RIRDC News

Mohair Industry Survey Results (01/05/08) from Peter McInnes - RIRDC

Industry Survey Mohair                                                                   2008

• There were 65 respondents
• The respondents were stakeholders in –

Production 57, Processing or Brokering 4, Wholesaling/Retailing 2, Research 4, Extension/Training/Consulting 4
[some respondents were multiple stakeholders]

·         Length of time in the above role/s
Range 1-38 years with 66% between 20 and 30 years

·         Area for production    75%     0-200ha
                                    25%     200ha and above

·         Future Area of Production Plans - 35 Constant, 7 Minor Increase, 7 Major Increase, 7 Decrease

·         80% are members of an industry association mainly Mohair Australia

·         Industry Strengths (as % of responses)
Unique Fibre that blends well with traditional fibre 89%
Australia has feed that is well grazed and utilized by goats 85%
High Standard of Research Capability 46%
High Standard publication to communicate industry and research findings 31%
High Standard of capability in processing 19%
Strong Industry Organisation 17%

Industry Weaknesses (as % of responses)

            Insufficient population size to influence major fibre markets            82%
            Resistance to diversification to produce rare natural fibres                58%
            Industry Association should have more unity                                                55%
            Research capacity is small                                                                   46%
            Production per animal is low                                                              27%
            Genetics need improving                                                                    26%

            Identifying (and overcoming) impediments in increasing industry size and diversification opportunities                                                                            85%

            Improving genetics and reproduction                                                             79%

            Utilising livestock products (eg meat) other than fibre                                  71%

            Fostering appropriate value adding in processing                                           71%

            Developing more international linkages for research and industry leaders    69%

            Decrease in the number of large size producers                                  93%

           Drought                                                                                               77%

            Reduction of the research capability                                                  56%

• Actively involved in RIRDC projects                                                            23%
• Awareness of RIRDC research - Yes 54%; No 36%; Yes but not relevant to the respondent 10%
• How information is accessed from RIRDC Projects 10 ways of which 27% is by industry contacts; 23% is by industry publications; 22% is by word of mouth; 13% by RIRDC publications; 15% other
• 46% of the RIRDC information received is via electronic and 43% is hard copy
• As a result of previous research findings the following changes in production (from 35 respondents) 43% minor increase in production; 40% no increase and 17% significant increase
• With respect to the strategies in the present 5 Year Plan (2003-2008)the present importance were judged (1 not important, 5 very important) – Improving productivity to encourage retention of large scale producers and stimulate investment in the industry 4.5, Textile Technology for value adding 4.4, Innovation in genetics and reproduction 4.2, Planning and implementing R&D with industry 4.00, Identifying drought and disease management strategies 4.0, Developing international linkages to improve identification of market signs 3.9, Better management grazing and systems 3.9, Facilitating more training and/or education to increase research capacity 3.8
  
  
• R&D Priorities

Identify and overcoming impediments to increase production 14% (also recognized an industry development priority)

Animal Productivity   8%

Drench resistance, identifying type of drench, registration of drenches 6%

Drought Management 5%

Textile Technology     4%

Classing of mohair especially fibre measurement on from 4%

Reproduction particularly kid survival 4%

RIRDC REPORT –  March 2008

Why a RIRDC Report here? Well, in September 2007 I accepted a 3 year appointment to a position on the RIRDC Rare Natural Fibres Advisory Committee. This was an appointment made by the RIRDC CEO as one of the three independent committee members following advertisements in the press. The appointments were to match the breed organisation nominees. With this appointment I am in a position to report to industry on the activities of the committee, independently of Mohair Australia Ltd.

It would seem that over their last term, the Mohair Australia committee members failed to pass on information to either the Mohair Australia Board or the members of Mohair Australia regarding RIRDC matters. Indeed, they seemed to have taken the “confidentiality” argument to an extreme and a detrimental level. The current Mohair Australia representative appears to be continuing the same approach.

The Rare Natural Fibres Advisory Committee is tasked with providing industry oversight of research and development project selection and funding. The committee and the RNF section are managed by Dr Peter McInnes. Funding comes from the Statutory 1.5% Levy on mohair and cashmere sales plus a voluntary payment made by the Alpaca Association. Considerably more funding comes from the Commonwealth government via RIRDC allocation. In recent times the mohair levy has amounted to some $30,000 and the Alpaca contribution was some $40,000. Since very little Cashmere has actually been sold the contribution from that industry has been minimal. The total RNF budget for 2007-2008 amounts to some $260,000.

(At Right: Mark Ferguson and Rowena Doyle at the Sire Evaluation trial field day)

I believe that industry research should be made public and findings communicated directly with industry. There is always a problem with researchers wishing to publish in scientific journals and these journals appear to look unfavourably on publication of information prior to presentation in the more prestigious publications. Scientists know that peer reviewed publications are the only things that count in their profession so there is a reticence of communicating directly to industry. RIRDC and its committees have the job of sitting between these two conflicting concepts and ensuring that industry gets told of findings as soon as possible.

