Autumn Newsletter 2026
Welcome to AWI Extension WA’s Autumn Newsletter for 2026 - supporting Western Australian woolgrowers to make smarter, more timely and profitable decisions.
Welcome to AWI Extension WA’s Autumn Newsletter for 2026. This newsletter is packed with the latest resources and information to help WA woolgrowers.
In this newsletter, we cover:
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Smart Wool: Turning Tech Into Profit for WA Woolgrowers - Want to get more from tech without wasting money or time? This article shares how woolgrowers can turn tech into real profit—starting with the basics like pregnancy scanning and condition scoring. From capturing EID data at marking to applying the 80/20 rule on tech investments, it’s packed with practical, low-cost strategies to lift productivity.
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Improving Lamb Survival: Practical Steps from Birth to Marking - Most lamb losses occur in the first 48 hours—but small management decisions can make a big difference. This article outlines the key drivers of lamb survival, from ewe condition and scanning to mob size and shelter, and shows how to stack the gains—no single lever is a silver bullet—to get more lambs through to marking.
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Maximising Your Clip’s Value: Understanding Wool Prices and Managing Risk - This article explores how WA woolgrowers can maximise returns by aligning their clip with modern market demand—covering the 40–70mm staple-length "sweet spot," the impact of staple strength and effective contamination control. It provides practical steps to move beyond production risk by using tools like forward contracts and price hedging, helping you protect your margins and make informed, data-driven selling decisions in a volatile global market.
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Maximising Your Clip’s Value: Understanding Wool Prices and Managing Risk - This article explores how WA woolgrowers can maximise returns by aligning their clip with modern market demand—covering the 40–70mm staple-length "sweet spot," the impact of staple strength and effective contamination control. It provides practical steps to move beyond production risk by using tools like forward contracts and price hedging, helping you protect your margins and make informed, data-driven selling decisions in a volatile global market.
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Smarter Shearing: How WA Woolgrowers Can Improve Productivity, Welfare and Shed Culture - This article covers how WA woolgrowers can achieve a more productive and safer shearing—covering shed preparation, sheep handling, effective communication and ways to support contractors facing low sheep numbers, with practical steps you can take now to get ready for your next shearing and keep good shearers in your region.
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Wool trivia challenge - Test your knowledge with a quick 10-question trivia challenge. Wool ewe take the challenge?
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AWI Extension WA Deep Dive Series - Have you tuned in yet to the new AWI Extension WA Deep Dive Series? Read on to see what we’ve covered so far—and catch up on the episodes you might have missed.
We've also provided a bunch of additional resources and information to help throughout the articles in this newsletter.
Scroll down to the end to check it all out!
As always, please get in touch with Georgia with any comments, suggestions, feedback or requests for workshops in your region, visit contact us.
Wool trivia challenge!
Test your knowledge with a quick 10-question trivia challenge.
Wool ewe take the challenge?
Click on the following link to access the quiz and view the answers > https://tinyurl.com/ycxtnjfa
Submit your answers, then click on "View accuracy" to see how you went.
AWI Extension WA Deep Dive Series
Have you tuned in yet to the new AWI Extension WA Deep Dive Series?
These sharp, 30-minute episodes cut through the noise to unpack the topics that matter most to WA woolgrowers—delivering practical insights you can apply on-farm. Whether you prefer to watch or listen on YouTube, it’s an easy way to stay informed in your own time without taking up your whole day.
Here is what we've covered so far in the Deep Dive Series:
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Episode 1 – Smart Wool: Turning Tech into Profit: Featuring Mark Ferguson, neXtgen Agri. Watch this episode to discover how data and technology can help WA woolgrowers add value to their clip and their business. From new tools to smarter workflows, this episode shows practical ways to lift productivity and profitability.
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👉 Watch/listen here: https://tinyurl.com/4ebp7uxh
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Episode 2 – Containment Feeding, Made Simple: With the Autumn feed gap and seasonal challenges front of mind, this episode breaks down the technical considerations for setting up a successful containment area. Plus, Simon Fowler from Chilwell Farms breaks down how containment feeding works and why it’s a powerful tool for managing stock condition and feed efficiency on his property.
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👉 Watch/listen here: https://tinyurl.com/2j6t4axp
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Episode 3 – Building Drought Resilience: Tanya Kilminster from the South‑West WA Drought Hub joins us to explore strategies for building enterprise resilience, preparing for dry spells and setting your business up for long‑term success under variable conditions.
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👉 Watch/listen here: https://tinyurl.com/m9t4y8zb
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Episode 4 – Smarter Shearing: In this episode, Darren Spencer, President of the WA Shearing Industry Association Inc (WASIA), delves into better shearing practices and techniques — helping woolgrowers improve their people, productivity and welfare from shearing.
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👉 Watch/listen here: https://tinyurl.com/mu249d33
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Click on the links above for each episode or scan the QR code to check out all of the Deep Dive series episodes. You can also access the series here: https://tinyurl.com/4jkchums.
Stay tuned to our social media for more episode releases!
Other AWI Extension WA Initiatives
Make sure you stay tuned via our social media platforms to keep up to date with the latest research and advice.
If you haven't already, make sure you catch up on our webinars held during 2025.
You can watch full replays on YouTube by clicking on the following links:
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Making Money Out of Wool Webinar - https://youtu.be/3HZV8rKdHtY?si=DhAHBo6lKjaGn0Cl
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Using EID for profit and productivity Webinar - https://buff.ly/sa6nJEM
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Making cent$ of carbon and emissions on-farm Webinar - https://buff.ly/bPmksM9
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Water-smart management strategies Webinar - https://buff.ly/3yRYxbt
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Making Sense of ASBVs & Selection Indexes Webinar - https://buff.ly/FCS8LHu
Newsletter Articles Autumn 2026
We’ve carefully crafted four articles for your perusal to support you through the next few months and set you up for future success.
Smart Wool: Turning Tech Into Profit for WA Woolgrowers
Want to get more from tech without wasting money or time? This article shares how woolgrowers can turn tech into real profit—starting with the basics like pregnancy scanning and condition scoring. From capturing EID data at marking to applying the 80/20 rule on tech investments, it’s packed with practical, low-cost strategies to lift productivity.
Improving Lamb Survival: Practical Steps from Birth to Marking
Most lamb losses occur in the first 48 hours—but small management decisions can make a big difference. This article outlines the key drivers of lamb survival, from ewe condition and scanning to mob size and shelter, and shows how to stack the gains—no single lever is a silver bullet—to get more lambs through to marking.
Maximising Your Clip’s Value: Understanding Wool Prices and Managing Risk
This article explores how WA woolgrowers can maximise returns by aligning their clip with modern market demand—covering the 40–70mm staple-length "sweet spot," the impact of staple strength and effective contamination control. It provides practical steps to move beyond production risk by using tools like forward contracts and price hedging, helping you protect your margins and make informed, data-driven selling decisions in a volatile global market.
Smarter Shearing: How WA Woolgrowers Can Improve Productivity, Welfare and Shed Culture
This article covers how WA woolgrowers can achieve a more productive and safer shearing—covering shed preparation, sheep handling, effective communication and ways to support contractors facing low sheep numbers, with practical steps you can take now to get ready for your next shearing and keep good shearers in your region.
