The Yarn

As the very first Australian Woolmark licensee and selling quality woollen garments since 1914, Sportscraft holds a special place in the Australian retail landscape. What trends are appearing for wool consumption? What do people want from wool? Hear what this iconic retailer has to say about the future of wool and the people that ultimately buy it.

The Merino Lifetime Productivity (MLP) project is the world’s largest Merino experiment, tracking the lifetime performance of 5,700 ewes as they proceed through four to five joinings and annual shearings at five sites across the country. We are now starting to get some fascinating results which are uncovering some of the mysteries of Merino genetics. Hear from Ben Swain (AMSEA) as well as MerinoLink and Pingelly site hosts Marty Moses and Dr Bronwyn Clarke.

PIRSA in South Australia have developed an augmented reality App for smartphones to help identify exotic animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth disease. Hear how it works and its significant benefits.

Who would have thought the concept of “exploring better ways to carry” would lead to Merino farms? Well of course it does because when packing for a trip, is there anything better than Merino? Hear from cult figure Taylor Welden as he discusses his love of Merino wool and his day out discovering how it is grown, harvested and sold.

Young woolgrower Katherine Bain speaks with AWI GM Research, Jane Littlejohn about the family woolgrowing enterprise, her hopes for the future and we learn of two new wool marketing campaigns.

Without the trust of the customer there is no industry. Demonstration of sustainable production of sheep meat and wool is critical to secure access to local and global markets. Sarah Hyland is the manager of the sheep sustainability framework and explains it perfectly. We also check in on the health of the sheep industry in SA at the GrowingSA conference near Adelaide with LivestockSA president Joe Keynes.

In South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, highly popular school wether competitions are run by the state Stud Merino Breeders Association. These events introduce young people to the sheep and wool industry. Hear from co-ordinator Ben Watts and Brooke Cowan from Gunnedah High School after the successful NSW event which involved 62 schools and over 500 students.

Is it the only commercial knitting machine on farm anywhere in Australia? Woolgrower Sue McClure of Killmaille in western Victoria is making her dream a reality but it’s taken a lifetime of work to get there.

The threat of Foot and Mouth Disease entering Australia is real and highly concerning for everyone involved with all livestock industries. WoolProducers Australia plays a key role if the disease does reach Australia’s shores, hear what president Ed Storey has to say about the strong measures to keep it out, what individuals can do to protect their flocks as well as the policies and procedures if it is found. Ed also speaks about the significance of the Sheep Sustainability Framework and the overall state of our great undustry.

The key textile trade show Premiere Vision was held in Paris for the first time since the advent of the pandemic. The strong focus on sustainability, innovation and versatility has been another great opportunity for wool. Hear from the Woolmark Company’s Western Hemisphere Manager Damien Pommeret fresh from Premiere Vision.