk of injury through the excessive
amount of manual handling involved in setting up a sale by traditional
showing and manual core testing of bales.
This has meant a change in the way we offer fibre for sale.
Future catalogues may consist of three sections -
1. Traditional Lots – The best
lines/types of each age group. I.e. the Fine Kid and Kid types, the best
Young Goat and Fine Hair types. All bales in these lots will be displayed
traditionally. (i.e. all bales of these lots lined up on the floor and
opened at the top for inspection)
2. The Sale By Sample Lots – These lots made up
the bulk of the catalogue i.e. all the average/good top making types.
The bales were not be on display but instead samples of approx 4 - 6kgs
mechanically taken by the grab sampling machine were displayed in display
boxes.
3. A.M.M.O. Producer Lots – These lots were sorted/resorted
by A.M.M.O. technical staff, each individual lot will comprise fibre from
one producerand will have been selected for this section because the lines
many vary slightly from the specification for that type. (Different from
grower lots offered in the past as they are offered under the AMMO Brand
and will have been classed/typed by AMMO technical staff (not by the producer).
These lots are displayed traditionally - i.e by open bales.
The introduction of a core and grab sampling machine to our operation
will also allow for the possibility of Sale by Separation with test results
and grab samples in the future should this be necessary for whatever reason.
