THE Merino industry should stick to what it does best - growing wool.
High-profile NSW wool grower and stud breeder Jim Litchfield said the industry's focus needed to move away from dual-purpose Merinos.
Mr Litchfield, managing director of Hazeldean Merinos at Cooma, said the Merino could not be all things to all people.
"If we pursue too many traits in our sheep, our rate of genetic progress drops dramatically," he said.
"We need to maintain body size and growth rate, lift fleece weight and reduce micron.
"We must take a long-term view when breeding animals today."
Mr Litchfield said maintaining some dry sheep, such as wether lambs, in a flock gave a wool enterprise flexibility in these variable seasons.
"Merinos are a remarkably well-adapted animal, able to be profitable in 175mm to 1000mm (rainfall) country," he said.
Mr Litchfield likes a big, plain bodied, uncomplicated sheep with stylish finer wool to deal with climate and shearing issues.
"The simple fact is, if we put up wool in a finer micron, we get a better price," he said.
Mr Litchfield is keen to see Australian wool used in high-end fashion, rather than compete with synthetics in the mainstream retail market.
He said there was potential for fine-wool prices to lift over the next year, despite a rising Australian dollar.
"Although the total volume of wool to market has dropped off, when analysing by micron, the supply of fine wool has kept up," he said.
He pointed to Victoria's good spring acting as a buffer for this year's ram sales and helping rebuild the nation's ewe flock.
Mr Litchfield and his wife, Libby, run 11,000 stud and flock ewes on properties at Cooma, on the Monaro, and at Hay, in the western Riverina.
Since its establishment by James Litchfield in 1865, Hazeldean has become one of Australia's biggest and most influential flocks.
The stud's ram breeding depot at Hay, Rosevale, is typical plains country with red soils, salt and blue bush, native pastures and a winter rainfall of 325mm.
Stocked conservatively over the drought, Rosevale has maintained its core Merino breeding flock.
The family bought the 22,267ha property in 2001, later expanding it to 26,315ha.
Set up for irrigated cropping and livestock, Rosevale is connected to a private irrigation scheme, and is at the end of a 14km channel.
When drought cut water allocations, irrigating pastures for sheep was no longer viable.
Sheep numbers have been cut to 5000 and cattle increased.
Managed by Richard Cannon, Rosevale also supports 600 cows of Angus and the Senepol-Angus composite Senegus.
Mr Litchfield said in pre-drought times, Rosevale grazed 1000 cows and 7000 stud and flock ewes.
"We are not selling the numbers of rams like we used to," he said.
"Most studs have suffered declining ram sales because of the wool industry woes and sheep numbers have shrunk."
But Mr Litchfield has found most wool growers are prepared to stick with Merinos.
"Clients are now focused on genetics and recognising their value," he said. "They made the decision to stay in the wool business and breed more productive sheep.
"Wether trial data has shown conclusively superior rams can result in extra income of $50/head in some instances."
Ranked third in NSW on annual ram sales numbers, Hazeldean sells 700 rams by auction and private treaty.
It selects for improved fibre performance, lower fibre diameter and increased fleece weights.
This is the third year Hazeldean has provided Australian Sheep Breeding Values on their sale rams.
"Our point of difference in the Riverina is being a fine-wool stud coming from a medium-wool base," Mr Litchfield said.
The five-year rolling average of the stud's grown sheep was 19 micron, with stud ewes cutting 7.5-8kg.
"We have been driving down micron every year since the 1990s and have made significant gains in body and fleece weight," Mr Litchfield said.
