Global wool sales brand, returns thrills Quilpie producers

Brian and Kylie Rutledge sample some wonderful fleece wool from the family’s Moble Pastoral Company property near Quilpie.

SOUTH West Queensland pastoralist Meg Rutledge is thrilled a global wool selling brand for select growers is recognised at the consumer level, as well as with the significant financial benefit it is delivering.

The Rutledge family recently sold the annual clip from their Moble Pastoral Company property near Quilpie at auction through broker, Quality Wool. Much of it marketed under the industry’s global Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) achieved values that were 200‑300 cents per kilogram above price reserves.

“It resulted in a 10‑20 per cent financial gain for our wool. We were definitely surprised,’’ Meg said.

RWS is an independent, voluntary standard recognising best practices of farmers for their sheep and land management and it is now increasingly demanded by major retail brands.

“A consumer‑led program really appealed to us because of the opportunity to make a change and for it to be sustainable, rather than a flash‑in‑the‑pan,’’ Meg said.

“It is being recognised and retailers are willing to pay premiums for these wools.

“I recently saw that Country Road Australia retailers promoted that they are only sourcing and selling RWS‑certified wool. It’s good to see an Australian retailer doing that and it provides confirmation to us of it flowing through to the marketplace.’’

Meg is the fifth generation on the family property, running it with her husband, Lachland Dean, and parents, Brian and Kylie.

Meg Rutledge shows her strength during the busy lamb marking time at Moble Pastoral Company near Quilpie. The family is rebuilding the property’s stock numbers after a number of difficult years leading up to the 2018-19 season.

After a number of difficult years leading up to the 2018‑19 season, the Rutledges have been rebuilding their stock numbers currently to around 60‑70pc of the property’s capacity.

They are running about 3600 Merino ewes and plan to join just over 4200 for next year after a strong culling program. They also have about 2000 rangeland goats and 220 Santa Gertrudis/Shorthorn cross beef breeders.

The property also includes a luxury outback homestay business, however wool remains the number one priority for the enterprise.

The family previously harvested mulga trees on the property for fodder, however they now prefer to reduce stock numbers rather than supplementary feed and they more effectively manage the country, which on average receives 300 millimetres of rainfall annually.

The sheep flock is based on the ‘Mumblebone’ bloodline from Warren in New South Wales.

“These sheep do well in our area, with good legs to walk the long distances in our country,’’ Meg said.

“They have been getting a bit cleaner and they are a great all‑rounder, giving us a few options. We can turn‑off 2‑tooth wethers or wether lambs and they do well.’’

Lachland Dean with another bright, white fleece from Moble Pastoral Company near Quilpie. Selling under the industry’s global Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) this season achieved a 10-20 per cent financial gain for the wool.

Shearing is held from the end of May and wool quality is good, although there can be challenges with vegetable matter, dust and wool colouration due to the region.

The clip has a micron average of 19.2, down to 17 with the lambs, and achieves yields of around 67pc. The wethers cut 7.8 kilograms per head, while the ewes average 6.9kg/hd and the lambs cut 3.8kg/hd. The flock produced 160 bales this year and the bale numbers can reach the mid 200s when the property is fully stocked.

The ewes are joined six weeks prior to shearing and plenty are mothering multiple lambs this year after the marking percentage dropped to about 80pc last season, also due to problems with wild pigs. In good years, the lamb marking is often more than 100pc.

To offer wool under the RWS brand, properties must meet certain standards with land management, social welfare and, of course, animal welfare, including the requirement for non‑mulesed sheep, which has been a feature of the Moble Pastoral Company flock for many years.

“From around 2005, when mulesing was becoming controversial and our sheep were getting much plainer, we tried stopping it. There was no major impact and it was easier on the lambs in the drier years,’’ Meg said.

“In better seasons we can get flies, but we haven’t had any problems or losses. It’s important to continue our practices and other things to manage it, including crutching in March and jetting at lamb marking in October‑November. If it’s not a great year, we don’t need to crutch.’’

The Rutledges have worked closely with Quality Wool on the sale of their clip for many years, including more recently with local representative Willy Redington, and have often enquired about the possibility of premiums for wool from non‑mulesed sheep.

Meg said the company explained and supported the RWS accreditation process with them extremely well and it also allowed a thorough understanding of the practical requirements.

“Fortunately, we already had a lot of the resources required and we still have a few practical implementations ahead.’’

“We are using pain relief at lamb marking this year and we are excited by that. But there’s nothing else major that we have to change.

“It’s good to be rewarded from implementing these practices. There are advantages with animal welfare and from lamb marking to weaning, including less deaths and better mothering‑up, as well as other benefits to the business, but the financial impact is definitely the biggest,’’ Meg said.

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