Biological wool harvesting research underway

Bioclip allowed wool to be harvested without the use of a mechanical handpiece by giving sheep a single injection of epidermal growth factor (EGF) that caused a break to occur in the wool fibres, hence allowing the fleece to be removed.

A requirement was to use a net as a coat over the sheep to catch the fleece as the break in the wool fibre occured and it detached from the sheep.

However, the process never caught on, and so University of Adelaide researchers have returned to the drawing board for a new solution that doesn't require the net.

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AWI's program manager agri-technology, Carolina Diaz, Sydney, said a zein class of protein (which is a common protein found in corn) was shown by the university to cause a weakening of the staple of most of the fibres, to such an extent that a mechanical removal device could then break the fibre and remove the fleece without the need for cutting equipment.

"The current research will investigate and develop a suitable treatment to produce very weak fibres, but which will not break under field conditions," Ms Diaz said.

"The project will also be checking whether there are any negative impacts on wool growth and quality as well as animal growth and health."

A successful preliminary experiment was conducted in 2020-21 to determine if weakening wool resulted in fleece loss in the field under normal grazing conditions over periods of time sufficient to allow adequate regrowth of fibre to protect the animal from the elements.

Ms Diaz said research to develop the active compound would begin by the end of the year, but different options for mechanical removal of the weakened wool would also be considered.

The research and resulting commercialised product from the '90s did work, but it had poor uptake from woolgrowers, as putting on and removing the nets made the process too labour intensive.

The net was placed over the sheep about one week after injection and then was removed once the fleece had detached.

"The important thing about this (new) proved concept is that the fleece will potentially stay on the sheep without a net - it could be a real labour-saving option for woolgrowers compared to Bioclip," Ms Diaz said.

"Compared to traditional shearing, defleecing also eliminates second-cuts and skin pieces and can reduce variability in wool fibre length."

Wool producer Drew Chapman, West Plains Poll Merinos, Delgate, was interested in the new research, having used Bioclip when it was first launched.

Despite having had issues with the nets and the actual harvesting of the wool with the Bioclip, Mr Chapman said still consider the updated product.

"Bioclip had its limitations. One thing was its animal health effect, it is a reasonable shock to the system," Mr Chapman said.

"Your leg wool ended up all over the farm too, it wasn't great in terms of tidiness and then you're actually not getting that product in to the bale," he said

From an animal welfare perspective, Mr Chapman said the proposed product could be quite viable.

"I think as it progresses, there is a lot of potential especially in cold climates where you can break your wool and before you take it off, you have a regrowth underneath so there is a protective layer in terms of blizzard conditions and the cold. That would be also a pretty significant advantage," Mr Chapman said.

The research stage was expected to take two to three more years, before commercialisation.

"We will support the researchers to fast track this project as much as possible, but it will take time," Ms Diaz said.

"This project is an example of the multi-pronged approach that AWI is now taking to make wool harvesting easier and more cost-effective for woolgrowers and the industry."

Mr Champan said in daily work, producers were always reviewing how they could do things easier and better because one of the biggest inputs has always been labour.

"Wool harvesting has always been a labour intensive industry and I suppose if we have some way of creating a more automated way of doing it, well that is probably a good thing," he said.

"I do think it is a good space to operate in because obviously with shearing shortages and other things, it does give you another method of being able to harvest.

"The single biggest threat to the wool industry at the moment, now we have the shedding sheep alternative, is if you cant fix the harvesting issue, producers will go to alternate enterprises and that is already here, that is a reality."