Australian Wool Research Articles

Mulesing and Animal Ethics

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for a ban on mulesing in the Australian sheep industry in 2004. Mulesing is a surgical procedure that removes wool-bearing skin from the tail and breech area of sheep in order to prevent flystrike (cutaneous myiasis). Flystrike occurs when flies lay their eggs in soiled areas of wool on the sheep and can be fatal for the sheep host. PETA claimed that mulesing subjects sheep to unnecessary pain and suffering and took action against the Australian wool industry that resulted in a number of international clothing retailers choosing not to use Australian wool. Although the Australian sheep industry agreed to phase out mulesing in 2010, there is some uncertainty as to whether this deadline will be achieved. The changing social ethic towards animal welfare suggests that the way the Australian sheep industry manages the phase out of mulesing in 2010 is vital to its future survival and success. It is likely that if mulesing does not cease in 2010 there will be a negative market reaction to Australian wool and the risk of legislation to ban mulesing. To avoid losing control of its animal welfare strategy, the Australian sheep industry should ensure that mulesing is phased out in 2010 and endorse the animal welfare ethic underpinning this change. The industry should also educate farmers and other industry stakeholders in how the changing social ethic for animal welfare can create new market opportunities for wool.

Use of local anaesthesia for pain management during husbandry procedures in Australian sheep flocks

Mulesing (removal of breech skin for blowfly strike control), castration, tail-docking and ear-knotching are routine husbandry procedures conducted on many millions of lambs annually in Australia, causing considerable pain and suffering. However, establishing an effective alternative to mulesing is proving to be a difficult and prolonged process. This is particularly so for producers of high-quality fine wool from Merino sheep that have been selected over many generations for skin wrinkle to increase yields, increasing their susceptibility to flystrike by Lucilia cuprina. In late 2005, a spray-on product formulation containing two topical analgesia agents (lignocaine and bupivacaine) for pain relief at mulesing has become commercially available. Increasingly, fine-wool growers have been choosing to continue surgical mulesing, but adopting pain alleviation at surgical mulesing to reduce suffering. This product has led to the development of the “Better Choices” program, in an effort to meet international concerns that mulesing without pain relief was cruel. Studies have been conducted on the use of these products for decrease of pain induced by surgical mulesing, castration and tail-docking. A technique has been developed to measure pain through assessment of wound sensitivity using Von-Frey Hair stimulation, measuring local involuntary reflexes and central cognition. These responses were graded using a numerical rating scale. Behavioural responses to pain were analysed by video. A novel technique was developed to assess the rate of wound healing by digital photography and computerized surface area measurement. Also, a method of application was developed at castration, which enabled analgesia of the remaining scrotal contents, with impressive results compared to other methods of castration such as the use of rubber rings. Findings from a series of field and pen trials indicate that the immediate application of spray-on topical anaesthesia to mulesing, castration and tail-docking wounds, significantly reduced the pain experienced post-procedure and improved the rate of wound healing. Increasing adoption by producers of pain relief for lambs during surgical routine husbandry procedures offers a new welfare-conscious paradigm for the Australian wool industry. This development has potential application to several species undergoing many livestock procedures throughout the world and offers a simple part solution to address the increasingly important and emerging global issue of welfare conscious agriculture.

A Socio‐cognitive Perspective of Industry Innovation Initiatives

Abstract This article contributes to the emerging theory of industry belief systems and the social construction of innovation by examining how industry actors conceptualise and negotiate industry transformation through the development and diffusion of new technologies. In a qualitative study of innovation in the Australian wool industry, we found that the social construction of industry belief systems and new technologies was an evolutionary process of social sensemaking in which there was reciprocity between individual and collective meaning‐making that reflected conflict, consensus and compliance between industry actors about new technologies and industry beliefs.

