Keep your clip clean - how to prevent contamination

Wool is marketed as a natural, environmentally friendly quality fibre. Anything that undermines this image can lead to consumer resistance and have a negative effect on the marketability and price of wool.

Contamination of wool by foreign objects – like black hair, bale twine, wire, bolts, cigarette butts, matches, dog hair, pieces of cloth – pose a serious threat to the long-term sustainability and profitability of wool sheep farming.

Contamination of wool can result in big claims against buyers or processors, and damages the reputation of the clip.

Hard objects in a bale can damage core sampling and wool-processing machines, while deviating fibres (black hair, kemp) can spoil metres of fabric as these only show up at the final stage of processing.

In addition, increasing worldwide antipathy towards any form of pollution, and stricter regulations, particularly by the European Union, about environmental pollution, are putting pressure on the wool industry to eliminate chemical contaminants and ensure that pesticide-free wool products reach the market.

The main sources of contamination are:

 

·        Foreign objects originating in the shearing shed, e.g. fertiliser bags, baling twine, pieces of metal, clothing, cigarette butts, etc.

·                     Wool packs containing loose material, usually fibres.

·           Sheep branding inks and certain wound dressing containing discolouring compounds.

·              Coloured fibre resulting from crossbreeding or non-woolled sheep breeds running with Merino sheep.

·             Residues from pesticides used for the treatment of external parasites on sheep

What producers should do to prevent contamination

Shearers by artist Barbara Philip

In the shearing shed: 

It is vitally important for all producers to maintain good management principles in the shearing shed to avoid contamination prior to classing and packing. No matter how well classed the clip, if it is contaminated with baling twine or other foreign objects, the buyer will penalise it.

·                     Clean the shed thoroughly before shearing commences and store away any tools, bolts and other metal objects.

·                     In order to minimise possible contamination with animal hair, feathers, baling twine, etc., ensure that the holding pens are clean.

·                     Educate shearing team and workers about the dangers of contamination.

·                     Provide a rubbish bin with a lid for cigarette butts and other rubbish.

·                     Ensure that proper supervision is exercised during shearing.

·                     No dogs or other animals should be allowed in the shed.

·                     Use a rubber rake rather than an ordinary broom with hair in the shearing shed.

·                     Never use jute bags in the shearing shed, be it for wiping feet or sharpening the shears on.  Rather use carton, paper or a piece of sheepskin.

·                     Never use baling twine in the shearing shed, even for hanging tools or other gadgets against the wall.

·                     Make sure that shearers don’t use twine for their shears.

·                     Shearers should preferably not be allowed to sleep in the shearing shed.

·                     Always shear purebred woolled sheep first.

During shearing and classing: 

·                     Wool stained with branding ink, tar, urine, dung, blood, paints or discoloured by fungi or chemicals must be removed before shearing, packed separately and marked as “Brands”

·                     Remove all bloodstained wool during the shearing process.

·                     Request the shearers to remove pieces of skin cut off during shearing. Skin pieces quickly become dry and hard and can damage carding machines.

·                     Topknots and cheek wool can contain hairy fibres and must, therefore, be packed with the lox, irrespective of how long and attractive they look.

·                     Coloured fibres are often found around the horns and should not be packed with bellies or pieces to prevent contamination.