Building a stronger future together is focus for WA Merino breeders

'Weaving our future, stronger together' was the theme of this year's Stud Merino Breeders' Association of WA forum held in Perth last Friday.

Along with hearing from eight speakers, attendees also had the chance to view a range of wool brands and enjoy a sundowner sponsored by Xytovet.

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) program manager education and extension, Kelly McAvoy and AWI WA industry relations officer, Tennille Norrish, kicked off the presentations.

Ms McAvoy, who was the keynote speaker for the forum, focused her presentation on AWI's post farmgate activities and what it is working on in its international offices in terms of production and process innovation, trade extension and retail education.

The first part of Ms McAvoy's presentation focused on AWI's production and process innovation and she said to think of this as AWI's R&D post farmgate.

"We invest heavily our time and money into this space so there is a future for wool," Ms McAvoy said.

"In this area we look at product and processing innovations, partner innovations and textile technologies.

"This is where we are really looking at driving demand for Merino wool and shoring up our future."

Ms McAvoy said there were plenty of opportunities for product and processing innovation for wool and some of them is where AWI is focusing its efforts, including sports performance, military and uniform, the casualisation trend, sustainability and sustain processes, automotive and footwear.

"Sports performance is a huge market opportunity for wool and we think it is really exciting as not only do we hit the environmental and eco-credentials people are looking for being a natural fibre, but we are also a performance led fibre and this is what really makes us stand out," she said.

"There are huge volume opportunities for wool in this area as the market is dominated by synthetics.

"Some of the technologies we are looking at in this area include circular seamless knitting and wool wadding (fill) in jackets."

When it comes to the military and uniform category, Ms McAvoy said the opportunity for wool in this space is huge, particularly when we think of workwear.

"Mainly here we are looking at base wear fabrics but there are also opportunities in the mid and outer layer categories as well," she said.

"Here what we are looking at is volume, if we get into some of these big contracts, there are huge volumes for wool in this space."

There is also a big focus on the casualisation trend from AWI as the world is becoming more casual with less people wearing suits and everyone thinking about comfort and function.

Ms McAvoy said wool has a really great area in this category and in this space AWI is looking at different product opportunities such as wool fur and velvet and that these were the alternative to a synthetic fibre.

"It opens up a whole new category for wool and we are really excited about this, particularly the wool fur which is taking off in Europe with some of the luxury brands," she said.

Wool denim is another fabric AWI is focusing on.

"Wool denim is not necessarily new, but we are seeing a resurgence in this space," Ms McAvoy said.

"When it comes to denim, it is one of the highest textiles used across the world as everyone has one or multiple pairs of jeans, so the integration of wool into this product gives it a new perspective and performance attributes.

"Our research has recently shown there is a resurgence in this space and there is a real opportunity for wool in denim, so much so we are dedicating an entire collection of our Wool Lab to this particular category as we see it as such a growth area."

Ms McAvoy said sustainability and sustainable processes were a hot topic for everyone whether they were onfarm or in other parts of the wool supply chain.

"It is really important and we are investing heavily in this area to stay ahead of the curve and we must do this to remain relevant in the future," she said.

Areas AWI is focusing its efforts on include natural colourisation, moving away from dyes which are harmful to the environment and looking at natural alternatives as well as digital printing, as it is more of an eco-conscious option in terms of printing with wool.

Ms McAvoy said the automotive industry and footwear were also other great opportunities for wool.

When it came to trade extension, she said this was a very important to AWI.

"While we have all these opportunities and products for wool, we need to promote them and communicate them back to the trade and we do that through trade extension activities," Ms McAvoy said.

"One of our trade extension activities is around sourcing and helping to connect brands and designers to the wool supply chain and we do this through the Wool Lab.

"The Wool Lab is a seasonal guide that comes out in an autumn/winter collection and a spring/summer collection and it pulls together the best of the best fabrics from all around the world.

"It has been running for more than a decade and is a real staple for designers looking to work with wool.

"They will come along and see what we are doing with wool."

Trade shows are another large part of AWI's trade engagement strategy.

Ms McAvoy said to think of trade shows as a sheep show or a field day, but for the textile industry.

"AWI exhibits at all of the major textile shows around the world and at these events we tell the wool story there, from its eco-essentials, its performance attributes and showcase the amazing products we continue to develop, to inspire people to work with wool," she said.

To support that strategy AWI also has Development Centres that are strategic partnerships with research and development companies right round the world.

These started off in China many years ago but the number of centres is growing year-on-year and AWI also now has locations in Paris, Milan, United States and about to open one in the United Kingdom.

Ms McAvoy rounded out her presentation discussing AWI's retail training program both in Australia and around the world.

