Amber O’Neill

Hi, I’m Amber O’Neill and I would like to

share with you what I have learnt about

the Australian sheep industry

through my agricultural studies at Cranebrook High

School

This year Cranebrook High School participated in the Archibull Prize . The theme was “How do you feed

and clothe Sydney for a day sustainably?”

We were allocated Sheep as our food or fibre industry.

There are roughly four and half million people living in

Sydney today and everyone of them needs to

be fed and clothed and housed by agriculture.

Fruit and vegetables, jumpers and blankets, meats and medicine.

How do we feed Sydney?

Four and half million people!

For lunch we would need to produce four and half million sandwiches. We would need four and half million cups of orange juice and four and half

million apples. For ONE single meal!

Imagine four and half million sausages for dinner and four and half million handfulls of vegetables.

Four and half million squirts of sauce and four and half million dollops of mashed potato.

Just imagine four and half million breakfast bowls full of grains and fruit. Four and half million splashes of milk and four and half million pieces of toast.

For ONE single day! And that doesn’t even count those people who go for seconds!

My focus is to learn as much as I can about Australia’s sheep meat and wool production and

share it with you. At school we have looked at the farm gate to plate

process of many agricultural products.

Our inspiration this year was our own Dorper sheep.

We were able to observe their behaviour, look at our

management practices and research what happens through the processing stages and use

all this knowledge to create our Archibull.

There are many breeds of sheep, bred to predictably pass on

recognisable recessive or dominant traits to their offspring.

Such as colour, wool quality, or high milk production.

Other breeds demonstrate heat tolerance, foraging capabilities or

resistance to parasites.

Such as Corriedale, Dorset, Dorper, Suffolk, Merino, Border Leicester,

East Friesian, and Hampshire.

Fleece plays are large role in clothing Sydney and keeping everyone warm. What would the city do on a winter’s day

without a beautiful woollen jumper? Wool can be found in many different forms; whether it is in yarns or material; used for commercial production or as a

hobby. Sydney would indeed be very uncomfortable

indeed without Australian wool.

A high crimp fleece is better for spinning and a fine fleece

is the most comfortable to wear.

Uncontaminated fleece attracts a premium as it costs less to clean and looks more

appealing.

High weighting of fleece creates more product and more money, whilst the

length is better for spinning and production.

A lot of effort is put in by farmers to produce wool

for Sydney. Sheep need constant

water, food and shelter. They need to be well

nourished to reproduce and produce high quality

wool. Worming and vaccinating

must be undertaken regularly to prevent diseases and ensure sheep are in optimal

health.

Fleece must be grown to guidelines (length, fineness and density)

Sheep are shorn once a year. Fleece is then packaged into bales and sent to manufacturers. Here the fleece is cleaned, bleached, dyed and spun (coloured

fleece is not always bleached and dyed). Spun wool is then woven and knitted to created products such as

jumpers, socks, blankets, suits etc.

During October 2011, Melissa Henry, a sheep farmer

from Boorowa came and talked to students about

sheep meat and wool production.

She told us her inspirational journey from high school to a career in agriculture that has seen her travel around the world.

She explained to us the importance of sheep in feeding and clothing people and us examples of woollen and meat products.

This gave me more detailed understanding of sheep and inspired more ideas to use in our Archibull Prize entry.

Sheep are not only used for their fleece, but for

their meat as well. Breeds such as Dorpers (our school sheep) are

bred specifically for meat, producing large

carcasses.

A good cut of meat is one that is tender and juicy with lots of flavour, as you all know..

Lamb is a young cut of meat, a maximum of 12 months. Once a lamb reaches 1 to 2 years of age it is known

hoggart (has a stronger flavour but slightly less tender). Anything over 2 years is called mutton (has a less tender

flesh and needs slow cooking to tenderise).

What makes a good cut of meat depends on age and consumer demand.

Meat Standards Australia

MSA is a beef and lamb program which makes

the purchasing of meat easy and simple for

consumers.

Extensive research has been undertaken to

determine the impact of factors such as

management and processing on the eating

quality of meat.

Meat Standards Australia

Phone apps such as QR codes give the consumer all the information they need at their fingertips. They are able to show meats best for roasting

or grilling etc. This amazing technology

also gives nutritional value to consumers who can trace the life of the sheep from paddock to

plate.

Other factors that can contribute to the meat we eat includes:

• Age (older the animal the less tender)

• Colour (consumer preference)

• Tenderness (taste and demand)

• Fat content (taste)

• Cut of meat (tenderness)

It takes years of breeding, planning and good nutrition to produce the best sheep meat

Breeding meat sheep by cross-breeding often creates larger, bulkier sheep, with more meat and profitability for the farmer. Vaccinating, worming and general observations can optimise

meat production and careful farm planning is required to maintain cash flow.

