Tasmania Plans To Produce Big Carpet-Wool Flock

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30454, 30 May 1964, Page 14

Tasmania Plans To Produce Big Carpet-Wool Flock

While New Zealand has its carpet-wool sheep, the Drysdale or N-type Romney, Tasmania is also interested in carpet wool production and, using artificial breeding methods to facilitate production of carpet sheep, it may soon have more than New Zealand unless this country also uses similar methods, according to Mr B. C. Jefferies, the senior sheep and wool officer of the Department of Agriculture in Tasmania. Mr Jefferies, who was in Christchurch this week, was visiting Overseas Carpets (N.Z.), Ltd., who, in collaboration with Massey College, are looking into the commercial possibilities of New Zealand’s carpet-wool breed.

While he is in New Zealand Mr Jefferies will go to Palmerston North to see Dr. F. W. Dry, after whom the carpet wool breed is named. Mr Jefferies said that Dr. Dry was the pioneer in the study of the genetic mutation of the Romney Marsh sheep, having started his work in 1929. He hoped to learn how to identify the N-type Romney by examining the birth coat of lambs soon after birth. N.Z. Scientists

In Tasmania, he said, investigation of the commercial possibilities of carpet-wool sheep had begun about the same time as in New Zealand, but there they did not have the advantage of a carpet-wool sheep. However, through Dr. B. F. Short, of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, a New Zealander and graduate of Lincoln College, who collected genetic mutations in all sheep breeds, they had obtained the services of a crossbred ram carrying the N gene. Dr. Short had been able to secure semin from a Drysdale ram before the ban wa' put on the importation of sheep into Australia and this had

been used with Border Lei-cester-Merino ewes. Mr Jefferies said that the ram did not have a carpetwool fleece itself and none of the progeny of its mating with 100 coarse Romney ewes purchased by the Tasmanian Government for a nucleus flock at the Elliott research station on the north-west coast of the island, and a further 40 ewes, had showed the N-type birth coat, but some of the lambs had shown horn development and some hairiness.

This year the ram was being mated again to some of his own daughters and as well four of the fastest-grow-ing ram lambs were being mated with a group of their half-sisters.

In addition, he said, they had been fortunate in finding a number of carpet-type Romney ewes and lambs in various parts of Tasmania and one ram lamb with a carpet fleece on King Island in Bass Strait. This ram lamb was also being mated with a group of ewe lambs carrying the N gene and if suitable ram lambs born in September could be identified by their birth coats as being of the N type they would be pushed along as fast as possible and next year, with the aid of artificial insemination, they would be mated to 500 to 1000 coarse Romney ewes.

Mr Jefferies said that wool from 50,000 to 100,000 sheep would be required to supply the carpet factory at Davenport in Tasmania. As well a number of the major manufacturers in Australia had expressed their keenness to purchase carpet wool produced locally in preference to having to import it. A considerable number of prime lamb producers in the higher rainfall areas of Tasmania were interested in producing this type of wool and the intention was to make them carpet wool producers

rather than lamb producers because the Tasmanian lamb market was about saturated and difficulty was being experienced with export markets because the Tasmanian season was similar to that in New Zealand.

The development of the industry would also be of considerable benefit to soldier settlers on King and Flinders Islands who, he said, were being crippled by the extortionate transport costs of getting live lambs either to Melbourne or Tasmania.

New Zealand had pioneered the system of drawing up contracts between farmers and the carpet factory for the production of this type of wool, he said, but he had suggested that there might also be a scheme for certification of rams and ewes to ensure the quality of the stock used.