ISSUE 78 MARCH 2019 PROFIT FROM WOOL INNOVATION www.wool.com WOOL ON THE MOVE 04 06 34 FLOCK TO STRETCH AND BREATHE COMMUNITY BAGGY GREEN WITH WOOL WILD DOG CONTROL 08 WINTER TRAINING 44 MONITORING WITH WITH WOOL SMART TAGS EDITOR Richard Smith OFF-FARM ON-FARM E [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITER Lisa Griplas 4 Flock to Baggy Green 32 Defying the drought E [email protected] 6 Nagnata: wool in yoga wear 34 Wild dog control in Victoria Australian Wool Innovation Limited A L6, 68 Harrington St, The Rocks, 7 Fusalp: ski jumpers 35 Baiting program success Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 4177, Sydney NSW 2001 8 Tracksmith: running in wool 36 Wild dog control in South Australia P 02 8295 3100 E [email protected] W wool.com 9 APL: wool shoes 37 Workshops improve productivity AWI Helpline 1800 070 099 10 ISPO sports trade show 38 Flystrike treatments during drought SUBSCRIPTION Beyond the Bale is available free. 11 KnitWarm self-heating technology 40 Sheep parasites – help us to help you! To subscribe contact AWI P 02 8295 3100 E [email protected] 12 International Woolmark Prize 41 Tail docking – don’t cut it short Beyond the Bale is published by Australian 14 Designers visit Biella, Italy 42 Flystrike vaccine research Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI), a company funded by Australian woolgrowers and the 15 Designer Matthew Miller in Japan 43 Producer-led tech development Australian Government. AWI’s goal is to help increase the demand for wool by actively 16 Sydney Opera House staff uniforms 44 Monitoring sheep with smart tags selling Australian wool and its attributes through investments in marketing, innovation 17 Designers visit Merino sheep farm 45 Woolmark bale stencils and R&D – from farm to fashion and interiors. 18 Online retail partnerships 46 Shear Easy training camps COPYRIGHT 20 Private White V.C. 47 Online training for shearers Material in Beyond the Bale is copyright. Reproduction of the material is encouraged. 22 Promotion at Ginza Plaza in Tokyo 48 Balmoral Field Day 2019 However prior permission must be obtained from the Editor. 23 Brand collaboration in Japan 49 AWI Artificial Breeding Workshop DISCLAIMER 24 China’s new wool innovators 50 Number of lambs per sire To the extent permitted by law, Australian Wool Innovation Ltd excludes all liability 25 Australia-China diplomatic relations 52 Australia’s oldest ewe competition for loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained in 25 Hong Kong fashion forum 53 Return of It’s Ewe Time! this publication. The Woolmark symbol is a certification mark 26 Ralph Lauren trained in wool 54 Mob size affects lamb survival registered in many countries. © 2019 Australian Wool Innovation Ltd. All 26 Brand training in Italy 55 Check your clover pastures! rights reserved. 27 Monash students view mills 56 Business peer review from Ag EDGE ADVERTISING SALES Steve Luxford, Pulse Hub Pty Ltd 28 Scholarship for UTS student 57 National Merino Challenge P 0429 699 553 E [email protected] 29 TAFE NSW student designs in wool 58 EMI’s strong performance continues Advertising is subject to terms and conditions published on the ratecard, which is available 30 Wool4School Australia 59 Register now for WoolQ from Pulse Hub. 31 Wool Runway competition in India 60 Prices: wool vs other fibres ISSN 1447-9680 62 Readers’ photos FRONT COVER Pictured is a bird’s eye view of a mob of sheep AWI INVESTMENT STRATEGIES being moved as part of a rotational grazing [email protected] system at Charlie and Anne Maslin’s property at Marketing Sheep Woolgrower ‘Gunningrah’ in the NSW Southern Tablelands. Production Services To manage the significant annual variations in Processing Innovation Business rainfall at Gunningrah, the Maslins’ focus has WOOL.COM & Education Extension Services been to look after the land, evaluate what it has To subscribe to the free monthly AWI e-newsletter to offer and then attempt to stock it accordingly. for woolgrowers, and the weekly wool market review As well as introducing rotational grazing, they e-newsletter, visit www.wool.com/subscribe have been lifting and maintaining ground cover and improving the water cycle of the country so WOOLMARK.COM when it rains there is very little run off. See page instagram/BeyondTheBale 32 to read more. facebook.com/TheWoolmarkCompany twitter.com/woolinnovation instagram.com/TheWoolmarkCompany youtube.com/AWIWoolProduction twitter.com/woolmark wool.com/podcast youtube.com/TheWoolmarkCompany This magazine is printed on PEFC View Beyond the Bale online with image galleries (Programme for the Endorsement of BtB Forest Certification) paper stock. and video at http://beyondthebale.wool.com GD3264 UPFRONT 3 GETTING ON WITH BUSINESS We are continuing with initiatives to help increase the Stuart McCullough demand for wool through investments in marketing and Chief Executive Officer R&D – from farm to fashion. Australian Wool Innovation