Benefits to Wool Growers and Processors

The major benefit to woolgrowers and wool processors is in the additional information that LASERSCAN will provide - namely Coefficient of Variation of Diameter, Comfort Factor and Fibre Curvature.

Mean Fibre Diameter, Coefficient of Variation of Diameter and Fibre Curvature all affect the quality of tops, yarns and fabrics. Australia will be the only wool producing country where these parameters will be available on all sale lots. This will provide real differentiation of Australian wool from competing wool producing countries. Already many woolgrowers are seeking to improve the quality of the wool they produce by reducing the Coefficient of Variation of Diameter of their flocks. However, without presale measurements being readily available there has been no immediate benefit or premium available for doing this.

Past experience has always been premiums develop when a characteristic is objectively measured and when wool buyers and processors are able to select wools on the basis of this characteristic.

LASERSCAN will also provide more accurate estimates of the Mean Fibre Diameter of farm lots than has been previously possible. Combined with the Coefficient of Variation of Diameter this will enable more reliable prediction of the Mean Fibre Diameter and Coefficient of Variation of the top. The additional information will also provide an opportunity to refine the specification of greasy wool, utilising Coefficient of Variation, to spread purchases of farm lots above and below the required Mean Fibre Diameter, thereby reducing the step decreases in price that currently occur, sometimes for a 0.1 micron difference.