Extension in Tough Times—Addressing Failures in Public and Private Extension, Lessons from the Tasmanian Wool Industry, Australia

This paper reports research on the impact of introducing a range of extension approaches into the wool-growing regions of Tasmania Australia to meet an emerging knowledge and skills gap in the sector. The wool-growing industry of the state has experienced minimal government extension support for over 15 years. There is a failure in both private and public-sector extension services in meeting the current collective needs of the industry. A new industry funded initiative funded by the grower body Australian Wool Innovation Ltd and hosted with the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research (TIAR), an arm of the University of Tasmania, is filling this void. The approaches included the establishment of grower groups, workshops, demonstrations and newsletters in a coordinated extension programme. The research interest lay in learning of the value of these different approaches in developing and maintaining sustainable sheep and wool production systems in the state. The research methodology involved evaluating change according to Bennett's hierarchy. Techniques used included surveys of participants from respective industry segments and analysis of relevant secondary information and data. Findings indicate that the programme has affected substantial on-ground changes in stock and property management by businesses involved. There was evidence of group members taking a more strategic view of their businesses from involvement in the programme. Group members (65%), industry active (53%) and service sector (65%) survey respondents indicated that the biggest outcomes of their involvement were improved technical or management skills. Members of groups and service-sector respondents saw even more impact (70%) on improved information seeking skills. The interactive and passive extension methodologies employed in this initiative have positioned the programme as a catalyst for change amongst producers, and have served as a mechanism to fill a serious information vacuum in the industry. They also appear to have realised positive social capital outcomes within the grower community during the difficult circumstances of sustained drought. Finally, the segmentation of the extension target audience appears to be paying dividends in terms of programme delivery and resource allocation.

Relaxed and Comfortable: The Australian Pavilion at Expo '67

Expo ’67, Montreal, was the first international exhibition Australia had attended since the 1939 New York World’s Fair. In New York, Australia promoted its export industries in timber and wool in an annex next to the British pavilion. In Montreal, Australia contributed its own major pavilion, a simple, rectangular box of glass and steel. Inside, the pavilion contained few actual exhibits. The main feature of its spacious interior was a salon-style arrangement of two hundred and forty lounge chairs created by the Australian designers Grant and Mary Featherston from an idea by the exhibit designer Robin Boyd. Visitors sat in the chairs to activate short, taped interviews with prominent Australians on aspects of Australian life and achievement, delivered though stereophonic speakers in the chairs’ headrests. Occasional tables stood nearby, bearing books on Australian society and ashtrays of a modern Australian design. One wall of the main exhibition hall featured a row of modernist paintings by leading Australian artists. Natural light streamed into the pavilion through its glazed north and south faces, which provided sweeping views across the exhibition site. Quality Australian wool carpet covered the pavilion’s floors and some internal walls, muffling incoming noise and adding to the general feeling of repose. Aspects of the pavilion’s interior suggest a range of architectural types: a hotel lobby, a corporate foyer, a gallery of modern art, and the living room of a large, modern home. The priority of modern design over specific symbols of Australian nationhood was unprecedented, its origin was in the government’s newfound eagerness to stress Australia’s modernization. Such progress was emphasized in Prime Minister Harold Holt’s four-minute interview on industrialization as a significant but little known feature of contemporary Australia. When questioned on the scale of Australian manufacturing in comparison to its more familiar rural sector, Holt described employment in industry as roughly equivalent to the USA, and higher than other recognized industrial nations such as Canada, France, and Japan.1 He identified Australia’s automobile, electrical, engineering, petroleum, mining, and steel industries as all experiencing rapid growth since 1939, and being “much more advanced and sophisticated than most people would realize.”2 The Prime Minister highlighted Australian inventions such as transistorized aviation beacons, radio telephone equipment, a 1 “Expo 67 Sound Chair Scripts. Notes for Interview with Prime Minister—Final Reading Text,” undated, National Archives of Australia (NAA): A463/1966/2141: 1. 2 Ibid., 3. © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

A blowfly strike vaccine requires an understanding of host–pathogen interactions

The phase-out of Mulesing by 2010 means the Australian wool industry requires immediate and viable alternatives for the control and prevention of blowfly strike, an economically important parasitic disease of sheep. In this review we have analysed previous research aimed toward the development of a vaccine against blowfly strike and the reasons why the approaches taken were unsuccessful at the time. Close scrutiny has provided new insight into this host-parasite interaction and identified new opportunities for the development of a vaccine. Here we propose that addressing immunosuppression together with the induction of cellular immunity is likely to result in an anti-blowfly strike vaccine, as opposed to the use of "standard" approaches aimed at inducing humoral immunity.

