Midterm Flashcards
Where is the Merino from?
Spain
Merino wool characteristics
-extremely fine
-tight crimp
-spin count: 64 to 70
Reasons to raise merino
premium prices are paid for wool, flocking instinct, flourish in extremes of weather and environment, good mothering ability, ability to breed out of season
Where is the Rambouillet from?
France
Rambouillet wool charcateristics
-Spin count: 64 to 70
-tight crimp
-very fine
Reasons to raise Rambouillet
“dual purpose” breed, out-of-season breeder, adaptable to hot & cold climates
Where is the columbia from?
Idaho
Columbia breed history
a crossbreed between lincoln rams with Rambouillet ewes
-producers wanted to produce more pounds of wool
Columbia wool charcteristics
-high yielding
-long stapled
-very distinct crimp
-spin count: 56-62
Reasons to raise columbia
largest white-faced sheep in the world, hardy, fast growing, excellent meat quality, adaptable, excellent maternal instinct, high percentage of twins
Where is the Targhee from?
Idaho in the 1920’s
Targhee genetics
crossbred ewes, consisting of Rambouillet, lincoln, and Corriedale genetics, were crossed with Rambouillet rams
What is the targhee breed named after?
Targhee national forest- where the developing flock had grazed during summer
Targhee wool charcateristics
-high yielding
-distinct crimp
-bright white wool
-spin count: 58-62
Where is the corriedale from?
New Zealand & Australia during late 1800’s
Corriedale genetics
cross of lincoln or leicester rams with merino ewes
Corriedale history
distributed worldwide, the greatest population of sheep in south America, 2nd most significant breed after the merino
Corriedale wool characteristics
-big, heavy fleeces
-very long staple length
-high yielding
-bold, distinct crimp
-Spin count: 48-56
Corriedale reasons to raise
dual purpose, large framed, polled, good carcass quality, well adapted to temperate, higher rainfall zones
Delaine-merino history
developed to be a more practical type of sheep for western and southwestern range producers
Delaine-merino wool charcteristics
-high quality fine wool fleece
-tight crimp
-lower yielding due to grease
-long staple
-Spin count: 64-80
-very heavy fleeces
Delaine-merino reasons to raise
-adapted to harsh range conditions
-minimum wrinkles
-medium sized
-excellent longevity
-very gregarious
Debouillet orgin
developed in new Mexico in 1920
-developed to thrive in the harsh range conditions of the southwestern US
Debouillet created by which breeds
Delaine- merino and Rambouillet crosses
Debouillet wool charcteristics
-high quality fine-wool fleece
-has tight crimp
-long staple
-spin count: 62-70
Debouillet reasons to raise
-well adapted to harsh range conditions
-medium sized-lower input cost
-hardy
-very gregarious
-unassisted pasture lambing
Cormo orgin
developed in the early 1960s in Australia
-goal to develop larger framed, more fertile, and greater wool-producing sheep
Cormo breed composites
saxon merinos ewes and Corriedale rams
Cormo wool charcteristics
-high quality fine-wool
-slightly boulder crimp
-long staple
-spin count: 64-80
Cormo reasons to raise
-very fertile and prolific
-high growth rates
-heavy, fine and clean fleeces
-very gregarious
Angora goat Orgin
Turkey
-were imported into the US in 1849
Grades of mohair (6)
-super kid
-kid
-yearling
-fine adult
-adult
-kempy
Value determining characteristics of wool
grade, yield, fiber length, fiber diameter, fiver integrity
What is Wool grade classified by?
classifies wool by fiber diameter
-finer grades demand the highest prices
-coarser grades demand lower prices
The three major grading systems
-american blood system
-spinning count
-micron diameter system
American blood system
based off of the percentage of merino genetics present in the fleece
- least precise grading system
Spinning count grade system
refers to the number of hanks of yarn that can be spun from one pound of wool top
-the finer the diameter- the more hanks it will produce
-ex. 64 spin count=64 hanks of yarn
Micron diameter system
-most accurate grading system
-most commonly accepted fiber diameter grading system worldwide
a micron =
1/ 25,400 of an inch
Yield
amount of clean wool that is derived from raw wool via the scouring process
T or F: generally yield is correlated to grade
True
T or F: finer wool is generally lower yielding
True
T or F: coarser wool is generally higher yielding
True
Does vegetable matter have an impact on yield?
