A desire to listen to what the consumer wants has seen a Tasmanian farming family cease the practice of mulesing in their Merino flock.
James and Helen Hume run 5500 Merino ewes on just over 2000 hectares in Tasmania's Dewent Valley.
On a separate lease block they farm 1800 self-replacing composite ewes.
Six years ago they began trials with young ewes before they took the plunge and stopped mulesing their flock three years ago.
"I turned to the type of genetics which I knew had an SRS background and terrific skins," Mr Hume said.
"In saying that, the wool types aren't what I love, but to get the right skins on our wools I think there needs to be a bit of give and take, so my idea is to meet somewhere in the middle."
Their grown ewe flock average is around 18.5 micron, dropping back to 16 to 17 micron for the weaners.
The farm's average wool cut is 5.5 kilograms across their grown ewes and 3.75kg for their one-year-old hoggets.
Shearing takes place once during a 12-month cycle.
"It is tricky in Tassie to achieve any shorter shearing periods to hit desired staple lengths, the climate doesn't lend itself to shorter shearing cycles," Mr Hume said.
Responsible Wool Standards have also become an integral part of the operation.
"Dad was a passionate woolgrower who was always looking to be part of sustainable contracts," he said.
"When I came back to the farm we decided to make a few genetic changes.
"This led us into RWS, which we have been a part of for a few years now.
"There are still a lot of people that treat wool as a bulk commodity, like grain or canola, but I think the industry, with the quality schemes, is diverging into two different pathways.
"We are able to be part of a scheme and prove that we are doing the right thing by our environment, by our sheep, socially, and we are now getting rewarded for that too."
Generally, the Humes achieve on average 200 cents a kilogram premium above the market value.
Mr Hume said there was a bit more work involved in accreditations, but the reward was definitely apparent.
"For those that want to participate in these schemes and start to get to know the buyers or at least the companies that are buying the wool, I feel it is a positive move for the industry," he said.
"My wife and I are passionate about listening to what the customer wants and being a part of these more intimate schemes.
"At the end of the day if we don't listen to what our customers want, there won't be a wool industry."
Although running a Merino flock came had come down through the generations, Mr Hume believed the breed was the sustainable choice for the future.
He said their enterprise now ticked a number of boxes including value adding, sustainability and low footprint.
"I grew up with Merinos, but our landscape lends itself to Merinos moreso than other enterprises," he said.
"Financially, although a wool flock doesn't make you instantly 'rich', it seems like the troughs and the peaks of being a woolgrower are far less severe than what they might be for cropping and other agricultural enterprises."
The farm's business turnover breakdown is 40 per cent wool and 60pc meat.
They join some Poll Merinos back to White Suffolk rams on a separate property.
"Given the value in the sheepmeat sector at the moment, as a Merino grower it has been my opinion, why wouldn't you try and cash in on both, that has boded quite well for us in the last two years," he said.
"We do have an emphasis on the carcase and fertility in Merinos.
"But the more fertile and more meat traits you try to stick into a Merino, maybe you start to lose some of those really stylish superfine characteristics, so it is quite a juggling act."
He said a true multi-purpose Merino could fit incredibly well into a cropping and sheep enterprise, run in the right country and environment.
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