The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: cloddopper on October 24, 2016, 02:14:18 pm
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I read The Times , today I found an article that may interest some of you as a source for a possible decent income .
Andy Caughey of ARMADILLO MERINO a Derby based company is producing a super fine strong woollen fibre yarn inside a vacuum . The ends of the wool that make people itch are tucked inside the yarn as it is formed in the vacuum.
He supplies NASA & military clothing manufactures at home & abroad ,
The wool does not melt with heat like much of the current polyester cotton rubbish the troops are issued with so it is less damaging if they get burnt or hit with a supersonic round that melts the clothing as it passes through . Fire fighters are also benefiting from it .
Another thing is that it wicks moisture away from the skin so service folk wearing it for several days at a time don't get sores in the folds of their skin or their nether regions , it also helps keep the stink of wearing the same gear for ten days or so down to a minimum.
The SAS are well impressed with it .
So , could this be an opportunity for you sheep growers to increase your flocks by day & by night and migrate to the type of merino wool he needs .
I'll leave it to you guys to do the leg work in getting more information . I would also suggest that you PM each other rather than use the open forum to pass on info for there are a lot of sneaks & information gathering bots looking in on the site that could use what you put to steal a march on you.
If I were fit enough & still had the farm I'd certainly try my hand at it with 50 or more sheep .
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I didn't think merino did very well in the UK
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I had a large Merino horned ram . We called him Rasputin , he thrived in his 1/2 acre paddock which had a fresh water water trough put in it .
He did have a good solid shelter that was six foot high at the back with a 6 inch straw floor & a sort of spiral entry door way facing South ( A bit like following the line of a figure six ) that he could go into to escape the frosts , wind & rain when it happened .
Finding out more from Armadillo Merino is the best way to go , at least it will be from the goat's mouth so to speak .
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Not worth while the wool comes from New Zealand.
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That's a pity it would have been a good earner to have British wool instead . How did you find out it was KIWI wool ?
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Or Australia .......... my old uni buddy still deals Marino wool from Australia to rest of world after moving there in the 80's (dates me!)
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Our climate is too damp for the really fine quality wool that is needed for such projects. My NZ friends import back wool prepared in this country as we do that bit better than they do.
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details re New Zealand wool check out "cosy in Armadillo Merino - Eric Musgrave. I have a Saxon Merino Tup, very hardy sheep, need a bit more attention to keep feet in order, it takes a lot of rain to cause problems but most of fleece is beautifully soft and white.