JANUARY: NEW ZEALAND WOOL

SHEARING SEASON

During the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, Merino sheep in New Zealand are covered in thick, fine fleece. The herders must shear the sheep to prepare them for the warm months ahead. Most sheep in New Zealand are Romney, which grows long, coarse fleece perfect for carpets (Figure 1). But some of the flocks in South Island’s high country are Merino- a breed known for its short, fine, bright white fiber that is perfect for clothing. 

Figure 1: Romney Sheep, the most popular sheep in New Zealand

Over the past 200 years, New Zealand herders have bred New Zealand Merino to be highly adaptable. They can thrive in intense alpine terrain and coastal valleys. Since their fleece protects sheep from the elements, the wool harvest reflects the mountain meadows and dense pastures they graze. For example, the wool of sheep raised in colder climates is naturally warmer and wool from humid climates is better at wicking water. 

At a micro-level, Merino’s many benefits are due to its layers (Figure 2). The outer layer is scales that provide surface area for water resistance, breathability, and softness (superwashed wool uses a chemical and mechanical process to remove these scales, losing the qualities, but preventing felting). The next layer- the orthocortex- provides insulation and warmth. The outer core provides strength and durability. The inner core provides odor resistance and elasticity. 

Figure 2: The structure of wool fiber.

New Zealand is the world’s third largest producer of wool- most of which is exported to processing facilities in China. The islands are covered with roaming sheep, one of the country's defining characteristics; however, Merino sheep were introduced just two centuries ago. 

MERINO MIGRATION

Figure 3: Merino’s geographic distribution from 1400-1700.

Merino originated in Spain. In the 15th century, Spanish herders began to breed sheep that migrated from Northern Africa. The sheep later recognized as the original Merino had fine, crimped, dense fleece and wrinkly skin. The Spanish knew the potential of growing this exceptional variety of sheep and Merino fleece became its main export. Throughout the Middle Ages, Spain created a monopoly and Merino sheep export was punishable by death until the 1800s (figure 3). 

Figure 4: Merino’s geographic distribution 1720-1790s.

The Napoleonic Wars ended the monopoly and merchants started selling Merinos to other parts of Europe. Each country bred them with local sheep to create their respective varieties. Germans bred Saxon Merinos- a sub-breed particularly good for wet environments. The French developed Rambouillet from the initial Merino flock Spain gifted them and English sheep, which increased the fiber length. 

Figure 5: Merino’s geographic distribution 1790s-1820s.

In the late 1700s, Europeans living abroad started bringing Merino with them. First, a few Dutch colonizers in South Africa brought German Merinos, which thrived in the South African environment once they developed fewer wrinkles and less crimped fibers to adapt to the warmer climate. 

Around the same time, a Spanish merchant brought Merino to Vermont which caused a sheep boom in the small state. By the mid-1800s there were six times more sheep than people populating the state. Economic changes caused a crash and soon Vermonters sold most of their rams to California and the world’s new emerging leader in Merino- Australia. 

Figure 6: Merinos in Australia and Vermont.

In 1797, Australians imported flocks of Saxon Merino from South Africa. Throughout the early 1800s, Australian settlers also brought Merinos from France, Germany, and Spain. Wool was the perfect export for the fledgling colonies because they could ship it to England’s established textile producers without perishing during its long journey. To compete with the closer exporters in Europe, Australian breeders focused on fiber length. Since Spanish Merino fibers are short and hard to industrially comb, Australians created new breeds of Merino that maintained the fine fibers and increased their length. 

Most of today’s Merino sheep in Australia are Peppin Merino- originating from one imported Rambouillet stud (a ram used for breeding) from France. These sheep thrive in dry, inland Western Australia and produce high-quality fleece. Saxon Merino, the second most common, does better in Southern Australia, where it rains more. 

Figure 7: Merino’s geographic distribution 1820s-present.

Soon after Merino’s introduction in Australia, settlers in New Zealand imported flocks from Australia- they imported a few sheep from Europe and the United States for genetic diversity and to create their own, distinctive breeds. 

Argentina first imported Spanish Merino in the early 1800s as well. After one farm South of Buenos Aires successfully bred a stud and a flock that thrived in their pastures, other breeders imported Merinos from Europe and created a unique Argentine breed. Merino production stayed in the Northern region of Argentina until the early 1900s when producers moved south to Patagonia and realized the resulting fleece had superior quality. 

Uruguay followed Argentina’s footsteps when a family of French immigrants brought Merinos with them. Breeders then began to bring in sheep from the United States, Argentina, and Australia. 

Around the same time Merino was introduced to South America, China imported its first Merino sheep from Russia and the United States. Herders in the Eastern provinces of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia bred the imported, Mongolian and Kazakh sheep to create a Chinese, fine wool-producing breed. In the mid-1900s, China set up state farms to breed Merino and Merino-cross breeds and greatly grew the population. With political reforms in the 1980s, most of the collectively owned flocks were split up into small, households who used nomadic systems to herd their sheep during the cold winters and hot, dry summers. This caused a spike in the sheep population. 

Figure 8: Kazakh herder in northern Xinjiang source.

SHEEP EFFECTS

Grazing animals are natural members of most ecosystems. They refresh the foliage through grazing and trampling, act as natural tillers as they walk through grassland, and fertilize with their manure. All of these processes maintain biodiversity, reduce erosion, and create healthy soils and ecosystems. However, the vast majority of Merino sheep are not native grazers to the land they inhabit and mismanagement reduces the positive relationship with the ecosystems. 

In all Merino-producing regions, forests, wetlands, and wild grasslands have been converted to pastures. Sheep selectively graze, which alters the distribution of plant diversity- they diminish quantities of palatable grasses and increase quantities of non-palatable ones. Overgrazing is also common, sheep graze past the carrying capacity of a pasture which alters the flora, causes stress on the ecosystem, and increases soil erosion. 

Herders can strike a balance between the benefits and degradation of grazing Merino. A practice that is becoming more and more relevant as pasturelands decrease and the sustainable material market increases.  Successful management projects for Merino include adaptive management, reducing stocks, and frequently rotating pastures to allow regeneration. Although all Merino breeds are genetically connected, finding a balance between the health of the flock, the quality of the wool, and the health of the ecosystem will take landscape-specific approaches.

NOTES

https://mcdonaldtextiles.com/blogs/news/fascinating-story-behind-merino-wool

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921448819301178

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369217330_PL-3_Pass_present_and_future_of_Merino_in_Argentina_and_Uruguay

https://gsejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12711-015-0139-z

https://www.woolmark.com/fibre/what-is-merino-wool/

https://teara.govt.nz/en/sheep-farming/page-6

https://vermonthistoryexplorer.org/sheep-in-vermont#:~:text=In%201811%2C%20William%20Jarvis%20brought,lived%20in%20Vermont%20in%201840.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247835724_The_international_marketing_of_New_Zealand_merino_wool_past_present_and_future

https://skaapherder.com/en/what-is-merino-wool/

https://merinos.com.au/australian-merino/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47355735_Chinese_Sheep_and_Wool_Industries

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-020-01766-0