Abstract:
In the last 10 years the average micron of wool produced in South Australia has been 1 to 3 microns broader than the national average which ranged between 21 and 22 micron during that period (ABARE 2002). The Fine Wool Flock (FWF) was established in 2000 by The University of Adelaide and the Sheep Industries Development Centre at the Roseworthy Campus. Four hundred and twenty six Finewool ewes born in 1995 and 1996 were purchased from Western Australia. Table 1 shows the results from the 2001 shearing for greasy fleece weight, clean fleece weight, yield, fibre diameter, coefficient of variation of fibre diameter, staple strength and staple length.