Pay-off For Wool Style Is On The Sheep

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29798, 14 April 1962, Page 7

Pay-off For Wool Style Is On The Sheep

“It is disappointing that the premium for style in wool in the sale room isn’t very great but the big payoff for good style in the wool is when it’s on the sheep,” Dr. A. E. Henderson, head of the wool department at Lincoln College, told members of the Banks Peninsula branch of Federated Farmers at the Le Bons Bay field day last week. A fleece should be an orderly arrangement of fibres and compact staples, he said. Ventilation was very important in wool production. While the wetting of a fleece was quite a quick process it took longer to dry out. A fleece which drained quickly dried quickly. If the skin of the sheep remained wet for several days it became purple and a surface dermatitis with a yellowish exudate formed. Secondary bacterial infection occasionally could become chronic and hard lumps of

material could develop in a horizontal band in the staple with staining and discoloration.

Dr. Henderson said that there had to be in wool growing a reconciliation of the production approach and the utilisation of the wool. To the manufacturer the wool had to have “two ends and a middle and be capable of being made into a cloth and sold at a profit.” Any sort of wool could be used, but the farmer should aim for a wool which could be easily sold and sold at the highest price. The general aim should be to grow a long staple of sound wool of good colour.

New Zealand was known for off-colour yellowing in the wool. This was not scourable and was not liked by United States buyers. This yellowing developed under alkaline conditions, from the sweat, with moisture and heat.

American market research had shown that white wools were used in 96 per cent, of all textiles containing wool but stained wools were restricted in use to only 30 per cent, of all textiles. The obvious effect on marketing of stained wools was the reduction of prices. “To obtain style in the wool you must breed in the fundamental requirements into the sheep and then feed the sheep properly,” he said. Discussing the conflict of the factors of wool and meat production in the sheep, he said the emphasis could be pushed either way. It was usually found that sheep with the best feed conversion into wool also had the best feed conversion into meat, which included the lamb and the feeding of the lamb with milk.

A sheep of good constitution ate more, but a highproducing sheep eating about 10 per cent, more would produce about 20 per cent, more than a poor producer. “It doesn’t matter under what conditions you select the high efficiency sheep, which knocks back the idea that under hard conditions you can’t select rams from a property under the best conditions,” he said. “But you must take in the attitude of the sheep to the conditions you have.” Discussing second shearing, Dr Henderson said that there was no effect on the fibre by cutting. After shearing the appetite doubled for two to three weeks, and this increased wool production, but the effect lasted only a short time.

With machine shearing the skin of the sheep had to be kept above the critical temperature of about 65deg. Below this the sheep had to use up its feed, fat and muscle to keep warm until the wool was l-3in to %in long. Second-shear wools of a staple length of 3in to 314 in had a very wide use and met a ready sale. Usually the total wool production was a little more because there was less loss through weathering at the tips. The sheep did a little better with less dragging around with heavy fleeces, but the price was a little lower. The main advantage in second shearing was in management The times of the two shearings would depend on feed conditions, he said. The general principle should be to avoid having a long fleece at the hottest and wettest times of the year and to have plenty of good feed available at shearing time, Dr. Henderson said.