The main factors involved in the production of Mullion Extrafine Merino are breeding, weather, and attending to the seasonal jobs of caring for each sheep. Top quality extrafine wool is produced by developing a balance among all of these factors.

Breeding:

Breeding is the most important variable in striving toward extrafine/superfine wool. The Mullion acquires rams to join with their ewes every year.  The wool of the selected rams, along with that of the breeding ewes become genetically finer and more stylish with each season. As a result, the lambs are born with better wool year after year.

The Weather and its Influence on Wool:



The next factor which influences the wool are changing weather patterns. High annual rainfall produce abundant amounts of vegetation for grazing. Good grazing will grow fuller fleeces resulting in broader and stronger fibers.

High growth of vegetation creates a tendency for seed and burrs to be lodged in the wool of the sheep.  Average to low rainfall produces less feed, finer wool fibers and reduced amounts of vegetable matter lodged in the wool.  Dry drought conditions result in dust formation which settles easily on the wool. Too much dust produces a dirty fleece.

A drastic break in the weather (i.e. drought to rain) may cause the wool to become tender. Tender wool fibers will break more easily when spun into yarn. The Mullion Valley has averaged 32 inches of annual rainfall in the last 12 years. Wool management practices are very important when dealing with the variability of the weather. Oats and hay supplements are fed to the sheep ensuring adequate nutrition. In addition, there are proper water storage dams available to be used in advent of drought. These are some examples that help us to produce our ideal wool - full and fine, low vegetable matter, strong fibers and no dust.

Mullion Extrafine Wool Production Cycle / Seasonal Jobs:

Shearing

Shearing is the most important time of the year. It starts every August and takes five weeks to complete. Our shed workforce includes three shearers and five other workers who help skirt and sort the wool. There is one "classer" who analyzes the condition of each fleece to determine it's quality. He evaluates the style, color, strength, and fineness to determine how to sort it into bales lines.

We take pride in our wool and strive to keep a clean and sanitary shed environment.

Lambing

Shearing in August, allows our ewes to lamb easier without a full coat of wool weighing them down. Also, by being shorn, the mother will feel cold temperatures more easily and guide her lamb to protective shelter. It is important to have a good lambing season in order to replace older sheep.  

Rugging

Special groups of our sheep are coated with "rugs" each year. This is done to protect their wool from becoming weathered, dusty and full of vegetable matter. The rugs are applied when the sheep are twelve months old and removed a year later. This results in a very clean and bright white fleece we can use toward producing our premium top bale of wool.

Testing

We test for the fineness of fiber by shearing a sample from each coated sheep. The sample is then sent to a testing facility where the micron and strength of the fiber are calculated. This information is used to determine how to manage the sheep and wool development through the rest of the year.

Drenching

Our sheep must stay healthy to ensure good quality wool. We administer medicine to prevent them from picking up diseases such as worms and liver fluke. It takes two weeks to drench all the sheep at The Mullion.

Chipping Burrs

Every spring, from November through February, noxious thistle plants grow around The Mullion. If not managed properly, they can overtake a paddock that results in little feed for grazing. The burrs of these plants also tend to become lodged in the wool. To remove the thistles, it is necessary to walk the land and chip out the plants. Before a plant is chipped we cut off the seed filled pods and dispose of them into a bag. This prevents the seeds from flying into other paddocks when the plant is removed. Our constant commitment to chipping burrs has produced clean paddocks that grow optimum amounts of feed and few noxious weeds.

Crutching

Crutching involves trimming the wool growth from the face and rear of each sheep. This cleaning will prevent a build up of wastes and lower the tendency for fly strike. Flies are attracted to the wastes and will lay larvae that in turn eat into the skin of the sheep. This can become infected and result in the loss of the sheep.

Circuit Sales

To prevent overcrowding on each paddock we strive to graze a optimum number of sheep per acre. When there is an over abundance, or the sheep are too old to produce superfine wool, we sell them at a circuit sale. The surplus two-year-old sheep are sold in November and our six-year-old ewes are sold in February. Buyers come to our
property to inspect the sheep that are then auctioned to the highest bidder.