Bioharvesting wool provides an alternative approach to traditional shearing

Shearing and harvesting wool are critical skills needed by the sheep industry all over the world.

However, shearing is a physically demanding trade, and finding the next generation of students who are willing to put in the time and effort to become a skilled professional is becoming daunting.

In a recent American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) podcast, dated Oct. 24, Montana State University (MSU) Extension Sheep and Wool Specialist Brent Roeder joined ASI Host and Texas A&M University (TAMU) AgriLife Extension Sheep and Goat Program Specialist Jake Thorne to discuss bioharvesting wool – an alternative to shearing.

Roeder received his bachelor’s degree in animal science from TAMU, his master’s degree in ruminant nutrition from MSU and served as the agriculture and natural resources agent in Teton County, Montana before becoming an MSU Extension agent in 2018.

Roeder was a research associate in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences in MSU’s College of Agriculture and, during this time, he worked with state sheep and range specialists in programs including the Joe Skeen Center for Rangeland Research and the Montana Sheep Institute. 

Australia’s sheep industry

This summer, Roeder spent about three weeks traveling Australia with his son and attended the Australian sheep industry’s LambEx Conference, held at the Adelaide Convention Centre in North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia on Aug. 7-9.

LambEx is a biennial event aimed to promote Australia’s sheep and lamb industry as a highly-progressive and professional industry.

“We wanted to go down there to see what they were doing on wool testing and wool research,” he mentions. “With building a new wool research lab and facility at MSU, I felt it was a good idea to visit with worldwide industry leaders and catch up on the latest tools and technology at the trade show.”

According to Roeder, Australia’s sheep industry implemented a mandatory animal traceability program utilizing electronic ear tags, with the government paying for 50 percent of the cost of the tag.

“If they have a foot and mouth disease outbreak, they can pull the data and see exactly where all of the sheep are that were trucked with the infected animal,” he adds. “They were extremely worried about biosecurity and spreading a disease to nearby islands or hitting the Caribbean.”

Recently, there have been numerous discussions about banning live exports of sheep out of western Australia and how this would impact sheep producers and global trade.

Shearing industry

“In Australia, just like the U.S., it seems there is always a need for more shearers, but why is that the case?” Roeder asks. “With a lack of generational training and the physicality of shearing, it has become difficult to find shearers.”

Shearing is not only physically demanding but mentally as well, and many shearers end up with carpal tunnel or blown out joints. However, Australia is trying to address this issue.

“Australia has a national health care plan, and the shearing industry is impacted by substantial taxing. One of the ways they have tried to address these issues was with efficient shearing tools and techniques,” he adds.

Over the years, the shearing industry has implemented a variety of techniques from the catch-and-drag method to using robots.

“Bioharvesting started in the 1990s,” Roeder mentions. “During this time, it was also discovered an epidermal growth factor injection called BioClip could cause fleece to shear off naturally.”

However, the problem with BioClip was the fleece would start falling off three weeks later. It was not very uniform and wool would shed in clumps.

Roeder notes, “They tried to put nets around the sheep to keep the wool in place, but the attempt was not very successful as the wool kept get mixed up in the netting and took longer to harvest. BioClip is no longer available.”

However, researchers in the country never gave up on bioharvesting as a way to combat a shortage of shearers and to develop a system which would be less physically demanding on shearers.

“About three to four years ago, they were pretty sure they had it figured out,” Roeder says. “Looks to me like they are using a protein they isolated from corn. They give the animal a shot, and it works a little bit like chemotherapy, where you start losing your hair.”

But the new product doesn’t create a break like the original efforts at bioharvesting, it creates a weak point in the wool which makes it easier to remove as the wool can simply be pulled away from the skin without injuring the animal. 

Now, several companies are working on developing tools to assist in the process.

Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.