No
What is yield correlated to?
fiber density
Denser fibered fleeces allow for…..
less dirt penetration
The three classifications for fiber length
staple(longest), french combing, clothing (shortest)
What if the wool doesn’t meet its staple requirements for a grade?
The wool can not be combed, it is only carded
What if the wool meets its staple requirements for its grade?
it can be carded and combed which creates “top”
Fiber integrity
how strong the fibers are throughout the length of a lock
Two types of low fiber strength in wool
-tender fibered: caused by genetics
-break: caused by stress, illness
Which has a more negative impact on value; tender fibered or break?
break
What does a fleece with a break cause in the carding/combing process?
noils
What are noils?
waste products to worsted system and can only be used by woolen system
What is character?
refers to the pleasantness each fleece is to the eye and touch
Characteristics used to evaluate charcter
color, crimp, condition
What is (good) color when referring to character?
-good charactered fleeces are super bright and white
-whiteness= greater dying range
What is crimp?
the natural waves in the wool fiber
-gives wool its resilience and elasticity
-good character fleeces have pronounced crimp
What is Condition? What two things make up condition?
how much grease wool possesses
-good character fleece will have the ideal amount of condition (not too dry but not too greasy)
Can also refer to handle, which is how soft or harsh wool is to the touch
Uniformity
the variation in grade and length within a fleece
-the more uniform=the more valuable
How do we calculate value of a fleece/ bale of wool?
- Raw weight x yield = clean weight
- clean weight x price/pound = market value
The 5 wool processing systems
-shearing, skirting, scouring, carding, combing
What is wool used for after manufacturing? (2 divisions)
-apparel: generally smaller in diameter, majority of wool
-carpet: generally larger in diameter, courser
What two manufacturing systems are used for apparel wool?
worsted & woolen
Worsted system
uses wool that has not been previously processed
-made up of long, smooth fibers
-used to make high-quality suits, dresses
Wool processing systems for worsted system
shearing, skirting, scouring, carding, combing
Woolen system
used some never before processes wool, but also used short fiber by-products from worsted mills (noils), wool waste, and recycled yarn
Wool processing for woolen system
shearing, skirting, scouring, carding
Shearing
the first step in wool processing
-rolled together rand placed in a bag for shipping and grading
Skirting
removal of undesirable parts of fleece after shearing and before packaging
-remove belly wool, skin and manure tags, 2nd cuts
What is the purpose of skirting?
to create a more uniform product
Packaging
placing wool in a bag to be shipped to warehouse, then to a wool processor
Packaging options
-burlap sack
-plastic sack
-nylon pack
Burlap packaging
Pros: cheap and breathable
Cons: irregular shape makes storage difficult, is vegetable matter, cannot see contents
Plastic sack packaging
Pros: clear, can see contents
Cons: not breathable, tears easily, irregular shape, difficult to handle when greasy
Nylon sack packaging
Pros: very strong, shape aids in storage, nylon can be processed with wool, very uniform bales
Cons: requires specialized hydraulic press
Scouring
washing wool, the removal of dirt and grease from wool
Scouring train
big, open ended washing machine
-consist of 5 to 6 bowls with rakes and rollers
-first couple of bowls have warm water (140 F) and detergent to wash wool, last couple bowls have cold water to rinse wool
-rollers squeeze the dirt, grease and water out of the wool at the end of each bowl
-grease is captured and used to create lanolin
Carding
begins to detangle and separate scoured wool fibers, aligns fibers up
What do they use to card wool?
wire rollers to straighten the fibers and remove any extra vegetable matter that was not removed during the scouring process
Combing
arranged long fibers in a parallel configuration by combing the wool
-removes short and tangled fibers from the product-noils
-after wool is combed, wool is called staple length top
