The sheep and wool industry in Queensland

On this page:

• Sheep areas
• Size of holdings
• Sheep population
• Sheep reproduction rates
• Parasitic pests
• Sheep meat production
• Wool production
• Shearing and clip preparation
• Wool selling and marketing

Queensland's sheep industry began in 1840 when the Leslie brothers brought a flock of 4000 ewes in lamb and 1700 rams, wethers and hoggets to Toolburra near Warwick on the Darling Downs. Sheep and wool production is the tenth largest agricultural industry in Queensland with up to 60 per cent of greasy wool exported. The bulk of the remainder of the clip undergoes early stage processing in Australia before being exported. 

At its peak in 1942, the sheep population was 25.6 million whereas between 1990-1991 and 2002-2003 the number declined from 18 million to 4.43 million, which is the lowest since records began in 1885. The severe drought has had a massive impact on shorn wool production in Queensland with a 33 per cent drop forecast between 2002-2003 and 2003-2004, down to 15 million kg of greasy wool.

Sheep areas

The sheep belt stretches as a broad tongue through the centre of the state from the southern border towards the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is roughly 1200 km long and 800 km wide at its base, but for about two-thirds of its length is only 400 to 480 km from east to west. Its area is about 55 million hectares.

Most of the sheep lands are in the 250 to 500 mm rainfall belt. Except for a small part of southeast Queensland, they lie within the Great Artesian Basin whose waters are vital in a land where surface water supplies are limited. The seasonal distribution of rain varies considerably from a predominantly and almost exclusively summer rainfall in the north, to a much wider distribution in the south where most rain falls in summer but winter rainfall is fairly reliable.

Droughts are common and the interval between effective rains can be three years or even longer. Graziers then have to de-stock by selling their sheep or moving them to agistment paddocks or buy expensive supplementary feeds to keep them alive on-property.

In the northern part of the state, sheep are run on open Mitchell and Flinders grass plains with few trees for shade. In the south, more trees grow, and dense stands of mulga in the south-west provide shade. In droughts, these mulga trees can be lopped to feed stock on the leaves. On the Darling Downs, where rainfall is higher, sheep are sometimes raised in conjunction with cereal crops and beef cattle.

Size of holdings

Grazing blocks vary in size from 400 to 100,000 hectares according to the district and what is considered to be a commercial enterprise in that region. A holding of the best quality grazing land in the nearer south-west that can carry 3000 to 5000 sheep is regarded as reasonable in that district. On the other hand, where droughts are often severe and the country is less productive, a grazier may need a flock of 8000 to 10,000 to be sustainable. Sheep enterprises are generally supplemented by beef and/or grain production, depending on the area. Carrying capacity ranges from 0.4 ha per sheep in the Darling Downs and south-eastern districts to 5 ha or more per sheep in the harsh western sheep areas.

When last surveyed in 2000 there were approximately 2400 sheep holdings in Queensland. The number of businesses whose main activity was sheep and wool production dropped significantly from 1270 in 1989-1990 to 547 in 1998-1999. A large number of specialist businesses have diversified their operations into mixed sheep/beef/grain production or beef production. Approximately 90 per cent of specialist sheep and wool businesses are operated by family partnerships and sole proprietors. The remainder are operated by companies and trusts.

Where land and climatic conditions are suitable for breeding, ewes comprise about 40 to 60 per cent of the flock. This permits the carrying of dry sheep (wethers), which produce good wool cuts in average seasons. They can be sold in drought years to reduce the stocking rate and allow the breeding flock more pasture land to graze upon. In areas unsuitable for breeding, the whole flock is made up of wethers, which are used for wool production only and must be bought as required.

Sheep population

Rainfall, drought and the relative profitability of other enterprises, such as beef cattle and grain growing, affect sheep populations in any one year. The impact of drought and low wool prices in the early 1970s and some poor lambings, saw sheep and lamb numbers decline during the 1970s. During the 1980s the population increased, peaking at 18 million in 1990-1991 but declined to 4.43 million by 2002-2003, which is the lowest since records began in 1885.

The severe decline in the numbers of sheep and wool production can be attributed to the collapse of the Reserve Price Scheme in 1990 and corresponding low wool prices. The negative impacts of low wool prices were compounded by the severe droughts that occurred throughout most of western Queensland in the early to mid 1990s and 2002-2003. A rise in beef cattle prices to record highs in the late 1990s and the impact of predation from wild dogs also contributed to many producers leave the industry.

Merinos make up about 98 per cent of the state's sheep population. Australasian breeds, British breeds and British breed-Merino crosses are run mainly in the south-east where they are used in the prime lamb industry.

