What does it take to Sustainably Feed and Clothe your Community

Australia is the world’s largest supplier of wool, producing 80 % of the world’s wool.
Australia has about 120 million wool producing sheep alone.
Australia sells 3.3 million bales of wool per year.
Australia exports 786 million kilos of wool per year.
The major wool buying countries are:
1. China
2. Italy
3. Japan
4. Germany

More than 75% of the total wool produced in Australia is produced by just 40% of wool producing farms.

 

So what does it take to produce enough wool to meet demands of not only our small community, but also the wider community.

 

There are 3.7 sheep for every person in Australia.

 

 

Sheep are big business in Australia. We are the leading producer of wool in the world, accounting for around 25 per cent of global woolclip and account for approximately 10 per cent of world production.

The gross value of Australian wool is $1.9 billion.

Australia produces eighty per cent of the world’s fine Merino wool and the major export market for our wool (by value) is China.

An article we found about one farmer dedicated to the wool industry and keeping standards high.

Keeping superfine wool alive

WA Country Hour

By Olivia Garnett

 

Posted Fri 11 Oct 2013, 11:01am AEDT

Photo: The shearing and fine wool classing team in action at Serena Park WA (Olivia Garnett)

As some shearing sheds across rural Australia fall into disrepair, there's one man who's determined to keep the superfine merino industry alive.

Since Peter Huston took over 14-hundred acres in Western Australia’s Avon Valley six years ago, he's been set on breeding sheep with the finest wool possible.
Sarina Park, 60 kilometres east of Perth, is a well-known superfine merino property and Peter has worked hard to maintain its reputation, focussing on boutique, rather than bulk.

If any sheep blow out in micron or get excessively strong then they are usually culled out, we select only the finest ones

Harry Wilson, artificial breeding specialist

Artificial breeding specialist Harry Wilson uses an electronic tagging system to track the fleece and breeding information of each animal.
"It just makes identification of individual animals so easy, compared to visually reading the tags.
"If any sheep blow out in micron or get excessively strong then they are usually culled out, we select only the finest ones."
Mr Wilson then advises the wool classer what the micron is on each sheep so they can put the wool in the appropriate bin in very tight micron ranges.
About 1,600 ultra fine merino sheep are being shorn this time around, with the average micron estimated by Mr Wilson to be 15.5.
"That’s come down an average of 1.5 micron in the last 6 years.".

He’s aiming to get the average micron down to as low as 13.
"We’ve got fleeces that go down to 12.5, which is probably the finest we’ve got so far, but the next session is going to be the hard bit."
Lindsay Hill from Kojonup has been in the shearing game for about thirty years.
He says there’s a knack to working with superfine merinos.

Some people that live in the city and have a professional job like I have want to grow grapes, some want to race racehorses. Oddly enough I want to raise ultra fine merino sheep

Peter Huston, owner of Serena Park

"We’ve got to take our time here... these are a lot softer cutting, it makes it a lot easier on our gear, it’s bloody good.
"You’ve got to go steady so you don’t cut the fibre in half and de-value the fibre."
A lawyer by trade, Peter Huston says without another job he’d find it difficult to stay in the wool industry.
"Some people that live in the city and have a professional job like I have, want to grow grapes, some want to race racehorses. Oddly enough I want to raise ultrafine merino sheep.
"What I’m trying to do here is boutique, rather than bulk.
"It’s very hard to make money out of wool, particularly what I’m trying to do."

The first Merinos in Australia produced about 1.5 kilograms of wool per fleece. Today’s Merinos can grow a fleece of more than 8kg. This is as a result from better breeding and more sustainable grazing methods i.e. producing more from the same animals and land.

About 7% of Australian wool is sold by private treaty on farms or to local wool-handling facilities.

Australia produces a large variety of primary products for both export and domestic consumption. The forecast top ten agricultural products by value are listed for year 2006-07, with production figures from previous years.

Commodity	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Cattle and calves	6,617	5,849	6,345	7,331	7,082	6,517
Wheat	6,356	2,692	5,636	4,320	5,905	6,026
Milk	3,717	2,795	2,808	3,194	3,268	3,245
Fruit and nuts	2,333	2,408	2,350	2,640	2,795	2,915
Vegetables	2,269	2,126	2,356	2,490	2,601	2,715
Wool	2,713	3,318	2,397	2,196	2,187	2,138
Barley	1,725	984	1,750	1,240	1,744	1,624
Poultry	1,175	1,273	1,264	1,358	1,416	1,461
Lambs	1,181	1,161	1,318	1,327	1,425	1,348
sugar cane	989	1,019	854	968	1,037	1,208

Model Farms bloopers.

