The Yarn

In these very difficult days, we hear the very latest from the largest processor and buyer of Australian wool: China. Lizzie Chen has been importing Australian wool on behalf of large Chinese mills since the 1990s.

With so much to complement each other how have so many sheep left what was the sheep/wheat zone? Will they come back and how? We head to WA to find out the opportunities and the appetite.

What will the current and future implications of Coronavirus (COVID-19) be for the Australian wool industry and its consumers? As the outbreak becomes a pandemic, AWI’s CEO Stuart McCullough shares his insight and rates the threat that COVID-19 could present to the wool supply chain.

Maggot and blowfly samples, fly genome sequencing, trialing vaccines: are all essential parts of AWI’s current flystrike prevention program to research the Australian blowfly and project flystrike control to the next level. Hear the latest research update into flystrike R&D from AWI’s GM of Research, Dr Jane Littlejohn, to tackle this problem, which has always been and still is a huge detriment to the Australian wool industry.

How do feral species respond to bushfire and drought, and can we use these dire circumstances to our advantage in controlling feral populations? Whether you’ve got wild dogs, foxes, goats, cats, rabbits, pigs or others, hear from NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Peter Fleming about practical control measures and research programs occurring to reduce ferals’ impact on your livestock enterprise.

Where and how do you start again after a bushfire? We head to the famous woolgrowing region of Kangaroo island where the scars are still raw but the spirit is still high. This young and motivated wool community is ready to start rebuilding after a horror summer despite one massive hindrance; the sea. Hear how KI is approaching a massive rebuild and why it will all be worthwhile.

What does coronavirus mean for the Australian wool trade? Hear straight from the horse’s mouth as China-based wool agent Lizzy Shen shares her insights on how the coronavirus might affect wool manufacturing in China. And from Australia, John Roberts, AWI General Manager – Eastern Hemisphere, discusses his experience living in China during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Precision feeding in and out of containment, knowledge of pitfalls and shortcuts: this monster drought has taught many lessons. Hear from the experts about sourcing feed and not losing stock when the drought finally ends; given the old saying that more stock are lost after a drought than during it.

Catastrophic fire conditions across the nation have put emergency livestock management into sharp focus. Qualified veterinarian and AWI General Manager of Research, Dr Jane Littlejohn, offers immediate advice to those who have been affected.

Despite how it may feel, the Australian wool industry hasn’t existed since the dawn of time. The first fleet, the first sheep, the first cloth… But who created the first cloth? Join us as we speak to the first textile company ever to use Australian wool. And with the digital age well underway, education resources are rapidly transitioning online. Learn about a wool education initiative that keeps up with this global trend to digitally inform a growing audience on the benefits of wool.