 (Above: Dr Bruce McGregor explaining a trend at a grower seminar at Attwood field station)

(At right: Key industry players observing wethers from Sire Evaluation trial being run at Attwood for further evaluation by Dr Bruce McGregor)

To be fair, scientists (and others) applying for funding do so under a “commercial in confidence” understanding. Clearly, they do not want their proposals, ideas and methodology discussed in public before approval has been given for their proposed work. However, once funded, RIRDC

expects Principal Investigators (PI’s) to liaise with, and inform the industry of, the issues, progress and findings of their work. Each project must be open to the industry and the research workers should be happy to interact with the industry for which they are working.

In recent months two mohair projects have been completed and published. These are Publication 07/026 Producing and Marketing Quality Mohair (B A McGregor) and Publication 07/107 High Specification Classing of Mohair (D L Stapleton). These can be downloaded from www.rirdc.gov.au

Currently there are 5 mohair projects funded by RIRDC. These are outlined below and I have made some personal comments on each. It is not my role to justify the committee’s decisions leading to acceptance of the projects which are made in an environment of intense and detailed discussion.

1. Breeding for helminth resistance in angora goats. Dr Steven Walkden-Brown. This project has been completed and is being published. The research was not without its problems with participating growers having trouble identifying parents of kids thus requiring DNA studies to accurately identify sire groups. While a little fundamental, this research is considered vital in the search to overcome a serious threat to the sustainability of goat farming. This report is now available.
2. Validation of KIDPLAN for use in Angora goats. Mark Ferguson. This project was postponed due to the drought but is likely to be reactivated shortly. It involves cooperation between growers, AMMO and the Lambplan organisation.
3. Increasing Mohair Production in Australia. Cheryl McCormick. This project, to produce a Mohair Module for “Going into Goats”, has advanced to the editing stage and will shortly be passed to RIRDC and MLA for comment prior to printing.
4. Improving production efficiency, quality and value-adding of rare natural fibres. Prof. Zungai Wang. This project is a little controversial and involves the appointment of Dr Bruce McGregor as a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University. In part, this project has been seen as retaining research capability in the RNF field, but there is also a need to maintain contact with new fibre technologies and their application to Rare Fibres.
5. Analysing Mohair Benchmarking Data. Dr Bruce McGregor. This is an ongoing study aimed at demonstrating the profitability of mohair production and will be essential if promotion of mohair production is to be effective.

(At left: Using Fleecescan and Laserscan to measure individual fleeces at an open day for the EGT – High Specification Classing of Mohair project at NMP Cudal)

I believe it is undesirable for current Advisory Committee members to be involved in funded research. My own project on High Specification Classing of Mohair was applied for, granted and completed during the period I was not a committee member. However, there are a number of cases where committee members have applied for and accepted grants for specific projects.

These include Dr Andrew James (Cashmere Merrit performance recording) and the somewhat more complicated Cheryl McCormack (J Hall) Mohair Module project. While RIRDC and the committee chair are very aware of issues of conflict of interest and have methods in place to cover such potential problems, there remains the difficulty of a very small number of knowledgeable people in each of the industries and the desire to carry out significant work using RIRDC funds. It really is a group of very small industries and there are not enough people to do all the jobs.

(Above: Dr’s Bruce McGregor and Doug Stapleton testing fleece samples with the OFDA 2000 at the National Angora Trophy Show and Sale in Goulburn)

(At left: Dr Peter McInnes addressing a research seminar at the 2004 Mohair Australia AGM in Canberra)

On a broader scene RIRDC is faced with a number of tasks. In some cases there are levy funds to administer. In others there are good ideas and interesting concepts of possible new industries which might provide real returns. RIRDC and its committees have a task of trying to predict winners and trying to support good ideas. Canola and Cotton are examples of such successful new industries.

Undoubtedly there are some “industries” and some ideas which fail to deliver. Whether mohair, cashmere and alpaca are successes or failures must be considered at some stage. Currently within RIRDC there are organisational issues which suggest that things are changing and industries are being questioned as to their sustainability. No doubt there are also pressures from the new Labour government which will have to be addressed. The declining level of production and the drop in collected levy funds presents a danger to ongoing research activities and this means that it is important to identify needs and set clear plans for the future activities of the RNF industries. The recently conducted survey will enable a new 5 year plan to be developed for this purpose. It is hoped that Mohair Australia made a strong submission to that survey.

The appointment of Ms Hall to the Advisory Committee as the breed organisation nominee was made at the time of the new Mohair Australia Board took office and was for a short period ending in June 2008. The new Board made statements about open government and the calling for nominations from the membership to fill that position for the remainder of the 3 year tenure of the current advisory committee’s life. It remains to be seen if there will be a public process for the appointment of the representative and the methods of reporting on the efforts of RIRDC to Mohair Australia members.

Finally, RIRDC has a very active IT group and its web site www.rirdc.gov.au gives access to a wide range of reports and subjects. While reading research reports might not a high priority for many, it is worth a look. The RNF reports are all available and they include short summaries.

Most of our knowledge and technologies come from research and I believe we all need to try and keep up. Doing things the old way won’t make anyone rich and it won’t help the environment or our industry’s sustainability.

Doug Stapleton
Please feel free to contact me to discuss any issue raised in this report. – see the Contact section of this site.