It is an unavoidable fact of life that when you make something - anything - more complicated than it needs to be, things will go wrong.
In this regard, the Australian Wool Exchange's (AWEX) proposed changes to the National Wool Declaration to reflect changing consumer demands is one bridge too far.
Queensland woolgrowers are 100 per cent behind the inclusion of mulesing information for our sheep flock when declaring a wool clip's preparation in the NWD.
And we believe consumers are willing to pay for this - a sustainable, voluntary, market-led way to improve animal welfare standards.
As Queensland's once-thriving wool industry enjoys a resurgence due to effective exclusion fencing and wild dog control programs, we want to capitalise on the community's growing demand for sustainable, ethically produced natural fibres.
So, the existing 'mob mulesing status' classifications are crucial to inform the supply-chain of an individual wool clip's mulesing status and one of the first things a wool buyer checks when undertaking an appraisal.
But NWD version 8.0 released last month for industry is a mistake. Too complicated.
The introduction of additional categories is only going to confuse users all along the supply chain and undermine a system that has worked well for years.
By trying to be too detailed, we risk the NWD actually becoming less accurate.
AgForce has provided this feedback twice to AWEX and can only hope common sense prevails.
Keep it simple, AWEX.