ISSUE 80 SEPTEMBER 2019 PROFIT FROM WOOL INNOVATION www.wool.com IS THIS THE BEST SHED DESIGN EVER? 22 32 44 EMU AUSTRALIA NATIONAL MERINO MERINO LIFETIME WOOL SNEAKERS CHALLENGE PRODUCTIVITY 08 WOOL & THE 32 NATIONAL MERINO AMERICA’S CUP CHALLENGE 2019 EDITOR Richard Smith OFF-FARM ON-FARM E [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITER Lisa Griplas 4 AWI’s new three-year Strategic Plan 28 AWI Graduate Training Program E [email protected] 6 AWI’s three-year targets 30 Set up a stockmanship training course Australian Wool Innovation Limited A L6, 68 Harrington St, The Rocks, 8 Wool aims to help win America’s Cup 31 Farming women have lots to o¬er Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 4177, Sydney NSW 2001 9 100% Merino wool boardshorts 32 National Merino Challenge 2019 P 02 8295 3100 E [email protected] W wool.com 10 Black Diamond expands Merino range 35 New Young Farming Champions AWI Helpline 1800 070 099 11 100 mountainous miles in Merino 36 RAMping Up Repro workshop SUBSCRIPTION Beyond the Bale is available free. 12 Houdini’s 100% Merino jacket 38 Pregnancy scanning To subscribe contact AWI P 02 8295 3100 E [email protected] 13 Houdini eats its Merino sportwear! 40 Sheep in mixed farming enterprises Beyond the Bale is published by Australian 13 Woolmark Optim WR jackets for sale 41 Breeding Leadership course Wool Innovation Ltd (AWI), a company funded by Australian woolgrowers and the 14 Devold’s wool mid-layer wins award 42 Coordination tackling wild dogs and pigs Australian Government. AWI’s goal is to help increase the demand for wool by actively 15 Ortovox’s ultralight Merino Windbreaker 43 Extension to WA State Barrier Fence selling Australian wool and its attributes through investments in marketing, innovation 16 Wear this dress for 100 days in a row? 44 Merino Lifetime Productivity update and R&D – from farm to fashion and interiors. 17 wool&’s perfect travel dress 46 AWI Grower Networks surpass targets COPYRIGHT 18 iris + wool: country couture 48 Stopping ‘just in case’ lice treatments Material in Beyond the Bale is copyright. Reproduction of the material is encouraged. 19 Emilia Wickstead’s extraordinary women 49 Lambing and lice – a bad combination However prior permission must be obtained from the Editor. 20 Sustainability: Wolfgang Scout 50 Breech flystrike prevention publications DISCLAIMER 21 Sustainability: Kia Ora Merino 52 Genomics to reduce breech flystrike? To the extent permitted by law, Australian Wool Innovation Ltd excludes all liability 22 EMU Australia’s new wool sneakers 53 Flies and maggots – send us your best! for loss or damage arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information contained in 23 Woolmark-certified laundry detergent 54 Dags: Don’t get caught up s**t creek this publication. The Woolmark symbol is a certification mark 24 The Wool Lab helps build demand 57 Artificial intelligence R&D shows promise registered in many countries. © 2019 Australian Wool Innovation Ltd. All 25 Fashion Revolution Day in Japan 59 Smart tags update rights reserved. 25 Japanese students learn about wool 60 Innovative shearing shed for all ADVERTISING SALES Steve Luxford, Pulse Hub Pty Ltd 26 Student wool competition winners in Asia 62 Shearer and wool handler training P 0429 699 553 E [email protected] 27 Winning students visit Australia 63 Shearing school gets politicians’ approval Advertising is subject to terms and conditions published on the ratecard, which is available 65 Shearing competitions promote excellence from Pulse Hub. AWI INVESTMENT STRATEGIES Sheep Production, 65 Woolmark bale stencil, available free ISSN Marketing Consultation Science & Technology 1447-9680 66 EMI’S robust performance hits bump Processing Innovation Traceability FRONT COVER & Education Extension 67 WoolQ delivers woolgrowers the edge NEW INNOVATIVE SHEARING SHED DESIGN: Shearing contractor and woolgrower Hilton 68 A volatile market explained Barrett, with support from AWI, has designed a shearing shed which optimises worker safety and [email protected] 70 Readers’ photos animal welfare, while also achieving improved shed efficiency and wool quality. Australian WOOL.COM shearing team member Jason Wingfield says: “I To subscribe to the free monthly AWI e-newsletter reckon it's great, it's going to help our industry a for woolgrowers, and the weekly wool market review lot in giving a good standard to farmers to follow.” e-newsletter, visit www.wool.com/subscribe The designs of the shed are available FREE to all woolgrowers. See pages 60-61 for details. WOOLMARK.COM instagram/BeyondTheBale 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 GD3378 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 AWI THREE-YEAR INNOVATIVE LIFETIME EWE STRATEGIC