The New England finewool Merino ewes running on the UNE SMART Farms are not just contributing to livestock science – they are producing some excellent wool too.
A bale of fine wool from the ewes that form part of the MLA Resource Flock hosted by UNE recently earned the second-highest price for all bales sold that week across Australia.
This flock is part of a national project looking at genetic differences, particularly in carcase traits of progeny. Hosting a Resource Flock provides UNE SMART Farms with a great opportunity to enhance farm production records with constantly updated information on individual animal weights, condition score and now wool quality traits.
Fetching one of the nation’s best prices for wool demonstrates the quality of the wool genetics within the UNE flock.
Analysis of the wool quality data generated by Laserwool at this year’s UNE SMART Farms shearing showed that the average Resource Flock ewe was cutting $85 worth of wool, and the top ewe was cutting $145 of wool. Greasy fleece weights averaged 3.2 kilogram and fibre diameter averaged 16.9 micron.
UNE’s SMART Farms – eight properties covering 3800 hectares – lie literally on the University’s doorstep. These exceptional assets provide an important platform for the University’s cutting-edge agricultural science research and education programs.
