The variability of yield in pastoral flocks

Abstract

Mid-side yield was determined on 5,410 fleeces from 49 Merino, 3 Polwarth, and 4 Corriedale flocks from Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. Yield decreased as staple crimp frequency increased and as mean fibre thickness decreased. There were fewer exceptions in the former than in the latter. The mean mid-side yield of a flock was negatively correlated with its coefficient of variation. The range of yield in the various staple crimp or mean fibre thickness classes in the flock was surprisingly wide and only slightly less than that for the whole flock.