Sheep reproduction rates

Much of the semi-arid sheep land, in particular the tropical region, has seasonal nutritional problems and the reproduction rate is low. It does not matter at which time of the year sheep are mated, some stage of the reproduction process will be set back because of the marked seasonal variation in the production of pasture and high environmental temperature. In unfavourable seasons, environmental effects may be so severe that flocks fail to produce progeny in significant numbers. When drought is severe, in some areas no mating is carried out. Predation by wild pigs, foxes, dingoes, crows and eagles also cause lamb losses.

The number of lambs surviving to about four to six weeks is expressed as a percentage of the number of ewes mated. Average annual lamb-marking percentages vary from 76 per cent in the Darling Downs area to 18 per cent in extreme drought in the south-west of the State. In good seasons in the semi-arid western areas, lamb marking has been as high as 90 per cent on some properties, while in the more temperate south-east they are often over 100 per cent.

Parasitic pests

The Australian sheep blowfly (Lucilia cuprina), body lice (Bovicola ovis) and worms are the main parasites of sheep. Integrated pest management (IPM) practices are used to minimise the impact of these parasites and the use of pesticides in their control.

Blowfly strike is a major problem that costs the sheep industry through losses in wool quantity and quality, sheep deaths and expenditure on research, pesticides and labour. In Queensland the incidence of blowfly strike is highly dependent on seasonal conditions and varies greatly from region to region and from year to year.

Ineffective control of lice resulting in re-treatment in long wool is one of the major sources of pesticide residues on wool. The prevalence of lice infestation in Queensland sheep flocks has consistently remained higher than 30 per cent, with the incidence being highest in central-west and north-west Queensland.

The incidence of worm infestations in sheep throughout the State is highly dependent on seasonal conditions, however producers need to be consistently vigilant with sheep pastured in the summer rainfall zones of south-east Queensland. The worms that make the greatest impact on sheep production are barber's pole worm (Haemonchus contortus); black scour worm (Trichostrongylus colubriformis); and nodule worm
(Oesophagostomum columbianum). Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) is a sporadic problem in some south-east regions.

Sheep meat production

Prime lamb production is a relatively small industry in Queensland. In 1999-2000 the real value of Queensland live sheep, lamb and lamb products exports was approximately $38 million. The largest export markets were the USA and Taiwan, accounting for 22 per cent and 12 per cent of total exports respectively.

Lambs for the meat trade are raised mainly on crop farms on the Darling Downs and are often derived from cross-breeding the Merino with breeds of British origin (Border Leicester, Suffolk, Southdown, Dorset Horn) to produce a heavier carcass. Mutton sheep are usually culls from wool-growing Merino flocks. The number slaughtered increases in bad seasons when owners sell sheep to reduce stocking rates. Special flocks of mutton sheep have not traditionally been kept.

The 1990s saw an increase in the introduction of exotic meat sheep breeds, such as Damara and Dorper, as Queensland's semi-tropical climate proved suitable for this type of sheep. There is potential for contamination of wool from Merino ewes that have had contact with Dorper or Damara rams or progeny and management systems need to be implemented to reduce this risk.

Wool production

The projected estimate of Queensland's 2003-2004 wool production is 15 million kg greasy wool, down from 36 million kg in 2001-2002. Average fleece weight is up to 4.3 kg.

Wool production per head varies considerably between and within districts and from year to year. Fibre diameter (measured in microns) also varies between districts with a range of 16 to 24 microns and an average of 21 microns. Wools at the finer end are generally produced in southern regions, however producers in other regions are looking at fining their clip to meet world wide consumer demand for lightweight, easy care fabrics.

Fibre diameter is the single most important factor affecting wool prices and it is also one of the most heritable traits of the Merino. Consequently it is the trait most likely to be altered by genetic change and rapid changes can be made through selection of superior animals for breeding. Low fibre diameter is also the key element for lightweight and comfortable woolen products. Staple strength is another factor that affects wool prices and it is possible for producers to implement management strategies, including breeding, to improve staple strength.

Shearing and clip preparation

Most sheep are shorn once a year. Merino wool grows about 7 to 10 cm in that time. In Queensland shearing is carried out throughout the year but the peak season is late winter to early spring.

Originally hand shearing was done by blades and shearers became very efficient at removing the fleece. The record generally accepted for blade shearing is held by Jackie Howe. In 1892 he shore 321 sheep in 7 hours 40 minutes at Alice Downs, near Blackall. Shearing machines were first used in Australia in New South Wales in 1887. Today, a shearer normally shears around 120 to 140 sheep a day.