Lamb is grown to a certain age and specific characteristics. Farmers must follow direct guidelines in

slaughtering and the welfare of sheep.

Lamb is sent away to be slaughtered, cleaned, cut and packaged and then transported to supermarkets or

local stores.

As you can see a lot of time, effort, planning, processing and production is put into sheep farming

enterprises to feed Sydney for a day.

Lets look at how we do this sustainably.

Sustainability is the process of preserving the environment for the future; protecting our waterways

and managing our resources wisely. This helps ensure we can maintain the beauty of

Australia and quality of life for future generations. .

Domestic farm animals can damage

the environment, but the use

of sustainable practices can

minimise their impacts.

Managing a sheep farm requires careful planning. Hard hooved animals, such as sheep can compact soils and damage roots systems when feed is in short supply.

These unsustainable practices must be managed appropriately to prevent long term damage to our

precious landscapes. Livestock should be constantly rotated to prevent

overgrazing. Waterways should be fenced and strict adherence to

biosecurity standards should be practiced.

Rotational grazing is a process whereby livestock are

strategically moved to fresh paddocks, or partitioned pasture

areas, to allow vegetation in previously grazed pastures to

regenerate.

This helps to break the weed, pest and disease cycle

It also helps improve the soil fertility and increase organic matter which inturn ensures

healthy sheep meat and wool production.

Soil compaction is the process where the weight

of heavy machinery, constant movement of

large animals or compressing of the soil,

forces out the air and water within the soil out.

The removal of air and water minimises the growth of plants and lowers production.

Overgrazing is the process where too many animals are

placed on a paddock impacting on the soils and surrounding

environment.

Livestock rotation is a method of preventing overgrazing

giving pasture have time to rest.

Culling or reducing stock numbers can also minimise

stress on soils.

Fencing off waterways is used to prevent animals access to rivers, dams or waterways.

This prevents nutrient waste entering the water, and

minimising the chance of eutrophication, algae blooms, turbidity, sedimentation and

overall pollution.

Animal Husbandry are simply procedures used to protect and care for livestock.

Castration is the permanent removal of the testicles once they have descended into the

scrotum.

An elastrator is a common method used to undertake this procedure as it is efficient, quick

and easy.

Castration is mainly used to minimise aggression.

Crutching is the removal of fleece from around the

breech (back legs) of a sheep, twice a year, to

prevent flystrike. Crutching is done

using a set of normal shears used when

shearing.

A vaccination is delivered via an injection in order to stimulate the immune system against a disease or virus.

Lambs should be vaccinated at the age of 10 weeks for clostridia disease, tetanus, malignant oedema, blackleg,

pulpy kidney, blacks’ disease and cheesy gland.

A follow up vaccine is given 4 to 6 weeks later

All of these diseases can be treated with one vaccination using a 5 in 1 injection reducing stress on the sheep.

Intestinal worms are organisms that live in the

digestive systems of livestock, consuming vital nutrients and may bring

fatal consequences. Worms are prevented

through drenching or worming. Symptoms

include bottle jaw (fluid), loss of condition,

weakness or scouring.

Drenching is a procedure that prevents intestinal worms in livestock. Producers use deworming

chemicals to eliminate common parasites.

Isolating sheep for a period of time can also stop the intestinal worm numbers increasing.

Rotational grazing also help reduce worm numbers.

Preventing worms is easier than curing worms.

Footrot is a bacterial disease where the hoof of a sheep becomes infected, due to

constant moistness or contamination between

animals. Footrot is contagious, and is best prevented by keeping pastures low and

ensuring sheep hooves are not constantly moist. Isolating

sheep that have the disease will minimise further spreading and livestock rotation will minimise

infection.

Ear tagging is simply ‘ear piercing’ an animal, used to identify and track livestock.

The National Livestock Identification System is used to

identify, locate and track an animal from paddock to plate.

Tail docking is the permanent removal of

an animal’s tail, to prevent flystrike.

Tail docking is usually recommended at 2 to 3 days old to reduce stress to the lamb.

Docking can be done using a number of

methods this includes surgically, using an

emasculator or a hot electric clamp.

This lamb has not been tail docked,

this one has.

Sheep are hard-hooved animals that can dramatically impact the

environment. Another alternative to sheep is alpaca.

Alpacas have a better fleece handle and often produce more product than

sheep (as they are larger). Alpacas have soft hooves, do not

compact the soil and do not damage the roots of grass .

Alpacas eat less food (eating only when hungry, not when food is present).

Alpaca meat is only just beginning to gain popularity in Australia making them an ideal all purpose animal.

Studying sustainable agriculture at our school has provided us with vital information about the

impacts of poor farming practices on the environment and the best practice principles

which are required to ensure our agricultural land is sustainable for future generations.

Learning about the meat and fleece industry of sheep has been

priceless!

GOLD SILVER PLATINUM

BRONZE

WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE

2011 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION