Wool

Jak Rice went to shearing school hoping to build a career in wool, but what started as a necessity quickly became a passion as he works to improve his daily tally.

Nicolas Hardy arrived in Australia at the peak of a shearer shortage and "went to the sheds" to back up the wool industry. Three years later, his employer wants to keep him but his visa options are running out.

Pub manager Linda Boylan said many of her "regular bar flies" hadn't seen a sheep being shorn up close before, and flocked to the pub where it was standing room only.

Tasmania's textile industry thrived soon after this iconic wool mill opened its doors in 1923. As the building's centenary is celebrated, former workers reflect on their time at Patons & Baldwins.

The thought of working and rejoining his shearing team kept Corey Bolt positive during treatment. Now, he's easing back into the physically demanding role.

Queensland carpenter Jason Porter is giving precious pieces of farming history new life — and new jobs — as glass-topped dining tables.

New Zealand is known for its jaw-dropping scenery, first-class food and wine, and sheep — lots of them. But their flock is now a third of what it was 40 years ago, and Aussies are stepping in with plenty of merino wool to sell.

Australian merino wool products could become more boutique and harder to source, if a forecast decline in Western Australia's sheep flock comes to fruition.

Post lockdown, people are not quitting knitting and Meaghan Williams meets their demand by selling homegrown, hand-dyed yarn straight from her farm in north-east Victoria.

Seven out of 10 wool classing trainees in Australia are now women — and 21-year-old Cally Spangler is one of them. It's a trend the industry is embracing as it looks to renew its ageing workforce.

Ageing farmers, tree changers, and fewer shearers drive the transition towards sheep that shed rather than needing to be shorn.

A joint training program by TAFE NSW and the education department is opening pathways for high school students to learn about hard work in the shearing sheds.

Do you like to know where the fibre in your clothes comes from before you buy? If so, you're not alone.

Wool from this shed in Tasmania's Central Highlands goes to clothing brands, demanding producers abide by strict animal welfare and land management conditions.

While most 26-year-old shearers are keen to clock up big tallies on the board each day, Lochie Robertson is taking a broader approach to the job.

The luxury fibre has fallen out of favour amid a global slowdown, with some producers choosing to dump lower-grade fleece instead of paying to store it.

Pastoralist George Scott has been watching how his neighbours fared with sheep and is now thinking about diversifying. A wool judge, meanwhile, has declared this season the best he's ever seen.

Western Australia's wool industry is worth $650 million, but growers say it will shrink rapidly if live exports are stopped.

The way sheep grazier warnings are issued has been reviewed due to what many farmers consider "over-forecasting" of the risk to their livestock.

An artificial intelligence tool is being launched to help Australian sheep farmers identify the best breeders in their flocks. 

Want to know which sheep mob your woollen clothes came from? Thanks to these new electronic sheep ear tags, you might soon be able to.

An excessively high number of tag losses has farmers concerned about the true cost of the sheep industry's looming electronic tagging deadline. 

A Victorian ram has reigned supreme at a Queensland sheep show as its owners plan more interstate honours.

At Australia's last remaining fully operational mill, Tassie sheep farmers Mandy and Carl Cooper had their sheep's fleece turned into beautiful family keepsakes.

Alpaca stud owner Erin Marsden says they have had one of their best breeding seasons on record.