Teams of shearers travel from property to property during the season. The team includes shearers, shed hands, pressers, a wool classer, a machine expert and a shearers' cook. A flock of 5000 probably requires a shed with shearing machines and equipment for four shearers; that is, a four-stand shed.

A shearing machine works on the same principle as a barber's clippers. As the fleece is shorn it falls away from the sheep in one piece. This is picked up by a shed hand in a special way and thrown onto a slatted table where it is skirted to remove short, shabby, seedy, burry or stained wool. The fleece is then rolled into a ball about 45 cm in diameter and passed to the wool classer. The wool classer examines and grades the fleece and places it in a certain bin to present even lines of quality, length, style and softness. When sufficient wool is in the bin it is pressed into a bale, then branded and loaded onto a truck for transport to be sold.

Portable devices for the rapid measurement of fibre diameter of individual fleeces at shearing or pre-shearing enables more accurate classing of a wool clip to maximise superior fibre attributes and greater eveness of lines to meet customer requirements. In-race and in-shed fleece testing can also aid in the breeding and selection of sheep to assist in genetic improvement, most specifically for studs. Short-term gains can be made by commercial wool growers to bring their flock closer to the studs' rate of genetic improvement.

Some shearing sheds operate under quality assurance (QA) schemes designed to provide wool buyers and manufacturers with assurance that the clip is free from contamination and presented to a certain standard. A Queensland producer group - Traprock Wool Association Pty Ltd - has its own quality scheme, which has been in operation since 1994. The scheme's objective is to establish a uniform set of wool harvesting and preparation and sheep production procedures that allow buyers and processors to purchase Traprock wool with confidence. Traprock Total Quality Management (TQM) procedures are designed to prevent the occurrence of contaminants, stained and coloured fibres, high chemical residues and misdescribed bales.

Wool selling and marketing

More than 80 per cent of the Australian wool clip is sold by auction with the balance sold by private treaty, forward sale and other methods. These include sale by progressive tender; price on result; electronic; direct to mill; sale by value adding and Internet. These are combined with a wide range of risk management tools that include forward contracts, futures contracts and options contracts.

The quantity each year varies, depending mainly on the season and the size of the state's sheep flock. In 2000-2001, 44,607 tonnes of Queensland wool were sold at an average price of 400 cents per kilogram greasy (AWEX Queensland average). When processed this equated to an average of 624 cents per kilogram clean.

China is the biggest buyer of Queensland's wool. Other leading buyers are Taiwan, Italy, the Czech Republic, France and Germany. These six countries received 91 per cent of Queensland's wool exports. Since 1988-1989 the proportion of Queensland wool exports sent to China has increased from 4 per cent to nearly 30 per cent. In 1988-1989 China was the eighth largest export market behind the USSR, Japan, Korea, France, Italy, Germany and Taiwan.

Before the 1970s all wool in Australia was sold by what is termed the 'traditional auction method'. Buyers inspected the wool in bales displayed in huge warehouses and assessed the characteristics important in the manufacturing process of the mills for which they were buying.

In 1972 Sale by Sample was introduced into the marketing system with Sale by Description introduced in 1985. In this method a mechanical claw takes a sample from each bale in a line or lot of wool. These 'grab' samples are bulked and a sample of not less than 4 kg is displayed in a box for the buyer to examine. The majority of Queensland wool is displayed for sale at the Sydney wool store with specialist lines displayed at Newcastle. The Brisbane selling centre was closed in 1994.

The grab samples are removed from the bales along with a series of core samples soon after the bales enter the wool store. The core samples are then sent to a laboratory along with sub-samples of the grab sample. At the lab these samples are measured for yield, fibre diameter (micron), standard deviation of fibre diameter, staple length (mm), Coefficient of Variation (CV) percentage of fibre diameter and of length, vegetable matter percentage, staple strength (Newtons per Kilotex), position of break percentage (top, middle and bottom), comfort factor, curvature and break up of vegetable matter (percentage burr, seed or hard heads).

The results are returned in a few days and published in the sale catalogue. In addition, non-measured characteristics of greasy wool can be described using the AWEX-ID descriptions. Armed with this objective data and subjective assessment of the sample, buyers and manufacturers can accurately predict the processing performance of the wool they buy.

In the future it is possible that wool may be sold solely by description and without display samples. Direct contact with a collaborative customer is also more likely with the increasing use of in-shed fleece testing and better prepared clips. As quality wool is differentiated branding opportunities and segmentation will develop.