Fabulous Fibre: reducing micron count of finer wool quality UK sheep breeds to increase productivity, sustainability and resilience in the wool industry.

langish Farmers**热衷于提高羊毛的质量和价值，将与行业主要参与者国家绵羊协会、英国羊毛、欧洲羊毛检测局（WTAE）和牲畜卓越创新中心（CIEL）合作，在英国罗姆尼羊群的单个羊的水平上对羊毛质量进行基准测试。关注羊毛纤维直径方面的质量将增加商业农场主的回报。通过验证农场羊毛测试设备，并建立通过基准测试、选择和育种提高羊毛质量的指导方针，“神奇纤维”项目旨在帮助朗格里什农民证明，通过使用羊毛作为一种天然可再生纤维（合成纤维的替代品），提高商业弹性，提高生产力，并有可能使养羊业多样化，回到多功能的本质，从而实现“净零”的目标。这将改变目前农民将羊毛视为废物的态度。对于该行业而言，该产品旨在使英国羊毛行业更具弹性，并减少羊毛行业对进口的依赖。羊毛的质量是通过将羊毛纤维检测到微米值来衡量的。微米值越低，质量越高，返回值越大。目前还没有能够实时检测单个羊毛的农场技术。该项目将与一个大型罗姆尼羊群一起工作，以验证一个手持便携式设备，该设备可以更好地控制通过WTAE发送的羊毛测试（和验证）。罗姆尼羊之所以被选中，是因为它们的平均微米水平徘徊在溢价门槛附近。从羊群中采集的测量数据将用于在个体水平上识别高质量的羊毛动物，并为今后几年的选择和育种计划提供支持，羊毛质量是重点。此外，2024年由羊毛质量评估母羊出生的羔羊将进行羊毛测试，以表明羊毛质量的遗传性。它还将使langish农民能够在随后的繁殖季节选择构象、胴体性状和羊毛质量方面的育种替代品，识别和限制性状之间的任何折衷。该项目还将提高对农场羊毛检测的理解和价值，并展示提高整个行业羊毛价值的简单步骤。此外，它将为任何羊场提供实践经验和机会，以提高羊毛的质量和价值。

**Langrish Farmers**, passionate about improving the quality and value of wool, will work with key industry players National Sheep Association, British Wool, Wool Testing Authority Europe (WTAE) and Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL), to benchmark wool quality at an individual sheep level in an English Romney sheep flock. An attention to wool quality in terms of fibre diameter will look to increase returns to commercial farmers.By validating an on-farm wool testing device and building guidelines on improving wool quality through benchmarking, selection and breeding, the **Fabulous Fibre** project aims to help Langrish Farmers demonstrate the ability to **progress towards net zero** by using wool as a natural renewable fibre that is an alternative to synthetics**, increasing business resilience, improving productivity** and potentially **diversifying** sheep farming back to its multifunctional nature. This would change current farmer attitude towards wool as a waste product. For the industry, the product aims to make the UK wool sector more **resilient** and reduce reliance on imports in the wool industry.Wool quality is measured by testing the wool fibre to a micron value. The lower the micron value the higher the quality and the greater the return value. There is currently no on-farm technology capable of testing individual fleeces with real-time results. This project will work with one large Romney flock, to validate a handheld, portable device allowing greater control of fleeces sent for testing (and validation) through WTAE. Romney sheep have been selected due to their average micron levels hovering around the premium threshold.Measurements taken from the flock will be used to identify high-quality wool animals at an individual level and enable selection and breeding programmes for subsequent years, with wool quality a key focus. In addition, the lambs born in 2024 from the wool quality assessed ewes will have their fleeces tested, giving an indication of the heritability of wool quality. It will also enable Langrish Farmers to select breeding replacements both on conformation, carcase traits and wool quality for subsequent breeding seasons, identifying and limiting any trade-offs between traits.The project will also improve the understanding and value of wool testing on farm and demonstrate easy steps to improve wool values across the sector. In addition, it will provide practical lessons and opportunities for any sheep farm to improve wool quality and value.