One of the most iconic activities in rural Australia, sheep-shearing has put towns on the map. Generations of wool-growing families have built the wool industry to the position it is in today.
Attracting Australians from all over the country to rural towns, enjoying the fresh air and stunning scenery. Sheep are big business in Australia. We are the leading producer of wool in the world, accounting for around 25 per cent of world production. The gross value of Australian wool is $2.9 billion and there are, at last count, 3.1 sheep for every person in Australia.
Australia produces eighty per cent of the world’s finest Merino wool – so when you beautiful Italian fabric – think Australian merino wool! The first Merinos in Australia produced about 1.5 kilograms of wool per fleece. Today’s Merinos can grow a fleece of more than 8kg, largely due to better breeding and more sustainable grazing methods, producing more wool from the same animals and land.