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Is the SRS Merino a genetic answer to fewer shearers?

Sheep Central April 11, 2022

Norm Smith inspects his SRS Merinos. Image – AWI.

AUSTRALIA already has a solution to its shearing, flystrike and non-mulesed wool production issues, according to the SRS Merino fraternity and its supporters.

SRS Genetics chairman Norm Smith says plain-bodied, moderate-sized SRS sheep offer not only a solution to the shearing crisis, but financial benefits for the grower.

A national shearer shortage is creating headaches across the country as growers struggle to find shearers and shed staff to shear a clip worth $3.2 billion to the economy.

But Mr Smith, an SRS Merino stud breeder and sheep classer, said sheep with Soft Rolling Skins™, a plainer body, a moderate frame and docility offered a genetic solution to the issue, because SRS sheep were easy to shear and manage.

“Shearing is the hardest manual job left in Australia and I take my hat off to any shearer – it’s not something on young people’s radar anymore.

“As an industry we are slow to move even though there has been a lot of shearer training – the facilities and sheep type should have changed by now and we shouldn’t be talking about this in 2022,” he said.

“Loose and pliable skins are an outcome of selecting for density and length using visual indicators identified by the late Dr Jim Watts including a deep, bold crimp, lustre and small bundles of highly aligned fibre giving the flexibility of shearing more often.

“The SRS sheep is highly profitable as it cuts an increased amount of high-quality wool, is easy care and highly fertile,” he said.

Australian Wool Innovation-funded research found that in ram breeding flocks of average flystrike risk, with existing efficient well recorded programs aided by modified MERINOSELECT indexes, it may take between 11 to 20 years to reduce the incidence of flystrike to less than 1 strike per 100 ewes per year. However, Mr Smith said he wasn’t aware any SRS producers or their sheep were involved in the research and he believed AWI and industry bodies were still dominated by traditional Merino breeding philosophy.

“I think there is politics at play — I don’t know that any SRS breeders were interviewed for that research.”

According to Mr Smith, experiences from commercial growers reveal a mulesed flock can transition to a plain bodied, non-mulesed SRS flock within five years.

“The SRS industry has moved on from the mulesing issue through selection for reduced wrinkle on the body and breech.

“Without the wrinkle, the sheep comb so much better – they are usually the sheep with bold crimping, white wool on a loose skin.”

Compared to the Australian Merino average of 80 percent weaning, SRS growers are achieving over 120pc weaning, he said.

A Meat and Livestock Australia study in 2015-2017 ranked his commercial SRS flock the highest for gross margin per DSE at $71 (top 20 per cent was $54.83), one of the highest fleece values per DSE at $47 (top 20 per cent was $40.17) and meat values per DSE at $5.53/kg (top 20 per cent was $5.41/kg).

SRS sheep are good for shearers

Central western NSW shearing contractor Rod Mackander said the financial and physical benefits accrued for shearers in SRS sheds.

“Shearers in my crew will make from $700-$1000 per day shearing SRS sheep.

“The result is they want to keep coming back,” Mr Mackander said.

“Shearers want to go to SRS sheds because the sheep are easier to shear, the shearers have better tallies, and the shearing is easier because the plain bodies allow for cleaner blows.

“SRS sheep are great for learners as they have less wrinkle and learners can place their blows more accurately in this style of sheep.”

NSW shearing contractor and shearer Steve Mudford, Dubbo, said the wool industry needed to focus on improving shed conditions and facilities, breeding plain-bodied sheep with moderate mature body weights of 60-70kg, an increase in the Federal Pastoral Award and a flexibility in shearing dates to attract and retain skilled staff.

“Growers need to straighten their sheep (breed plain-bodied) so they are good shearing, but ensure mature body weights are not extreme – anything over 60kg gets hard to handle.

“Rams and some crossbred ewes can be over 100kg, predisposing shearers to injury,” Mr Mudford said.

His young shearers struggle to shear sheep over 80kg and he feared it could lead to them questioning their career path.

“Farmers used to say we don’t breed sheep for the shearers but these days they need to start breeding them for the shearers if they want them shorn.

“The SRS sheep are good shearing,” Mr Mudford said.

“Farmers need to be versatile in their shearing dates as December to May is chaotic and impossible to get workers.

“If they can communicate with their contractor, be flexible and shear in the quieter months to create consistent year-round work for people, encouraging them to stay in the industry.”

Easy-shearing sheep, facilities and overseas workers

According to South Australian wool grower and agribusiness consultant Rodney Lush, the shearer shortage needs to be addressed through easy-shearing sheep, well-maintained shed facilities and amenities and the ability to source skilled overseas shed staff to supplement local staff at peak times.

