The Yarn

Join Andrew Henderson chair of SAFEMEAT who discusses in detail how the industry is protected, what you can do to help protect the industry, what happens if the disease is found in Australia and the sheep and wool ramifications. In May 2018 the National Biosecurity Committee (NBC) tasked SAFEMEAT with developing a range of reform recommendations to enhance the existing national livestock traceability system. SAFEMEAT worked closely with its stakeholder group to deliver the report Reform Recommendations for Australia’s Livestock Traceability System, to NBC for consideration in March 2020. SAFEMEAT’s recommendations encompass a wide variety of reform options that seek to deliver enhanced biosecurity and traceability outcomes for livestock industries, jurisdictions and the Commonwealth government.

Hear from Thomas Elder Market analysts Matt Dalgleish and Andrew Whitelaw about the drivers of the wool market at the 2022 WAFarmers conference at MURESK and hear from WAF president and woolgrower John Hassel about why the future looks bright for the natural fibre.

Alistair Lade has been producing paddock-based superfine wool from his family’s property for many decades. It has taken dedication across many areas of the business: genetics, pasture, environment, electronic ID, plus no shortage of hard work. However, the hard work is paying off: hear from this superfine wool master.

Join General Manager, Research at AWI, Dr Jane Littlejohn who talks to Emily King about a new opportunity for biological defleecing using the zein class of protein. It allows for the wool production to be weakened but not completely stopped, thus keeping the wool on the sheep to be harvested in potentially new and more automated way. Jane also discusses the suite of research work at AWI.

Worm control in sheep has become a major issue and the spread and frequency of Barber’s pole worm in flocks is alarming. A parasite that rewrites the books for control and the world champion in terms of resistance according to those who know and we are about to hear from three of them.

Hear about the suite of research and development for wool harvesting recently shown near Conargo in the Riverina of NSW.

All industries have issues and wool has global processing and harvesting as top of its list. Hear what the AWI Board has to say on these and head to WA where the industry is taking important steps to help solve the current wool harvesting crisis.

With the world in such uncertain times, it is nice to know that at least the national flock and national wool clips are steadily lifting. New Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee Chairman Stephen Hill explains the latest figures but gives valuable insight into the strong underlying demand for Australian wool despite the headwinds of ongoing COVID lockdowns in China, significant logistical and therefore financial constraints to the very long wool supply chain.

Finding production efficiency through internal rather than external investment is well worth exploring when interest rates are expected to rise. John Francis from Agrista consulting discusses the options from the Leading Sheep Meat Up Forum in Longreach Qld. We hear also about the shearer shortage and the potential Blackall wool scour from mayor and woolgrower Andrew Martin.

Field Days are back in real life! Hear from world champion shearers and shearer trainers about the latest catch and deliver technology shown for the first time in public. Rex Hocking, yard dog champion and woolgrower discusses the importance of field days to the Lucindale community.