about 60 sheep are needed to make a bale of wool.
about 60 sheep are needed to make a bale of wool.
how many sheep to make a bale of wool?
about 60
it takes about 60 skirted fleeces to fill a wool bale, depending on the size and age of the sheep. the presser closes the bale with four internal and five external metal bale fasteners, before weighing the bale, if the press does not have an inbuilt scale. bales should weigh between and , unless the wool is under 18.6 microns, in which case they may be a minimum gross weight of . bales that weigh less than are known as a butt and those over will not be sold at auction without repacking at the vendor’s expense. the maximum wool bale length is . overlong bales may create problems with over wide loads when trucking, in brokers' stores and in the jamming of dumping equipment. the presser is responsible for completing the wool book and then branding the bale head and face with the owner’s brand, contents description, number and wool classer id.
wool bale
domestic sheep provide a wide array of raw materials. wool was one of the first textiles, although in the late 20th century wool prices began to fall dramatically as the result of the popularity and cheap prices for synthetic fabrics. for many sheep owners, the cost of shearing is greater than the possible profit from the fleece, making subsisting on wool production alone practically impossible without farm subsidies. fleeces are used as material in making alternative products such as wool insulation. in the 21st century, the sale of meat is the most profitable enterprise in the sheep industry, even though far less sheep meat is consumed than chicken, pork or beef.
sheep