December 1, 2016 -- In Australia, they conduct Wether Trials to evaluate different Merino bloodlines for wool production. The yearling wethers are also harvested to collect carcass data. Each farmer randomly selects ~10 wethers from their flock for testing.
During our trip to the Northern Tablelands, we attended a field day. It was the day the wethers were sheared and their fleeces were skirted (watch video), weighed, and evaluated for various characteristics, including value ($). The field day was interesting for many reasons. I've always had an interest in performance testing. This test was much different because it focused mostly on wool. We also had the opportunity to interact with farmers.
Shearing wethers
Sheared wethers
Skirting
Calculating results
Wether fleeces
The venue: the shearing shed
Deworming the wethers
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