Coloured wool is selling for a clean price of $20 a kilogram, compared to crossbred wool which last month made from $2.50/kg to $3.90/kg for a South Island offering.
Black and Coloured Sheep Breeders Association Mid Canterbury secretary Georgie Fairless said coloured fleece had a strong market among home knitters, with larger breeders sending fleece to Japan.
She said the $20/kg fleece more than covered shearing expenses, with some breeders like herself spinning it into woollen balls and knitting garments.
"It’s flourishing and getting better known. Probably before it was the farmer’s wives who were getting the black fleeces. The younger generation haven’t even learned to knit and they don’t know about wool, so that’s who we’re trying to connect with."
A good raw fleece of about three kilograms needed to be skirted properly, as wool at the top and tail ends and around the legs could not be spun, she said.
"You will make two jumpers out of it, and a home-spun jersey costs $300, so it works out quite economical when you look at it like that ...
It’s a hobby industry."
Mrs Fairless said coloured sheep breeder numbers had been shrinking as a result of ageing members stepping away from active breeding and farms being sold.
The association was keen to bring in younger recruits, she said.
"We’ve got new members, but it’s hard to get new people with land and room to grow sheep. We’ve had commercial ones with 200-300 black and coloured sheep. But most of them are on 10 acres and can handle 20 sheep. We’re trying to get to the people who have a few acres."
The association is holding an open day at coloured Merino, Corriedale and Romney breeders Leo and Karen Ponsonby’s small farm near Rolleston at 155 Burnham School Rd on November 20.
Members will carry out demonstrations of spinning, knitting and crocheting, and coloured sheep will be on view with fleece for sale.
Mrs Fairless said members had a wealth of knowledge on breeding coloured sheep and could explain to newcomers what a good quality fleece should look and feel like.
She said breeders looked to improve micron levels, the feel of the fleece and overall fleece quality.
Coloured fleece ranged from 16 microns from Merinos to stronger wool breeds such as English Leicester and Lincoln, she said.
Mrs Fairless and her husband, Derek, had a large lifestyle block in Bank Peninsula’s Puaha Valley, but have down-sized their base and flock of 20 coloured romneys after shifting to a small landholding of less than 1ha in Cooptown, near Little River.
"When we lived up there it was just after I left work and saw an article about coloured sheep.
"I had been spinning before, just white wool, and Derek said ‘why don’t you join them?’ They were having a field day over here with a woman who had Lincolns, so I joined up and have been doing it ever since.
"The people keep you coming back and I’ve always liked sheep and always wanted to be on a farm.’
The original Romneys became too old and she now has four sheep of different bloodlines. Two of them are from a white Romney flock from a nearby commercial farmer which have grey colouring on the outside and black wool inside.
Another pair are bottle-fed lambs from a Rakaia coloured sheep breeder after they were mis-mothered, with one of them being a morrit (brown) Corriedale which produces a short fine fleece of 2.5kg and the other a half-and-half spotty Romney.
Tending a coloured flock has the same challenges as a commercial one, and a wet winter has resulted in one fleece growing long and tight from the wool being matted on their backs — but this does not daunt her.
"I just enjoy having the sheep. I’ve just had a lesson in weaving so that’s my next thing I want to do using my own wool."
To keep them healthy and soften the fleece, she gives them a dose of cider apple vinegar, manuka honey, seaweed and garlic.
TIM.CRONSHAW@alliedpress.co.nz
