Cashmere production and fleece attributes associated with farm of origin, age and sex of goat in Australia

Differences in cashmere production and fleece attributes associated with farm of origin, age and sex were quantified for commercial Australian cashmere goat enterprises. From 11 farms in four states, 1147 does and 97 wethers were monitored, representing 1- to 13-year-old goats. Individual clean cashmere production ranged from 21 to 389 g, with a mean ± standard deviation value of 134 ± 62 g. The mean cashmere production of 2-year-old does from different farms varied from 69 to 225 g and averaged 141 g. Mean ± s.d. greasy fleece weight was 394 ± 123 g, clean washing yield was 90.8 ± 4.1%, clean cashmere yield 33.4 ± 9.4%, cashmere fibre diameter 16.4 ± 1.6 µm, fibre curvature 48 ± 8.7 degrees/mm and staple length 8.7 ± 2.1 cm. There were large, commercially significant differences between farms for clean cashmere weight, mean fibre diameter and other attributes of cashmere. These were much larger than the effects of age and sex. Farm and age accounted for 42 to 67% of the variation in clean cashmere production, mean fibre diameter, fibre curvature, staple length and clean washing yield. Farm of origin affected clean cashmere yield, accounting for 24% of the variation. Sex of the goats had only a minor effect on the staple length of cashmere. The responses to age of clean cashmere weight, mean fibre diameter and the inverse of fibre curvature are very similar. Generally, cashmere production and mean fibre diameter increased with age. For the majority of farms, cashmere fibre curvature declined in a curvilinear manner with increases in age of goat. There were large differences in cashmere staple length from different farms, with means ranging from 7 to 12 cm. Between 1 and 2 years of age, the staple length of cashmere demonstrated a constant proportional increase. At ages older than 2 years, staple length either declined or increased by less than 1 cm with age, depending on the farm of origin. This study demonstrates that there are large gains in productivity that can be achieved from Australian cashmere goats. A better understanding of on-farm factors that influence cashmere production would enable all producers to optimise their production systems.

Application of epidemiology to change health policy : defining age-related thresholds of bone mineral density for primary prevention of fracture

In Australia, benefits for antifracture therapies have been available for patients with osteoporosis and a prior fracture. No benefits were available to those with no prior fracture. We aimed to define, in women with no prior fracture, age-related thresholds of bone mineral density (BMD) associated with fracture risk equivalent to that of women with prior fracture and osteoporosis. A case-control study of women (≥50 yr) was conducted, including 291 fracture cases and 823 controls. BMD was measured at the proximal femur and posterior anterior (PA) spine. A fracture risk score (FRS) for the group with no prior fracture was calculated with discriminant analysis. The thresholds for equivalent fracture risk between those with no prior fracture and those with prior fracture were assessed using logistic regression. Increasing the FRS to +0.98 in women with no prior fracture resulted in equivalent odds of sustaining a fracture to those with prior fracture and osteoporosis. The corresponding T-score thresholds at the spine were −4.6 at 50 yr, −3.9 at 60 yr, −3.1 at 70 yr, and −2.4 at 80 yr. The femoral neck T-score thresholds were lower by 0.5 standard deviation. The high-risk individuals defined by this study should be considered for primary fracture prevention therapy.