A computable general equilibrium analysis of export taxes in the Australian wool industry

We solve for Australia's optimal export tax on wool using a computable general equilibrium model — an aggregated version of the Monash model. A key aspect of the analysis is the way in which we model short-run and long-run comparative statics. As opposed to varying the Armington elasticity which measures the degree of substitutability between domestic and imported goods, we contrast the unrestricted movement of primary factors of production with a specific factors representation. We find that while results are virtually unchanged for the range of Armington elasticity values we employ in our sensitivity analysis, the specific factors specification has a significant impact on model results. In addition, we provide an explanation for why there are differences between our optimal export tax results and those generated by the Johnson [Johnson, H.G. (1965), Optimum Tariffs and Retaliation, in International Trade and Economic Growth, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., pp.31–61.] inverse elasticity formula. These results indicate that it is necessary to be cautious when interpreting optimal export tax estimates based on the Johnson inverse elasticity formula.

In this edition

In this edition

The 1945 - 1955 Queensland Artesian Fluoride Experience: A Unique Phenomenon within the Australian Wool Industry

Inquiries into the diminishing supply of artesian water within the Queensland aspect of the Great Artesian Basin began in 1939. These investigations produced a Queensland phenomenon without Australian precedent in terms of rationale, geographical diversity, and commitment of resources. In some regions, exposure of herds to fluoride emerged as an urgent issue because fluoride was perceived as an invasive, invisible, and odourless 'contaminant' in artesian water. This paper discusses the scientific background to, and management of, concerns over the consumption by stock of artesian water with a high concentration of natural bioavailable fluoride. The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Stock managed the problem by scientific investigation, methodical field study, and the application of research findings to animal husbandry. The practical solutions arrived at involved rotation of stock on an age-related basis to and from certain bore supplies, fencing young sheep away from the artesian supply, fencing young sheep near the bore-head, and limiting the use of supplements.

Effective remediation of diazinon from spent sheep dip wash by disposal on land

Spent sheep dip wash (about 3500 L) containing 59 mg diazinon/L was evenly distributed onto a 450-m2 grassed, soil-bunded, sloping site near Cumnock in central New South Wales, Australia. The entire volume was contained within the bunded area but surface run-off created ponding in the lowest corner of the site. The mean concentration within the top 7 cm of soil was 2.32 mg/kg a day after application. By day 14, this had dropped to 0.4 mg/kg and by day 56, was below the limit of quantification (0.1 mg/kg). The half-life of diazinon in soil was estimated to be 7 days. Residues in the next 7 cm of soil depth were much lower and were below the limit of quantification in all samples collected at day 28 or later. This suggests that vertical leaching of diazinon within the soil profile did not occur despite more than 95 mm of rain during the trial interval. Throughout the 56-day trial interval, diazinon concentrations in the top 7 cm of soil 3 m downhill of the lowest corner of the dip disposal site were unchanged from background pre-treatment levels. No diazinon was detected in samples at 7–14 cm depth in the soil profile in this area. With neither vertical nor lateral movement of diazinon away from the initial treatment zone, we consider the disposal of spent diazinon sheep dips as described here, to be an acceptable and convenient option for Australian wool producers and dipping contractors. Suitable dip disposal sites should be situated away from sensitive locations in areas that have good grass cover over deep soil and that are contained by an effective bund. Stock and other animals should be excluded from these sensitive locations.

The potential impact of climate change on the Australian wool industry by 2030

By 2030, climate change is likely to have implications for the Australian wool industry, principally through effects on forage and water resources, land carrying capacity and sustainability, animal health, and competition with other sectors, in particular cropping. The nature and scale of these impacts will vary between the wool growing regions, depending on the manifestation of the climate change. The growth and quality of pasture and fodder crops may be affected by changes in rainfall amounts and variability as well as higher CO 2 concentrations. Water resources in many regions are projected to decrease and become more variable. Animal health is expected to be adversely affected by rising temperatures and a greater incidence and range of pests and diseases. There is likely to be greater stress on the landscape principally brought about by rainfall deficits and increased climatic variability. There is also a strong possibility of increased competition for water and land resources from other agricultural activities, particularly cropping and meat production. The combination of these effects is likely to have an impact on both wool production and quality, with reduced productivity in marginal areas, possibly increased productivity in higher rainfall regions, increases in vegetable fault and dust contamination and changes in mean fibre diameter and staple strength. National and international markets could also be affected, with reductions in demand for apparel wool fibre in response to a more temperate climate. International production and supply markets might also shift, with the wetter wool growing areas of both New Zealand and China potentially being advantaged by climate change, and the drier wool regions of these countries being disadvantaged. A preliminary qualitative scenario analysis suggests that although the wool industry will be significantly affected by climate change, as a whole it is likely to be relatively robust to it. Early adaptation, for example through efforts to produce low emission grazing systems, more sustainable management especially in the rangelands, and improved management of the effects of climate variation, could significantly reduce the downsides of climate change impacts.

