AWI’s $3 million budget to try to find device for biological wool harvest

The nation’s leading wool body has issued a request for new wool bioharvesting proposals, as they hope to find a new device within three years.

A worldwide search for a wool bioharvesting system by Australian Wool Innovation has begun, with the hope it can deliver answers within three years.

With a budget of up to $3 million, AWI is hoping to attract developers to tackle the next stage in a new means of harvesting wool in the first major change to shearing for more than a century.

Last week, AWI issued a request for proposals to find a new device to harvest wool that will build on research work that’s found a way to create a weak spot in the staple.

This will allow wool to be removed from sheep which will not require traditional shearing methods, but the actual means of harvesting is yet to be worked out.

“The device will not require the wool to be cut as per a conventional comb and cutter which should make the engineering challenge of automated/robotic wool harvesting less complex,” the proposal said.

AWI has begun a search for a device to use with biological wool harvesting.

“The next phase of this project is the selection and funding of proposals to develop manual/semi/fully automated wool bioharvesting technology to harvest the weakened wool.”

AWI is looking worldwide for solutions, and encourages universities, engineers, companies and even start ups to put forward solutions for what it calls “weakened wool harvesting”.

“This could be in the form of a handpiece for manual wool removal through to a more comprehensive automated system including removal but also all or part of the sheep and wool handling process,” the proposal said.

AWI chairman Jock Laurie said a robust alternative to traditional shearing that is practical, cost effective and efficient was needed.

Biological wool harvesting could see sheep shorn without shearers.

“Due to the competitive labour market and the continual upwards spiral of shearing costs,

the importance of providing options for wool growers about how they can harvest their wool

in the future is critical,” Mr Laurie said.

“That is why we are pursuing and investing in this exciting technology so heavily.”

A harvesting device is the next stage in the quest to find an alternative to traditional shearing, and follows the AWI-funded project with the University of Adelaide on biological wool harvesting which causes a weak spot but not a break in the staple.

Prior efforts had been able to establish a break but required nets and was not taken up widely.

The call for proposals opened on October 20 with submissions due by December 22 with the successful proposals released on January 30 next year.