Fibre properties affecting the softness of wool and other keratins

The emerging market for next-to-skin knitwear requires wool to satisfy the consumer’s tactile requirements for softness. The role of the fibre’s surface and physical properties on fibre and fabric softness was examined. The fibre’s cuticle properties were found to have a greater influence on softness than the fibre’s mechanical properties.

The relationship of the incidence of medullated fibres to the dimensional properties of mohair over the lifetime of Angora goats

In a range of animals, increasing mean fibre diameter (MFD) of fibre is associated with an increasing incidence of medullated fibres (Med). It would thus be expected that Med in mohair fleeces, from animals in a flock, would be related to the MFD of those fleeces. MFD of mohair is not the only dimensional attribute of fibres. Med in mohair is phenotypically and genetically related to the size of animals. This study examined how Med is related to dimensional properties of mohair over the lifetime of Angora goats and how the relationship varies with other lifetime factors. The relationship found is then examined to determine the extent that the relationship can be explained by variations in animal size of the goats. Measurements were made over 11 shearing periods on a population of Angora goats representing the current range and diversity of genetic origins in Australia, including South African, Texan and interbred admixtures of these and Australian sources. Records of breed, sire, dam, date of birth, dam age, birth weight, birth parity, weaning weight, live weight, fleece growth and fleece attributes were taken for castrated males (wethers). Animals’ fleece-free live weight (FFLwt, kg) were determined for each goat at shearing time by subtracting the greasy fleece weight from the live weight recorded immediately prior to shearing. The average of the FFLwt at the start of the period and the FFLwt at the end of the period was calculated. Two restricted maximum likelihood (REML) models were developed to relate Med to MFD, staple length (SL) and other lifetime factors. One model allowed FFLwt in the model and the other excluded FFLwt. With the exception of the 1.5 years shearing, Med strongly increased with increasing MFD whether or not adjustments were made for FFLwt measurements. In particular Med increased by 2.0% for each 1 μm increase in MFD, with no adjustment for FFLwt measurements, and increased by 1.5% for each 1 μm increase in MFD, with adjustment for FFLwt measurements. Within each shearing interval increasing average FFLwt was associated with increasing incidence of Med in a similar way to that which has been previously reported without including MFD in the model. There was no evidence that SL needed to be included in the models for Med. Mohair grown by the goats of Mixed genetic background grew mohair which had a higher incidence of Med at ages 2 and 2.5 years and the trend was apparent in other shearing periods. We can conclude that there is both a large response of Med to live weight and a large response to MFD, and that these responses are largely functionally separate. While the response to MFD is in accord with earlier work, there is an unrelated and unreported physiological mechanism that favours the production of Med in larger Angora goats. Clearly, larger Angora goats are biologically different compared with smaller animals from the same flock, in ways that are not purely related to the allometrics of size.

Mohair fibre quality and production as related to animal size

Mohair is a luxury fibre produced by Angora goats. Mohair has special textile properties and is famed for its lustre. There are many reports of the relationships between mohair attributes and processing. While mohair production can be profitable to farmers there are severe price discounts for faults and poor quality. While genetics is known to affect mohair quality, fundamental relationships between body size and mohair quality have not been determined. We conducted a series of investigations to quantify the relationships between important mohair quality attributes and live weight and other lifetime factors associated with Angora goats.

Improving knowledge, fibre and textile quality, and communications

This is a technical report summarising activities to improve the knowledge about rare natural animal fibres in Australia, including aspects of their production, fibre quality, and textiles made from these fibres. It summarises results of Australian investment on these subjects, and makes recommendations about future investment. This is important, as there is limited scientific understanding of how to improve productivity, quality and financial returns from these industries in Australia.

Benchmarks of Victorian commercial goat meat enterprises

The Australian goat meat industry has mostly processed feral goats for export. As goat meat markets mature there will be an increased demand for farmed goats to meet supply, especially into niche markets. Production benchmarking showed that Victorian commercial goat meat producers are located generally in areas with <500 mm rainfall, usually in conjunction with other livestock and cropping enterprises. On average, 67% of farm area, equal to 701 ha (range 55 – 4400 ha) was allocated to the goat enterprise. Commercial producers used Boer bucks, at an average mating rate of 2.2%, over Boer X or feral X does. Weaning rates averaged 99% (range 51 - 165%). There was a large range in husbandry ($0 - $3.07) and supplementary feeding ($6.75 - $9.60) expenditure. Fifty percent of producers indicated that they carried out regular faecal egg counts to assess worm burdens. Seasonal supply patterns showed that producers were supplying Christmas and Easter markets with a live weight range of 12 - 40 kg and an overall average live weight of 26 kg. The issues of concern identified by commercial growers were: internal parasitism, doe fertility, kid predation, kid growth rates, Johnes disease, and fencing security. This study indicated that there is considerable scope to improve the productivity of the Victorian commercial goat meat industry. Most producers supply smaller carcases on a strong seasonal basis. This supply pattern inhibits industry development.

A supply chain approach to meat goat industry development

The Victorian goat meat industry is a significant contributor to export earnings, which is derived largely from the harvest of feral goats. The potential for exports of farmed goat meat into Asian product markets is being developed in a supply chain approach with producers, processors, exporters and Asian importers. Producers have been networked in four locations to improve supply capability and participate in production and economic benchmarking. In the absence of an existing market for premium farmed goat meat, a larger group of producers are cooperating with a marketer to develop a niche market in the Asian food service sector. This presents a challenge to the group in developing commercial relationships and playing a role in the marketing of their goat meat.