The great mohair versus wool debate has turned a corner, with a recent study finding mohair makes more money than woolgrowing on a dollar return per dry sheep equivalent or hectare basis.
It is a debate which has been running between graziers and fleece industry experts since Angora goat production began getting a significant toehold in Australia in the 1970s.
Both natural fibres have plenty of positive qualities for textile makers, but while one is widely produced across Australia, the other has often been the domain of hobby farmers or woolgrowers with country which has been too rough, hilly or scrubby to rely soley on sheep production.
Although Australia’s wool and mohair have declined from boom days – the 1970s for wool and the 1990s for mohair – the three-year study, “Benchmarking Mohair Production in Australia”, found mohair producers often enjoy higher financial returns than their woolgrowing counterparts.
This was despite the fact Angora graziers had much lower stocking rates than sheep producers and used lower levels of phosphate fertiliser, suggesting pasture productivity would be lower.
On average, mohair fibre made about $13 a kilogram compared to $8/kg for finewool during the study period.
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) study compared the profitability of similar sized Angora goat and sheep enterprises.
According to the report’s author, senior animal and fibre research scientist, Dr Bruce McGregor, of Melbourne, the mohair industry has struggled to expand since it was established and has been viewed by many as a hobby industry with no viable commercial gains.
Dr McGregor said people in the industry and other farmers wanted evidence about mohair profitability.
His project was hoped to increase knowledge of the mohair industry and compare it to the wool sector.
“We found that when similarly sized mohair and wool enterprises were compared, the returns from mohair were significantly higher than that for wool,” he said.
But compared with wool, mohair is still a small industry, only exporting $2.5 million a year in products compared to about $2 billion in exports for wool and its products.
Australian Mohair Marketing Organ-isation (AMMO) chairman, Keith Cowen, Weethalle, believes the mohair industry could expand, especially with the decline in production from South Africa and Texas in the USA.
“The demand for mohair is still strong and our marketing system is extremely good,” Mr Cowen said.
He said mohair struggled to expand mainly because farmers were more familiar with wool.
Fleece quality is another factor to consider, as the micron of mohair generally increases as the goats gain liveweight.
But the upside is that mohair grows faster than wool and is shorn twice a year, meaning farmers get two payments from their fleece.
“It is possible to control the mohair micron with breeding techniques and selecting the right sires,” he said.
Mr Cowen, who has produced mohair from Angora goats for about 30 years while also running Merino sheep on his property, “Yarran Park”, said he had been making more money from mohair than wool in the past eight years.
“Mohair carried us through the drought because the returns are very good but the returns from sheep have been quite poor,” he said.
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