THE RELOCATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET FOR AUSTRALIAN WOOL

The marketplace for Australian wool relocated from London to the Australian capital cities in the half-century after 1880. This represented a major institutional shift that underpinned the development of the Australian economy and made Australia the centre of the international wool market. We analyse the principal demand and supply changes underlying this market shift. Consolidation of worsted manufacturing, demand diversification, improved transport and communications, Australian dominance of international wool production and the growth of the small grazier, shifted the relative market efficiency in favour of Australian auctions.

Auction Price Anomalies: Evidence from Wool Auctions in Australia*

Using detailed Australian wool auction data we test for further evidence of pricing anomalies at sequential auctions. We find that an anomaly frequently exists and order is frequently endogenously determined. Moreover, prices increase through some sales and decrease through others. We examine whether it is possible to explain the variation in the anomaly across sales and conclude that there is no systematic relationship between the direction of the price anomaly and the characteristics of the wool or the auction. We do, however, find evidence that an anomaly is more likely in longer sales.

Potential economic benefits to the Australian wool industry from improving pastures in the hill country of eastern New South Wales

Large areas of undeveloped pastures in non-arable hill country in eastern New South Wales could be improved by aerial methods. The potential economic benefits of pasture improving a portion of the hill country area were evaluated in terms of the economic welfare changes in the Australian wool industry. Hill country wool producers and international wool consumers would derive nearly all of the benefits from this process. Other Australian and international wool producers would lose economic welfare because of the reduced price from increased regional wool production. For conservative anticipated levels of pasture improvement adoption, the overall benefits to the Australian wool industry had 15-year mean present values of between $30.2 million and $122.1 million, depending on whether the introduced pasture was predominantly perennial grass or legume based. The value of this analysis is that it provides improved economic information for planning investment in new pasture technologies in the Australian livestock industries.

Increasing the economic benefits from agricultural research: the case of enhancing the diffusion of a pasture weed technology

The process of enhancing the diffusion of a new technology attempts to shorten the time between the completion and adoption of an agricultural research programme, as well as to increase the overall level of adoption. The economic benefits of introducing a new technology are influenced by the technology development lag, the adoption lag and the maximum, or ceiling, level of adoption. Technology diffusion embodies these issues and concerns the uptake of a new technology across a population of potential adopters. Diffusion enhancement is now considered to be a desirable component of pasture research programmes in Australia. This paper evaluates the economic benefits of enhancing the diffusion process for new technology in the management of Vulpia, which is a prominent annual grass weed of Australian temperate pastures. Differences in economic benefits were calculated for a range of scenarios, by varying the values of the main elements of the diffusion process relative to those of a base scenario which represented the most optimistic adoption expectations for the technology. The discounted total benefits to the Australian wool industry, calculated for a 15-year period from reducing Vulpia in temperate pastures, were between A$31.9 million and A$287.3 million, according to differences in the pasture's Vulpia content. While the 2 main time components of the diffusion process both had strong effects on the potential benefits, the technology lag had a much larger influence than the adoption lag. This result emphasises the importance of agricultural research programmes that are able to quickly diffuse such technologies to the potential adopters.

