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A Proven Breeding System

The SRS® breeding system developed by Dr Jim Watts in the 1980's has been successfully used to maximize fibre density and length in merino sheep. If an animal grows more fibres (density) and if those fibres are longer, then it will produce more weight of fleece. Greater weights improve the productivity. The higher density also reduces the fibre diameter of individual fibres.

More recently these techniques have been successfully used by angora goat breeders. Now the same methodology is being used by Australian alpaca breeders to improve fleece productivity.

The History & the Science of the SRS® Breeding System

In the 1970s and 80s, young CSIRO scientist Dr Jim Watts looked into how wool was formed in skin follicles. It was that work that led Dr Watts to conclude that the characteristics the sheep industry was selecting for were wrong. He noted that the "follicles", structures from which the wool fibres grow, varied significantly in diameter and arrangement between animals. In all animals, the follicles were clustered together in "follicle groups", the basic unit of fleece structure beyond the individual fibre, and these follicle groups were repeated throughout the skin of the animal. But just as the individual follicles varied between animals, so too did the follicle groups. Some sheep had many more follicles per follicle group, and others had follicle groups which were more closely packed together, which combined to produce what he described as "increased follicular density."

It had long been understood that there were two types of follicles. The primary follicle which is the first to appear in the skin during foetal development. In alpaca it currently produces a fibre that is generally coarser, grows longer, and is more brittle. In primitive fleece types, it produces a visibly longer and coarser fibre that we recognise as a "guard hair", which is an undesirable feature in woollen textiles. Called variously primary fibre, guard hair or kemp, it is typically a hollow, or "medullated", fibre. In every follicle group, there are three primary follicles.

The rest of the follicles in a follicle group are called secondary follicles, these produce fibres which appear slightly later in foetal development (hence the "halo" of long primaries surrounding the more numerous and shorter secondary fibres in the new-bom). These are smaller diameter fibres than the primaries, but more numerous. They are generally responsible for all the characteristics that are considered desirable in natural fibre, such as lustre, softness, ease of processing and dye uptake.

Dr Watts made two profound observations. He noted that follicular density (the number of follicles per square mm) varied widely between sheep. Furthermore, the ratio of secondary to primary follicles within a follicle group (the S/P ratio), also showed wide variation between sheep. That is to say, some sheep were producing many more fibres than others over the same area of skin, whilst others were producing many more of the desirable secondary fibres compared to the number of primaries.

More fibres in a given area of skin

In many instances, the sheep demonstrating these characteristics were one and the same! That is, they were producing more fibres in a given area of skin than other sheep, and the increased number of fibres was overwhelmingly in favour of the desirable secondary fibres.

Next, Dr Watts looked at the fleeces of those animals. He was able to identify several visual markers that could enable him to identify those sheep showing increased follicular density and increased S/P ratio.

Firstly, and most importantly, the fibres tended to be finer! So here was a potential to increase productivity by simultaneously increasing fleece quantity (number of fibres) and quality (low fibre diameter).

Secondly, they grew faster: at any stage of fleece growth, they were longer than those grown on animals without the same visual markers: more quantity.

Lastly, he also noted that the fibres were very highly aligned, and clustered together in thin bundles that were much smaller than the traditional clump, or "staple". Closer examination of the bundles showed that the wavy pattern we call "crimp" was much more exaggerated than that which had been traditionally sought after for fine wool, a feature which Jim describes as being both a "bolder" and "deeper" crimp.

Bold and deep crimp

Fibres crimp at more or less regular time intervals. Consequently wools with high crimp frequency (fine crimping) consist of slow growing fibres that produce short fleeces. On the other hand low crimp frequency wools with high amplitude (deep, bold crimp) are fast growing fibres that produce long fleeces. Which shows that high frequency crimp equals poor fibre growth rate and it is also know that it has little to do with the micron of the fibre.

Accelerated Genetic Gain, the Principal Benefit

It is expected that subscribers will more than recoup their costs through genetic gain in commercial traits, sales and services made through SRS® promotion, education and training, and discounts on stud services.

Integral to the concept of accelerated genetic improvement is that of developing an identifiably unique alpaca that has been specifically bred to meet the highest standards in commercial fleece and conformational traits, an alpaca that will ultimately benchmark international standards, and will be sought after as seedstock by other breeders around the world. SRS® is a system that identifies and produces those commercial fleece traits that the marketplace is seeking: fineness, handle, lustre, length and style, and delivers these traits with higher fleece weights. Participation in the AGE is very strongly encouraged to validate those claims.

When SRS® procedures and protocols are firmly established in the Australian alpaca industry, SRSAI will offer those same services to other alpaca breeding nations, who are just now demonstrating early interest in SRS® and awakening to the imperatives of producing alpacas with better commercial fleece traits. When that eventuates, new seedstock markets will exist for subscribers of SRSAI to market their alpacas offshore, ensuring increased income from both fleece and animals sales.

The future is looking lustrous for those breeders bold enough to lead the way.

We welcome new subscribers.

An application form is available on this website.