The Merino Wether Challenge
The Inaugural Tasmanian Merino Wether Challenge, organised by Midland Agricultural Association, The Stud Breeders Association of Tasmania and Australian Wool Innovation was held at Campbell Town Showgrounds this week, with 11 schools competing from across the state. Over the past six months students from Year 7-12 have been preparing six Merino Wethers kindly donated by Roger Bignell & Sons of Waterhouse for the competition. The preparation has involved breaking in the wethers to lead in the showring, as well as providing a suitable feeding plan and monitoring their health. During the course of the preparation, the students have had the fantastic opportunity to have two expert speakers come and visit the school farm to assist with the preparation of the sheep and share their expertise on the Merino breed. Andrew Calvert and Evelyn Archer, both industry experts were able to provide knowledge about the care of sheep, the value of the Merino breed and fleece and carcase qualities.
On the day, the sheep were assessed on their micron score and fleece length. Then went on to be shown in groups of three for breed characteristics. Shearing the sheep occurred on the day to determine the fleece yield and quality. At the conclusion of the competition, the sheep were consigned to Tasmanian Quality Meats at Cressy. The competition fleeces were purchased for processing by Tasmanian owned company, Wool Solutions.
Each team of three sheep were judged in three categories; On the Hoof Presentation, Carcase value and Fleece value.
On the hoof judging, or presentation judging took place in teams of three and was based on the evenness of the three sheep, wool quality and structure/confirmation of the animals.
To determine the carcase value ($), the sheep were weighed, scanned for fat cover and eye muscle depth. This data was then used to calculate a dollar value for each carcase.
The last judging was for fleece value ($), where each sheep were shorn on the day. The fleece was assessed for micron count, staple length, contamination and overall yield.
At the conclusion of the day, results were calculated for each of the three categories with Scottsdale Sheep B Team (Shakira, Molly, Maigen) being awarded 1st place in fleece value ($47.91) and Scottsdale Sheep A Team (A’jana, Nikayla, Adara) being awarded 3rd place in fleece value ($43.59). The sheep were placed 10th and 11th in the carcase value category. Scottsdale A team placed 4th in presentation category.
The Grand Champion Team of three sheep was determined by the aggregate of the points scored across the three judging categories and was won by Scottsdale High School Team B, with total points of 97.94. Scottsdale Team A placed second with 97.12 points.
Congrulations to our Merino sheep handling team on these exceptional results and a testament to the quality of merinos being produced in the North East. Thank you to all students who have assisted with the preparation of the sheep whilst at the farm in their Agriculture class.
This program has extended on the existing food and Fibre Agriculture Program at Scottsdale High School and provided another dimension to the agricultural enterprises and systems students are exposed to. The program has given the students with a real insight into the process of Merino wool production and possible career pathways in this industry.
A special Thank you to Roger Bignell and Sons, from Kananga Pastoral for supplying the sheep to Scottsdale High School for the competition.
Thank you to Locky West from AWI (Australian Wool Innovation) for organising this competition and congratulations on its success in the first year.
We thank those who assisted with the program; Liz Stanfield for accompanying the team, Keeley Lester from Winnaleah for providing student transport and Matthew Cassidy for transporting the sheep to the competition.