Increasing the profitability and sustainability of grazing enterprises in northern NSW by comparing different input and grazing management systems

The Cicerone Project has been set up to study the long term profitability and sustainability of 3 different input and grazing management systems. Farm A receives high inputs of sown pastures and fertiliser, and uses flexible rotational grazing, with 8 paddocks and 4-5 mobs of livestock. Farm B receives medium inputs of fertiliser, but uses similar grazing management and paddock allocations to Farm A. Farm C receives the same medium level of inputs as Farm B, but employs intensive rotational grazing involving long rest periods between grazings. This farm has 33 paddocks and livestock mobs are combined to no more than 3 mobs to increase the grazing pressure.Livestock are weighed regularly; ewes are scanned for twins; parasite burdens are monitored; wool characteristics are measured for all sheep, e.g. fleece weight, Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA) for micron and diameter profile along the staple length and Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) test for tensile strength. Pastures are assessed monthly and each time stock are moved, and carrying capacity (dse) and grazing days per paddock are recorded. Soil tests are conducted prior to fertiliser application. Economic data on each farm have been collected and include all inputs such as labour, seed and fertiliser, fencing, agistment, animal health products and supplementary fodder.Data have been collected since July 2000 when the different management treatments commenced. Already there are marked differences between the farms in the animal weights, breeding performance, wool characteristics, botanical analysis, parasites and economic performance.

Sheep blowfly strike reduction using a synthetic lure system

The effectiveness of a synthetic lure system to reduce the incidence of blowfly strike in sheep flocks was assessed, using randomised field trials. Four field trials used eight total groups of sheep randomised to treatment (flytrap) or control on two properties in southern Queensland between 1999 and 2001. Treatment consisted of the operation of flytraps in paddocks as per manufacturer’s recommendations. All sheep were inspected physically each month for flystrikes. Flytraps were associated with a reduction in flystrike incidence of 38–55%, compared to control sheep. Results confirm that traps are a useful component of a flystrike-control program. The use of fly traps by a substantial proportion of woolgrowers could assist the Australian wool industry to meet targets of reduced pesticides on shorn wool.

Australian Hair and Wool Research Society Cutaneous Biology and Endocrinology Workshop

Australian Hair and Wool Research Society Cutaneous Biology and Endocrinology Workshop

Technical Efficiency of Australian Wool Production: Point and Confidence Interval Estimates

A balanced panel of data is used to estimate technical efficiency, employing a fixed-effects stochastic frontier specification for wool producers in Australia. Both point estimates and confidence intervals for technical efficiency are reported. The confidence intervals are constructed using the multiple comparisons with the best (MCB) procedure of Horrace and Schmidt (1996, 2000). The confidence intervals make explicit the precision of the technical efficiency estimates and underscore the dangers of drawing inferences based solely on point estimates. Additionally, they allow identification of wool producers that are statistically efficient and those that are statistically inefficient. The data reveal at the 95% level that twenty-one of the twenty-six wool farms analyzed may be efficient.

Heritability estimates and genetic and phenotypic correlations of lamb production parameters with hogget liveweight and fleece traits in Western Australian Merino sheep

Heritability estimates (h2) for weight of lamb weaned and number of lambs weaned totalled over 3 reproduction opportunities were estimated in a multi-bloodline Western Australian medium wool resource flock. These traits were defined to give an indication of lifetime lamb production (the ewes were retained in the breeding flock for a maximum of 4 lambing opportunities). Both reproduction traits were highly variable, as suggested by coefficients of variation of approximately 50%. The between-bloodline variance ratio was significant (P < 0.05), but failed to exceed 5% of the total across-bloodline phenotypic variation. Within-bloodline h2 ( s.e.) was estimated at 0.154 0.040 for total weight of lamb weaned, and at 0.141 0.040 for total number of lambs weaned. Within-bloodline genetic correlations of both traits with hogget liveweight were positive and significant (P < 0.05; 0.58 0.11 and 0.26 0.13, respectively). Within-bloodline genetic correlations of the reproduction traits with wool production were generally positive, being 0.26 0.11 for the correlation between total weight of lamb weaned and clean fleece weight, and 0.29 0.15 for the correlation between total number of lambs weaned and clean fleece weight. Clean yield was genetically unrelated to both measures of reproductivity. The genetic correlation of total weight of lamb weaned per breeding ewe with fibre diameter was positive in sign, but smaller than twice its standard error (0.17 0.10). The corresponding estimate for total number of lambs weaned was 0.16 0.12. It was concluded that the reproduction traits investigated would respond to selection in Western Australian Merinos if it should form part of a breeding strategy. Genetic correlations with hogget liveweight and wool traits were generally favourable.