Even the most experienced performer, or in our case, inexperienced performers struggle in front of the camera. Its all about the moment and those hard hitting questions.
Steph demonstrated a great knowledge for her industry and was happy to give as much info as possible about it........

but when one started to giggle, there was a snowball effect. It only takes one look, one wrong word and, well, have a look!

wool and knitting

Part of the project was bringing together the various crafty elements that are built on tradition. The question was asked   
WHO CAN KNIT OR CROTCHET?

 
A few hands went up and some responses were..... MY MUM CAN.......... MY NANA CAN!
So this got us thinking, maybe we should learn a craft.
 
Each student was asked to try to either, knit a square, crotchet a square, or cross stitch a sheep.
 
An interesting result.
Some students just hated the whole idea.
Some students started but struggled to finish.
A few loved the whole process of knitting and  sewing.
A few I heard started but passed on the task to their grandma who not only finished that one square, but also made a few more. Some clever nanas even added some borders and more fancy stitches.

As a result we created a great cape for the cow and a few developed knitting skills that are slowly becoming lost in a ready made society

Our Final Plan.

You've seen us do some ridiculous things with cow, so just in case you didn't believe the last post, with photos of a cut up cow, we've used them again. This time we have explained why!

The cow will be divided into 3 sections.
This not only separates the ideas we want to convey, but will also give the cow some movement when it is put back together.

We are taking on a super hero persona, with the strong name of 
WOOL I AM.
The cow in 3 pieces will create movement which will help emphasise the strength of his love of the wool industry, the power of his commitment to working with a sustainable farming commodity and hopefully the possibility of flight.

We then put the cow back together with some fibre glass and a strong pole supporting its back.

Thanks Mr Craglietto for your help.

Now the cow is standing again, we can get on with business.

 

     

Standing?, Now that's just silly.... where is the rest of him!
(just you wait and see)

 

What to do when there is a hole in your cow.

You simply walk through it!
 

 

 

 
Now we need to put that cow back together

 

 

OH MY ...........

Well, we decided to do it.
The idea of chopping up our cow really does have some purpose. We are developing an idea that allows our cow to tell a story of the  SUPER WOOL INDUSTRY.

Thanks Mr Craglietto. Please be gentle.

 


looking through a cow. Interesting view from the teacher's desk!

 

Rural vs Urban Challenges in Australia

Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms on earth - the different plants, animals and micro-organisms and the ecosystems of which they are a part.

Farmers, Indigenous communities, and other private land managers manage approximately 77 per cent of Australia's land area.
Conservation of biodiversity on private land is recognised by the Australian Government as an important way to protect Australia's environmental assets.

The Australian Government is investing more than $2 billion in 2008-2013 to achieve a real and measurable difference to Australia's environment through its Caring for our Country initiative.

Caring for our Country supports communities, farmers and other land managers to protect Australia's natural environment and sustainably produce food and fibre.

Conservation on private land

The Australian Government recognises that conservation of biodiversity on private land is an important way to protect Australia's biodiversity.

State and territory governments and local governments also provide conservation incentives to private land holders.

 

Australia's land is used for a variety of reasons.The competition for the use of land can reflect the needs of the community.

Primary Industry                                                                                     These industries produce raw materials like wheat, wool and meat and make use of natural resources such as minerals and forests.

In the past:Primary industry was the leading sector in Australian industry. People used to say that Australia's economy was `riding on the sheep's back'.

Right now: Natural resources are no longer viewed as limitless and the industry is trying to balance using resources and looking after them so they will still be around in the future (sustainable development). There is also a trend to lower employment in farming.

SecondaryIndustry                                                                                                   This is the manufacturing industry, where basic materials are turned into saleable products, such as the production of clothing from cotton or wool or the manufacture of electronics or machines.

In the past: Secondary industry played a powerful economic role, fuelled by the waves of migration of the 1950s and 1960s.

Right now: Increased overseas competition, trade, and the phasing out of tariff protection has reduced this industry. Employment has been reduced, but there is growth in `sunrise industries' such as computer manufacturing and bio- engineering.

TertiaryIndustry                                                                                                  This industry is concerned with the framework and foundations of business and the provision of services. It includes such things as banking or transport as well as the direct marketing or selling of products.

In the past:Tertiary industry serviced the needs of the secondary and primary industries.

Right now: Massive growth in information-based services, hospitality, tourism and personal services. `Post-industrial economy' is the term used to describe the expansion of service industries as the major area of economic activity and employment.

What are the cultural impacts as a result of the competition for land?

 Social
There are approximately 134,000 farm businesses in Australia, 99 percent of which are family owned and operated.                                             Economic
The agricultural sector, at farm-gate, contributes 3 percent to Australia's total gross domestic product (GDP). The gross value of Australian farm production in 2010-11 was $48.7 billion.
 Environmental
Australian farmers are environmental stewards, owning, managing and caring for 61 percent of Australia's land.

Our farmers are at the frontline of delivering environmental outcomes on behalf of the Australian community, with 94 percent of Australian farmers actively undertaking natural resource management.