The Peppin Merino is a breed of Merino sheep raised for their wool , mostly in Australia . So important is the Peppin Merino that wool producers throughout Australia often classify their sheep simply as being either Peppin, or non-Peppin.
19-403: Peppin merino wool is in the 20 to 23 micron range. The Peppin is prevalent in the sheep flocks of Queensland , on the slopes and plains of New South Wales , through the north of Victoria and the mixed farming areas of South Australia and Western Australia . It can also be found in significant numbers in the higher rainfall areas of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. In March 1858,
38-449: A Fleecescan. Both these systems have been studied extensively and if used correctly, they should give reasonably reliable results. Pre wool classing micron test results are a useful guide for classers in determining lines of wool to be made. Samples of fleece can also be shorn from the animal and sent to a laboratory for measurement ("midside sampling"). Most modern fleece-testing laboratories use related instruments to those mentioned—either
57-444: Is a measure of the variation in fibre fineness within the sample fleece, relative to the average fibre diameter. Crossbred and coarse wools are often measured for mean fibre diameter by older instruments—"Airflow" in many parts of the world, and even a projection microscope in some cases. Weaner and hogget wool is finer and generally more valuable than the wool from older sheep. Most wool between 11.5 and 24 microns in fibre diameter
76-503: Is made into clothing. The remainder is used for other textiles such as blankets, insulation and furnishings. The finest bale of wool ever auctioned sold for a seasonal record of 269,000 Australian cents per kilogram during June 2008. This bale was produced by the Hillcreston Pinehill Partnership and measured 11.6 microns, 72.1% yield and had a 43-newton-per- kilotex strength measurement. The bale realised $ 247,480 and
95-454: Is objectively measured for fiber diameter, yield (including the amount of vegetable matter), staple length, staple strength, and sometimes color. A classer is also responsible for a pre-shearing check to be made to ensure that the wool and sheep areas are free of possible contaminants. A classer supervises shed staff during shearing, and trains any inexperienced hands. At the end of shearing, classers have to provide full documentation concerning
114-425: Is the measurement used to express the diameter of wool fibre. Fine wool fibers have a low micron value. Fibre diameter is the most important characteristic of wool in determining its value. Every fleece comprises a very wide range of fibre diameters—for example a typical Merino fleece will contain fibres of as low as 10 microns in diameter, and there could be fibres with diameters exceeding 25 microns, depending on
133-835: The OFDA models or the Laserscan. Merino stud rams are mid-side sampled and the test results are displayed in the sale catalogues. Once the fleeces are baled and prepared for sale as lots, they are commonly sampled by coring in the broker store and the samples sent to certification laboratories. Here the core samples are cleaned, dried and prepared for measurement under strict test methods. Merino wools are normally measured on Laserscan instruments in Australia , New Zealand and South Africa , although OFDA instruments may also be used in some cases (the results from these two types of instrument are quite similar). The “coefficient of variation of fibre diameter” (CVD)
152-582: The Peppin brothers, George and Frederick, formed a double stud (recorded ewe and ram pedigree), the foundation stock being selected by T. F. Cumming. They kept careful records of the yields of individual sheep, and breeding was methodically conducted. At the Deniliquin show in July 1878, Peppin & Sons won the society's, Goldsbrough's and the president's prizes for sheep. The next year, Wanganella sheep won first prize for
171-545: The Peppin brothers, who had emigrated from Old Shute Farm, Dulverton , Somerset in England , purchased Wanganella Station, near Wanganella township in the Riverina district of New South Wales. The Peppins then selected 200 station -bred ewes that thrived under local conditions and purchased 100 Rambouillet-sired stud ewes from Nicholas Chadwick of Canally, New South Wales. The Peppin brothers mainly used Saxon Merino (a few of
190-399: The age and health (or nutrition) of the sheep. What is usually referred to as wool's "micron" is the mean of the fibre diameters or average diameter. This may be measured in a number of different ways. Small samples can be taken from the side or fleece of a sheep and measured using a portable instrument such as an OFDA2000 (Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser); or a mobile instrument system called
209-422: The best Victorian rams ) and Rambouillet Merino rams, importing four in 1860. One of these, Emperor, cut an 11.4 kg (5.1 kg clean) fleece . They also bought two sons of Old Grimes, a famous plain-bodied Vermont ram, but from then on they bred only from their own sheep. In 1871, Fred Peppin said, "We were satisfied with the type of wool that the country would grow, instead of endeavoring to produce what
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#1732851768173228-416: The climate and soil continually fight against. Thus we developed all its good natural tendencies and after the flock had a character of its own, tried experiments on a small scale only, and in such a way that they could do no permanent injury, and abandoned then when they were found not to achieve the desired object." They ran some Lincoln ewes, but their introduction into the flock is undocumented. In 1874,
247-576: The most valuable fleeces from six ewes at the Sydney International Exhibition. George Peppin died in 1876, and in October 1878, Frederick Peppin sold Wanganella, South Boonoke and Long Plains with 28,168 sheep, 837 stud sheep, 200 cattle, 25 horses and 32,857 acres (132.97 km²) of freehold for £77,000 to Austin & Millear. North Boonoke station with 26,788 sheep, 290 cattle, 63 horses and 31,484 acres (127.41 km²) of freehold land
266-576: The superfine wool growers do in-shed wool testing, but this can only be used as a guide. This enables wool classers to place wool into lines of a consistent quality. A shed hand, known as a wool presser, places the wool into approved wool packs in a wool press to produce a bale of wool that must meet regulations concerning its fastenings, length, weight, and branding if it is to be sold at auction in Australasia . All Merino fleece wool sold at auction in Australia
285-539: The west and Millear taking the eastern half, which was renamed Wanganella Estate as was Millear's Merino Stud. In 1910, the Falkiner sons purchased Wanganella Estate and its stud flock. In 1958, the Peppin property was reunited when F S Falkiner & Sons purchased Wanganella from Austin. The two studs created when Frederick Peppin sold Wanganella (Wanganella and Boonoke) continue today along with Boonoke poll started in 1934. Micron (wool) A micron ( micrometre )
304-409: The wool in its raw state and classing (grading) it accordingly. Wool classing is done by a wool classer. Some of the qualities a wool classer examines when classing wool are: The fleece is skirted to remove excess fibres, seeds, burrs, etc. to leave the fleece as reasonably even as possible. The wool taken from different parts of a sheep are graded separately. The fleece forming the bulk of
323-480: The yield is placed with other fleece wool as the main line, while other pieces such as the neck, belly, and skirting (inferior wool from edges) are sold for such purposes where the shorter wools are required (for example fillings, carpets, insulation). While in some places, crimp may determine which grade the fleece will be put into, this subjective assessment is not always reliable, and processors prefer that wools are measured objectively by qualified laboratories. Some of
342-511: Was exported to India. In 2010 a soft ultra-fine, 10-micron fleece, from Windradeen, near Pyramul, New South Wales , Australia, set a new world record in the fineness of wool fleeces when it won the Ermenegildo Zegna Vellus Aureum International Trophy. Wool classing Wool classing is the production of uniform, predictable, low-risk lines of wool , carried out by examining the characteristics of
361-553: Was sold for £67,000 to F. S. Falkiner , Malcolm McKenzie and J. R. Ross in November 1878. Falkiner bought out his partners in 1882, transformed the property and developed a stud with sheep bred from the original Peppin stock. When Franc Falkiner died in 1909, he had amassed in excess of 500,000 acres (2,000 km²) of Riverina grazing land and was running a quarter of a million Boonoke blood sheep. In 1895, Austin and Millear dissolved their partnership, with Austin retaining Wanganella in
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