General News
21 April, 2022
Farmers given tools to pursue mules-free farming
Market prices for non-mulesed wool are steadily on the rise and present a great opportunity for the fleece market.
By Sammie Louise
WIMMERA farmers are learning new ways to manage preventing flyblown sheep without the use of mulesing following a workshop in Marnoo.
NeXtgen Agri scientist Mark Ferguson hosted the Mules Free Farming workshop on April 1 to give farmers the tools and knowledge to farm without mulesing.
Dr Ferguson said there was a combination of management and genetics that were focussed on in the workshop to educate farmers on their non-mulesing options.
“There’s management to reduce (mulesing need) like shearing at the right times, crutching at the right times, using chemicals like fly resistant chemicals and such,” he said.
“The thing we’re focussing on is breeding sheep with lower breech wrinkles and genetically less dags.
“By combining the right genetics with management and some kind of chemical, you can find a spot where sheep are much less susceptible to flystrike.”
Dr Ferguson said that approximately 80 percent of Australian sheep are mulesed and that no one could force farmers to stop mulesing if they don't want to.
“The day wasn't about whether you should or shouldn’t mules sheep, it was about the option to do it as there is a big market opportunity at the moment,” he said.
“There’s a $3 premium over non-mulesed wool and that’s creating a fair bit of interest among growers, so the workshop was providing the tools and experience farmers need if they want to move in that direction.”
Non-mulesed wool has become more popular recently as the market for it is set on an upward trend which has been predicted by Alistair Calvert from Wool Solutions to grow substantially.
“A lot of brands appealing to younger generations are choosing to use wool again and their clientele are demanding non-mulesed,” Mr Calvert said.
“It’s only a very small proportion at the moment, but there is absolutely a market for it.
“It’s not for me to say we should or we shouldn’t; that’s for individual growers. All I can do is deliver the message that I’m hearing from our retail partners and share the exciting opportunities that present to wool growers if they go non-mulesed.”
Tolondo farmer Callum McKenry said that he farmed cross breeds because they found mulesing “not a very pleasant thing and it’s pretty cruel.”
“A lot of breeders will aim to breed sheep that don't have the wrinkly bits of skin around their backside so they don’t have to be mulesed,” he said.
“It’s a mistake humans made by breeding those sheep to begin with to get that tiny bit more wool and now we need to go backwards from that.
“I think it’s a great thing that we’re undoing those mistakes and finding ways around mulesing because it can really traumatize lambs when they’re little.”