Fleece, Fibre, Yarn

30/08/2026

How much wool is too much wool in your bale out of the shed?

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EvPiFEFLw/

24/08/2026

Our Woolmers Estate exhibition concludes this weekend. Do drop in on Wednesday if you can. Jan and I would love to see you!

22/08/2026

Meander Valley Art Award 2026
📣 Entries are now open
📅 Closing Friday, 9 October 2026
This year's theme, The Meander Valley, invites artists to explore and express their unique connection to this remarkable place through their work.
Whether you're a multimedia artist, watercolourist, sculptor, or create with textiles, glass, wood, or other mediums, this is your opportunity to showcase your creativity and share your story.
✨ Don't miss your chance to be part of this celebrated exhibition.
👉 For more information and to enter: www.meander.tas.gov.au/meander-valley-art-award-2026

19/08/2026

Read please. This is one reason why the identification of our baas is so important : hobby farmers and big producers alike.

A sheep died in Oregon without an ear tag. It will cost the US industry almost a decade of scrapie-free status

The USDA recently confirmed a case of classical scrapie in a sheep slaughtered in Oregon — the first detection in five years. That single case has reset the clock on the USA's path to official scrapie-free recognition, pushing it out to around 2033.

🕵🏼‍♀️ Investigators are trying to trace the animal back to its flock of origin, to find — and stop — the source of an outbreak. Scrapie is usually picked up during pregnancy and lambing. If traceback is effective, the flock of origin can be located and the disease outbreak may be stopped in its tracks. The problem: this sheep had no traceback ear tag. Without it, the trail goes cold.

Australia is currently recognised as scrapie-free. That status protects access to our sheepmeat export and domestic markets — access that would be shut down for years if scrapie ever turned up here and we couldn't trace it fast.

This is exactly why our NLIS tags and NVDs matter. Keep your NVD copies for at least seven years, and make sure every animal has an NLIS tag. It's the difference between containing an outbreak in weeks and chasing it for a decade.

💰 for 🧠 — you can help keep Australia scrapie-free and get paid for it.

Every year, Australia tests 200–300 sheep brains from animals showing suggestive neurological signs, to prove our ongoing freedom from scrapie. It's called Bucks for Brains, and it's how we back up our market access claims with real surveillance data.

If you have a sheep aged 18 months to five years showing changes in temperament, wool loss on the flank or hindquarters, rubbing, poor coordination, tremors, or difficulty rising — talk to your vet. Eligible producers receive $110 per sample (up to two animals per investigation), and vet costs are subsidised too.

📄 Full details and eligibility:https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2024/09/Bucks-for-Brains-Brochure.pdf

Our market access depends on producers, vets, and traceability systems all doing their part. Tag it, keep your NVDs, and if you see the signs — get it tested.

Animal Health Australia Australian Wool Innovation Integrity Systems Meat & Livestock Australia AWI Extension VIC AWI Extension NSW AWI Extension QLD
AWI Extension WA AWI Extension SA

14/08/2026

I am always happy to know it got there safely! A lovely customer in SA let me know her parcel had arrived. We sent over a huuuuge English Leicester lady's fleece for her to make a special felted mat. (Great to see her 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ cat has repurposed the shipping bag) 🤩🤩

25/07/2026

My dear friend Wendy with two of her Beersheba Farm Drysdales at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show last week. Last registered stud in Australia of this special breed. Regina and Princess shined! Drysdale fleece can be purchased from the Farm Shop.

20/07/2026

Australian Sheep and Wool Show English Leicester Feature Breed family photo.

17/07/2026

(English Leicester is the feature breed at Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show this year.) I entered Woolcraft comps for the first time with my EL handspun from our tops. First in 18 wpi or finer plus the AFC prize (award up the top). ☺️