POSITIVE PRICES ROBOTIC ADVISORY AWI GRADUATE CONTINUE DURING 2019 GROUP MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM Last year was a very positive year for wool AWI is investing in robotics development to Applications for the next intake of AWI’s prices, due to improved demand, with the optimise wool harvesting for safety, welfare, 18-month Graduate Training program EMI reaching above the $20 mark for the clip quality and cost competitiveness. AWI (starting in March 2020) open on 1st April very first time. There was a short-term dip now seeks expressions of interest from and close on 30th April 2019. To apply, in the EMI in mid-November to 1786c, but woolgrowers to join its Robotic Advisory go to www.wool.com/careers or apply prices have largely recovered, with the EMI Group to assist the development of its through Seek or LinkedIn from 1st April. at 2027c at time of writing. At AWI we all investment portfolio. AWI’s robotic shearing The program is aimed at graduates from hope that these high prices continue. scoping study report is available at a broad cross section of disciplines who www.wool.com/robotics. Selection criteria have a background in or connection with REGISTER NOW includes a good understanding of the shearing the Australian wool industry. FOR WOOLQ process, challenges and opportunities, skills in entrepreneurship or engineering and the AWI PODCAST FOR The final piece of WoolQ functionality, WoolQ ability to think critically and strategically. WOOLGROWERS Market will be released very soon, completing Contact [email protected] by 31st AWI’s free podcast, The Yarn, which the suite of tools on the platform. The WoolQ April to receive the selection criteria and was launched 2½ years ago, has gone Market will be a centralised, online marketplace instructions on how to submit your interest. from strength to strength with about for Australian wool. The two-tiered platform 75 episodes released and a growing provides both a bulletin board of buying and DROUGHT audience of Australian woolgrowers selling interest accessible on a 24/7 basis as well INFORMATION listening in on their smartphone or as an efficient and easy to use online auction. computer. Recent episodes have included WoolQ Market will serve as a complement to I continue to be deeply concerned an outlook for the wool market and an the current Open Cry auction markets. To use about the effect that the enduring interview with Merino consultant Craig WoolQ’s current functionality and to ensure drought conditions are having on Wilson. All episodes of The Yarn are you are kept informed of developments, woolgrowers. AWI provides on its website available at www.wool.com/podcast. ensure you register at www.woolq.com. at www.wool.com/droughtresources a range of drought planning and management I recommend that you take a listen. publications, webinar recordings and WILD DOG ENCOURAGING COORDINATORS other resources for woolgrowers going into, enduring or recovering from drought. EMERGING DESIGNERS AWI recently began co-funding a wild dog We also provide links to useful external TO USE WOOL coordinator in South Australia, Marty Bower, resources and government agencies that I have recently returned from the finals and a coordinator in central-west Queensland, provide drought assistance. Of note is the of the International Woolmark Prize, Kristy Waddell, to help landholders and new FarmHub website, developed by the which was held this year in the key market communities work together to combat wild National Farmers’ Federation and funded of London. The interest in these awards dog attacks. AWI-funded wild dog coordinators by the Australian Government, available from fashion communities and media are now operating in all Australia’s mainland at www.farmhub.org.au. globally continues to be phenomenal states. The contact details of all the AWI- which is important to help increase the funded wild dog coordinators are available HIGH PERFORMANCE global demand for Australian wool. But at www.wool.com/wilddogs. JACKET OFFER the International Woolmark Prize isn’t just about a competition. It’s also about Many woolgrowers have taken up the FREE WOOLMARK educating the participating designers opportunity to purchase the Woolmark – there have been nearly 500 since the BALE STENCIL Optim WR jacket, at cost price ($185) since initiative was relaunched in 2012 – about As you might have read about recently, AWI its launch in December. The jacket is made the qualities and benefits of wool so they’ll and The Woolmark Company are offering from a 100% Merino wool fabric that is keep on using the fibre throughout their Australian woolgrowers a free stencil of the resistant to water and wind, while retaining careers. This theme runs through many Woolmark logo to use on their wool bales, all of Merino wool’s fine properties, such as of our initiatives with students – from to identify and brand their wool fibre as being breathability.