Why Glenwood Merinos?
Fibre Quality
Glenwood strives to produce the best SRS® wool possible. The fibre is bold crimping, soft handling, highly aligned with small bundles and lustrous. This revolutionary Merino fibre processes better than traditional wools and has many unique qualities that make it highly sort after amongst processors. These include better elasticity, better dye uptake and less noil.
The Glenwood flock averages 18.5 micron on a rolling average and cuts on average about 6.5 kg.
Fibre Length
Glenwood shears all of its ewes every 8 months. The length averages between 70mm and 80mm. This length is ideally suited for the topmaker and gives a good Hauteur of length. Shearing more frequently provides a number of advantages including – Higher yields (Between 2-4%), improved strengths & lower mid-point break, and lower VM depending upon shearing time.
Glenwood sires are trait leaders for staple length. View PDF graph
Plain Bodied
Since implementing the SRS® Breeding System, Glenwood Merinos has aimed to eliminate all wrinkles on its sheep, thus reducing susceptibility to flystrike and negating the need to mules. The ewes are plain bodied with a loose, thin and soft skin that indicates a high density of secondary follicles, compared to a traditional Merino. Glenwood has not mulesed since 2005 and has not looked back in terms of management and productivity.
Although in its early stages Glenwood sheep are right at the top of the industry for breech wrinkle and breech cover.
All of the sires now used in the stud are skin tested. Density, fibre length, diameter of secondary and primary follicles are some indicators measured.
636 skin test (PDF)
High Fertility
Glenwood Merinos has been selecting for fertility over a number of years and today it is one of the businesses main profit drivers. Since 2005 Glenwood has mothered up all of the stud ewes identifying the docile good mothers and the ewes that have twins year after year (especially as maidens). The ewes are wet and dried at lamb marking and any ewes that have lambed and lost are culled from the flock. There is good evidence that lambing percentages can be drastically improved from this simple management action, eliminating those females that walk away when it gets tough OR the lamb not bouncing away when it is born.
The last 4 years the Glenwood stud ewes have averaged 122% lambing to females joined.
Number lambs weaned graph (PDF)
Easy Care
Glenwood breeds for animals with no body wrinkle and wools which are free of suint. This reduces the risk of fly strike and in the future will negate the need for any chemical use. All Stud animals are run under commercial conditions and need to perform as such .The stud ewe lambs are run together with the flock ewe lambs until 12 months of age when they are classed. If they do not preform here they do not make it into the stud breeding flock.
Superior Carcass Quality
Through Sheep Genetics Australia (SGA) Glenwood Merinos has been measuring carcass traits for 7 years. Selection is for animals with good early growth, combined with positive muscle and fat. The sire Glenwood 080178 was involved in the first CRC Genomics pilot and is a trait leader for eye muscle depth. The sire Glenwood 090132 is a trait leader for Post weaning weight.