“In the first instance we need to look after the shearers – more money can reward staff but then the challenge for growers is to produce a higher value product to maintain gross margins,” Mr Lush said.

“It’s about breeding a sheep easy to shear and being able to work with your team, contractor or service provider.”

Mr Lush has transitioned to SRS genetics over the past eight years with the aim to maintain a carcase sheep whilst improving fleece traits.

“We select rams in the top 20 per cent of the Dual Purpose Plus Index, top 40 percent for fat, top 20 per cent eye muscle and top 30 per cent growth, then concentrate on the wool traits,” he said.

The October shorn lambs averaged 17.5 micron, cut 2.5kg and had a staple length of 69mm while the hoggets averaged 3.5kg with a 60mm staple the following April on a 12 monthly shearing.

Queensland wool grower, shearer and ex-contractor Shane Axford has run SRS wool sheep since 2002 in 300mm rainfall country at Winton with long-term average lamb weaning of 89 per cent of ewes joined.

“When I was shearing, I would see these big, bold crimped, open wool sheep with no maggots coming through – the wool looked like a 23 micron but was soft, heavy and testing 19 micron,” Mr Axford said.

The light bulb moment set him on a journey sourcing SRS rams and concentrating on frame and constitution followed by wool traits. The adult ewes now average 19.5 micron with fleece weights of 4.8-5.5kg and moderate body weights of 65kg.

Free of skin wrinkle, his sheep are naturally resistant to flystrike and consequently are not mulesed. Overseas processors repeatedly call for Australia to lift its non-mulesed wool production and several have sought wool in other countries because of lack of supply.

“The bare breeches were appearing in 2010 so I stopped mulesing then and now receive a 150-200c/kg premium for non-mulesed wool.

“It also gives you the opportunity to broker contracts for premiums of up to 350c/kg,” Mr Axford said.

He said there was always positive feedback from the shearers on the wool during the main September shearing. The family ensures the shed and facilities for the shearers is clean and comfortable.

“The biggest reason for the shearer shortage is continuity of work and having enough sheep in one area.

“We used to have 900km between our furthest two sheds so travelling and small sheds have impacted the industry,” Mr Axford said.

“There are now no resident shearers in Hughenden, Julia Creek, Richmond or Muttaburra where in Muttaburra alone in 1998 there were 14 teams.”

Bring back the depot sheds

Mr Axford suggested collaborative options where landholders in a region agree to use the one contractor to give continuity of work close to their home base, or a centralised depot for all the region’s sheep shearing and husbandry work.

He said an increase in travel rates, improved facilities and internet connectivity were also required to attract young people and retain skilled staff.

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Comments

  1. Mark Farrell, January 2, 2023

    I have SRS Merinos. I just can’t work out why everyone is not on board. AWI can do better. They need to get out of the cave.

  2. Don Mudford, December 1, 2022

    It’s a no-brainer; SRS sheep are easy care, little to no fly, more lambs if wool genetics are combined with ASBV’s for fat and eye muscle, more lambs weaned, more young ewes to select from and you can sell older ewes earlier. The wether lambs process like traditional first crosses, they fatten with less feed, the ewes pick up quicker after weaning lambs and are ready to rejoin. You get superior wool quality with the same cut per head of clean fleece weight, less losses through the year, they’re easier to shear and everyone goes home happy. Don’t tell anyone though. We’ve been trying for 30 years. The Merino industry is their own worst enemy.

  3. Doug Wright, April 18, 2022

    The Merino sheep industry is being challenged from many sides. Producers are complaining about a lack of shearers so the obvious question is: What are they doing about?
    Simply, it is the traditional wrinkly, fly-prone sheep that is unlikely to keep shearers and attract new starters.
    However, the problem can and is being overcome on some places. The work has been done, it is now up to the industry to follow. Failure to do so will see further shearer exits. The solution is a genetic-based approach.

  4. Peter Small, April 12, 2022

    One of the great tragedies of the recent history of the Australian Merino is the way AWI ostracized Jim Watts. Had the AWI chairman and his board had the leadership and the wisdom to embrace Watt’s work in the early 1990s and build on it using modern genetic research, then Norm Smith is absolutely correct. The Australian flock today would be easier shearing with better combing wools. Plainer sheep means bigger shearing tallies, a reduced need to mules and better processing wools. And yes, Norm Smith, less body flystrike.
    How our industry has been led down the “garden path” through jealous, petty self-interest is despicable.

  5. Paul Favaloro, April 11, 2022

    Evening Terry, today we started shearing our lambs, with two shearers, aged 72 and 63 years old. The lambs were born from the 26/7-30/8. They have had 645mm of rain on them, pushing through Coolatai grass over a metre high. Not one of them had any sign of flystrike and each shearer was averaging 35 per run. Needless to say they were fairly good combing lambs.

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