Sheepwheat may not make any sense

[malleefarmer]

Some wool results from latest shearing 23 bales ave 177 kg per bale.

17 micron is the fineness of the wool correct me if im wrong a micron in 1 thousandth of a milliemeter so 17 micron is 0.017 of a millemetre?? Finer the wool less itchy it is on the skin.

Sch dry yield 60 which means there is a kg of wool 60% is clean wool with dust lanolin oil impurities taken out.

Length is obvious 70mm

Strength is how much stretching pressure to break the wool anything over 35 is considered good over 40 excellent higher the better.

POB is were the wool breaks when stretched prefferebly not inn the middle.

CV is how much wool varies over the average 15 and under is best meaning at staple at 17 micron has cv of 13% translates that 13% of the wool is either over or under 17 micron. CV of 20% means 20% over or under the average.

And finally my guess is it may make 1700 cents per kg or $17 they cut 3.48 kg per head

[farmaholic]

Does Canada even have a mature wool industry? If it doesn't, no wonder wool is priced as a by-product or there is simply no where to sell it.

http://www.cansheep.ca/cms/en/Resources/Wool/Wool.aspx http://www.cansheep.ca/cms/en/Resources/Wool/Wool.aspx

ARE CANADIAN WOOL PRODUCERS GETTING FLEECED? How's that for humor mallee?

[grassfarmer]

Canada essentially doesn't have a sheep industry farma, a few guys serious and most of the rest hobby farmers with tiny flocks. There is no infrastructure for handling and marketing the sheep never mind the wool. I'm maybe spoiled growing up in one of the real sheep areas of the world where the weekly fatstock auction used to have @18,000 head of lambs/cull ewes and that was one of 10 auctions within an hour's drive.
Besides you don't have the climate here conducive to the quality wool producing breeds or the feeding systems to keep it clean.

[farmaholic]

See, there is a reason for everything. Thanks GF

[GDR]

Canada essentially doesn't have a sheep industry farma, a few guys serious and most of the rest hobby farmers with tiny flocks. There is no infrastructure for handling and marketing the sheep never mind the wool. I'm maybe spoiled growing up in one of the real sheep areas of the world where the weekly fatstock auction used to have @18,000 head of lambs/cull ewes and that was one of 10 auctions within an hour's drive.
Besides you don't have the climate here conducive to the quality wool producing breeds or the feeding systems to keep it clean.

That's maybe a bit of an exaggeration, there are more sheep around than you might think but only enough to supply about half of domestic consumption. Lots of opportunity in the business. Yes lots of small flocks but there are bigger ones also, lots of colonies with bigger numbers.

I just heard yesterday about a joint venture project with a New Zealand company with a large flock in Manitoba planning on expanding to 40000 ewes. Tied in with the Sungold plant in Innisfail. That would be something to see.

Grassfarmer something you might find interesting that I always like to point out to cowboys is that all the old famous ranches out here in western Canada were actually cattle and sheep ranches with sheep being a big component but everyone's romantic notion of history is only about cows for some reason. After WW1 and 2 all the soldiers came home tired of eating Mutton in Europe in the army and caused huge contraction in the sheep industry.

Wool is mostly collected and marketed by the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers. Actually delivered mine today to them, I only had 2 bales compared to Mallees 23 though. Also some independant wool mills.

[malleefarmer]

Gday gdr would love to go back in time when I started farming with my dad we used to get between 180 and 200 bales of wool. And 1800 acres crop.

Now 7000 acres crop and 60 bales annually 3 shearing so.

Suffice to say I yearn for the old days

[grassfarmer]

Don't get me wrong GDR, I think there is great opportunity for sheep in Canada but specifically not for wool production. I'm aware of the big Manitoba operation you mentioned and a few other large scale operations.

[farmaholic]

GDR, How do Canadian prices compare to Australia's?

[Sheepwheat]

Trying to wrap my head around those wool prices. For the highest quality wool here, what I can find, our prices are about 2 bucks a lb, or 4 to 5 a kg. That is cutting about 10 lbs a head. So the wool revenue is around 10 bucks a head. This is from a current article I found.

GDR, nice pics. If we did do wool breeds, we would be doing cheviots. Are they what they are cracked up to be?

For some reason, sheep are kind of strange in western Canada. Meaning cattle reign. Even if they to my mind are far less efficient and profitable. There is a sheep hang up holding our industry back. Average flock size I think is like 50 to 60 ewes. I know of some that are 5 to 6 hundred, and some are a thousand or more. Few are taking it seriously enough to help the sheep industry much. (Stable lamb supply)And yes, producing something we import at least half of our consumption, is a nice change. Most flocks are hobbies or fun side ventures. Few are serious sheep farms.

Wool for us, remains an annoying byproduct.

[GDR]

GDR, How do Canadian prices compare to Australia's?

Our wool because of climate and feeding season is quite different than Australias so can't really compare it. The wool I dropped off yesterday gets sorted and sold as a coop so you don't really know what you get for some time but it's not a money maker here, I believe coarse wool like I raise which is low quality is in the neighborhood of $1.10 per kg. Most will go to China and Arab states.

Sheepwheat all breeds have their pros and cons but Cheviots have been good to me and fit my operation well, not as productive as some breeds but a lot less management required.

[malleefarmer]

China russia argentina chile are all producing wool.

So in canada the sheep may need to be shedded or coralled over winter may be just as economic as feeding cattle all winter if they had valauble wool

remember a sheep eats 1/12th of what a cow does

[grassfarmer]

You must have big cows Mallee - they reckon 1/7th of a cow here.
Growing up in one of the two natural places best for sheep in the world (south of Scotland - the other being New Zealand) it seems to me an uphill struggle keeping sheep in Canada. Feeding for a 7 month winter with the constant threat of getting buried in snow or eaten by predators is all costly. The biggest advantage of a sheep is it's ability to feed itself - essentially year round in the places conducive to them with maybe a bit of pellet supplementation depending when they lamb. Too close grazers for my liking in a brittle environment so more likely to overgraze than cattle. I see the market opportunity and the profit opportunity for sheep here but I'm not tempted to jump back in.

[malleefarmer]

You must have big cows Mallee - they reckon 1/7th of a cow here.
Growing up in one of the two natural places best for sheep in the world (south of Scotland - the other being New Zealand) it seems to me an uphill struggle keeping sheep in Canada. Feeding for a 7 month winter with the constant threat of getting buried in snow or eaten by predators is all costly. The biggest advantage of a sheep is it's ability to feed itself - essentially year round in the places conducive to them with maybe a bit of pellet supplementation depending when they lamb. Too close grazers for my liking in a brittle environment so more likely to overgraze than cattle. I see the market opportunity and the profit opportunity for sheep here but I'm not tempted to jump back in.

i could well be wrong grass no problems.

have a daughter in nz get over there when possible they are good at growing lamb and mutton but not sure about wool. the sheep are tiny rabbits merinos that is climatic