PLAN SHEARING SHED MANAGEMENT (LTEM) AWI’s Strategic Plan for the next three With AWI support during the past 18 months, An evaluation of sheep producers who have completed the LTEM course shows that on financial years, 2019/20 to 2021/22 was shearing contractor and woolgrower Hilton average they have increased their whole-farm published at the end of June. We have Barrett from Dubbo has designed a shearing stocking rate by 9.3% from 8.5 to 9.3 DSE/ha, consulted widely with woolgrowers and shed which improves the efficiency of increased lamb-marking percentage by 7% their representatives to ensure that workers and the flow of livestock – while optimising worker safety, animal welfare and from 97.3 to 104.3% and reduced ewe mortality industry views are incorporated into the the quality of wool preparation. The internal from 4.1 to 3.0%. The scale of these productivity plan – and we will continue to ensure fit-out, incorporating the stands and yards, and welfare gains achieved by participants of that woolgrower levies are directed to has been designed to have its own structural LTEM are unprecedented by previous extension projects that deliver the greatest value to integrity so can be built within any suitable efforts in the Australian sheep industry. Our woolgrowers. A summary of the Strategic pre-existing shell. Woolgrowers have the investment in LTEM continues, supplemented Plan is available on the following four pages opportunity to copy the design by using the by our three workshops – ‘RAMping Up Repro’, of this magazine; however, I encourage shed’s blueprints that are available free on the ‘Picking Performer Ewes’ and ‘Winning With you to take a look at the full Strategic Plan AWI website. See pages 60-61 for details. Weaners’. These workshops are aimed at helping available at www.wool.com/consultation. woolgrowers identify key practical actions THE AMERICA’S CUP to implement on-farm to achieve improved R&D INTO ARTIFICIAL productivity. The workshops are rolled out INTELLIGENCE The America’s Cup has always had a through the AWI state-based extension special place in our nation’s hearts, ever networks in conjunction with leading deliverers. TECHNOLOGIES since Australia II’s famous victory in 1983. In June, The Woolmark Company was Favourable results have been achieved in an SHEARER AND WOOL proudly announced as the official technical AWI-funded pilot study of whether artificial HANDLER TRAINING partner of the America’s Cup team Luna intelligence technologies can accurately Rossa Prada Pirelli. We are helping to Shearer and wool handler training remain a predict performance indicator traits of develop a Merino wool-rich uniform to priority for AWI. We fund this training to attract young sheep. This kind of research has support the entire team and crew across and retain new entrants into the wool harvesting never been done before with sheep. The the regattas, events and activities – during industry, build the capacity and longevity project concluded that over the next five training and sailing. The America’s Cup has of existing staff, and increase returns to years the technology has considerable always symbolised the best of the best – woolgrowers through improved clip preparation potential to progress to a stage where it could from the best boats, to the best crews and practices. In the past financial year, more aid selection and productivity management now the best fibre. Now is the first time than 1,500 days training (with more than 5,600 decisions in a commercial wool-growing wool will take to the seas on such a large attendances by shearers and wool handlers) were environment. This is very exciting news scale and allows us – along with Australia’s delivered through AWI-funded programs across which could transform the way that key 60,000 woolgrowers – to see Australian wool Australia in a combination of in-shed training, farming decisions are made in the future. used in such an innovative way. novice schools and workshops. AWI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM) The AWI 2019 AGM will be held on Friday This year is a director election year. Only AWI shareholders can vote at the 22 November at the Amora Hotel located Persons other than retiring directors AGM. If you are an eligible wool levy payer at 11 Jamison Street in Sydney. Formal who are interested in putting themselves who is not an AWI shareholder, I encourage notice and meeting papers will be sent to forward as candidates for election must you to apply to become one (which is AWI shareholders in October 2019. AWI have their candidacy supported by a free) – the shareholder application form is shareholders who are unable to attend the written nomination signed by more than 99 available at www.wool.com/shareholders.