"Retail training is a core component of our education strategy," she said.

"This includes not only back of house staff but more importantly we are focusing our efforts on shop floor staff.

"We want to ensure that when a Merino wool product hits the floor in a retail store, it can be sold and the consumer has confidence to purchase the product."

Following on from Ms McAvoy, Ms Norrish spoke and outlined her role as AWI's WA relations officer.

Ms Norrish said she was the person on the ground in WA, keeping AWI informed on WA's local issues from our markets and weather/seasonal conditions to the sentiment being felt in WA.

"I am invested in this industry as a fellow woolgrower, so everything I undertake I do with my woolgrowing hat on," she said.

"We have a fantastic team of like minded and passionate people around the country and the world working hard for the wool industry and they are ready to answer any questions and provide information, so if you want to know something, get in contact.

"My aim is to keep growers informed about what projects and innovations AWI is working on and through me you have a direct link to the board."

Also sparking interest among attendees at the forum was Rabobank RaboResearch senior analyst, Angus Gidley-Baird, who provided some information around the current position of the sheepmeat and lamb markets as well as the wool market.

Mr Gidley-Baird said the major thing from a sheepmeat point of view at the moment were the large volumes of lamb and sheep that have been pushed through the system and slaughtered in the past 12 months.

"In 2024 Australia produced the highest amount of lamb it has ever done historically and we also slaughtered the highest number of sheep in the past 18 years," he said.

"From a WA point of view it was a similar story in 2024, in WA you slaughtered the highest sheep numbers in the past 16 years and also had record lamb production, which was the highest since 2016.

"In terms of current slaughter rates we are still continuing to see very high volumes.

"At the moment lamb slaughter numbers are very consistent with what we saw at the beginning of last year, but sheep slaughter numbers have continued to increase and seasonal conditions may be having an impact here.

"Currently WA's sheep slaughter figure is up 33 per cent year-to-date.

"So there is a lot of production going through the works, which means there are huge volumes going into the markets.

"So the question is if we continue to see these high volumes being slaughtered, how much longer can we maintain this level.

"Will we see it contract into the coming year, particularly for lamb given the high sheep slaughter numbers, because traditionally when you see high sheep slaughter numbers, lamb slaughter numbers tend to drop off in the following years.

"This will all play into the supply side of the dynamic when it comes to prices."

With this increased sheep and lamb production, it has meant we have had to lean more into our export markets and the key export markets for Australia are the Middle East, the US and China.

Mr Gidley-Baird said the US market was one of the biggest and most important for Australia in terms of price setting in the lamb market, but we also send a huge amount of lamb to the Middle East.

"When you split up our total production, about 35pc of our lamb production is consumed domestically and the rest goes overseas - the Middle East takes 18pc, the US takes 14pc and China takes 10pc, based on last year's numbers," Mr Gidley-Baird said.

"It is a slightly different story from a mutton point of view with almost all of it being exported, with China taking 35pc and the Middle East 25pc.

"So just trying to understand the dynamics in the global market and what our products mean for those buyers and the comfort they have got with them is important as it has an influence on what is going to be paid here, because the processors have to lean into those export markets with our large volumes."

Looking forward, Mr Gidley-Baird said the thing that fills him with a bit of confidence from a lamb point of view, was where the US market was tracking at the moment.

"What we have seen in the past 12 months is that prices have tracked slowly upwards and I don't see any reason why this trend is going to change in the next 12 months, so based on this I think we will see Australian lamb prices sit about where they are or possibly edge a little higher," he said.

"There is a huge opportunity for Australian lamb globally and I believe the future is bright as there is potential for increased growth in global demand.

"I think sheepmeat prices will also track relatively steady with some potential upside."

When it comes to wool production Mr Gidley-Baird said it was a slightly different story with it contracting both in WA and across Australia and that might be something to do with changing flock composition.

"The supply contraction in wool production will continue to support prices but what we really need is demand to pick up, particularly in the China market and also in the markets it supplies wool products to," he said.

Other speakers at the event included WA-born and raised and inaugural world record holder for the most Merino lambs shorn in eight hours by a woman Nikki Lyons, Good Hope, New South Wales, who spoke about her career, setting the world record in November 2024 and passion for the Merino sheep and the woollen product; Murdoch University student Libby Hardingham from Kojonup, who discussed her passion for the sheep industry and how she got involved; Lefroy Research fellow, Kelsey Pool, The University of Western Australia and PHD student Georgian Welsh, Murdoch University, went through some of the current research and projects they are working on and celebrity butcher Vince Garreffa, gave his thoughts on hogget as a meat and its future, and also mental health.