Sheep farmers will have a closer connection as the wool supliers to the rugged Swanndri clothing range long valued in rural communities and more lately accompanied by new urban lines.

A new deal has been inked by the New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) to supply fine and strong wool to Swanndri for its outdoor clothing and new urban range.

An initial 30 tonnes of wool will be supplied by NZM's supplier network of merino, mid-micron and strong wool farmers with most of the strong wool to come from its business partner Landcorp, the government-owned farming company.

NZM expects the tonnage to grow quickly because of its ability to supply wide ranging wool types for Swanndri's clothing and accessories, from jackets and vests to baby blankets and luggage.

NZM commercial manager Keith Ovens said the partnership was a good fit as Swanndri was a long lasting company recognised for its iconic New Zealand clothing brand and NZM and Landcorp's wool brands provided farming integrity and built on the New Zealand story.

He said farmers would receive a premium for the Swanndri contract and revenue security without the "up and down" movement in commodity markets.

"There is a growth plan and the finer micron range they are producing is expanding and that presents more opportunities. We have the merino, halfbred and crossbred wool and they can have the quality and traceability from one source and link back to the growers and the farms."

Tracing the wool to farms was valued by Swanndri to ensure animal welfare, environment and product quality standards were being met.

The bulk of the fleece for the deal will come from Pamu-branded strong wool provided by Landcorp and typically used in Swanndri's traditional outdoors jackets with finer wools to go into the likes of baby blankets.

Swanndri chief executive Mark Nevin said the partnership would support the company's plans for growing rural and urban markets domestically and overseas.

"We require wool and New Zealand wool is best. NZM can supply us with the quantity of fibre we need and, most importantly, of the quality that we and our customers demand. It also ensures traceability to underline our New Zealand authenticity, which is particularly important in the northern hemisphere."

Swanndri has grown its profile internationally with retail partnerships in Europe, North America and Australia and its product range has gone beyond its traditional rural base to contemporary designs for urban customers with apparel now available at Barker's outlets.

Nevin said the rural market segment remained important, but more people were living in cities and contemporary lines had been developed for urban consumers in mind which retained traditional elements.

He said NZM's traceability gave the company an edge against competitors.

Ovens said NZM knew from its fine wool commercial experience that certain brand owners placed huge value in products sourced from New Zealand farms and in the past year it had been extending the model to mid-micron and strong wool in new partnerships.

Landcorp chief executive Steven Carden said the company was focused on ensuring its farmed products were wanted and valued by customers.

The partnership with NZM had strengthened its connection with businesses such as Swanndri in the marketplace and as the country's largest farmer Landcorp wanted to increase the value of its wool clip, he said.