Wool and Mohair Program

Need for Program Still in Question Gao ID: RCED-90-51 March 6, 1990

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO assessed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) wool and mohair program.

GAO found that: (1) USDA made $665 million in wool payments from 1981 through 1988; (2) wool production declined from 110 million pounds in 1981 to 89 million pounds in 1988; (3) from 1977 through 1983, payments boosted wool production by 18 percent; (4) industry representatives have contended that the payments have improved wool quality and production and stabilized the domestic wool industry; (5) military purchases account for 8 percent of the annual domestic wool production, but could substantially decline as new synthetic materials are used; (6) from 1981 through 1988, mohair producers received $173 million in program payments; and (7) in 1988 alone, mohair payments represented $47.1 million, or 53 percent, of total program payments.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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