| 61 MEAT & WOOL » Glen Leith Focusing on wool whiteness and brightness Janine Smith with sister, Margo Hall, holding the Supreme Ewe and Ram at the Central Otago Show 2025. Hugh de Lacy Romney wool that is whiter and softer to touch, and incidentally fine for the breed, is the goal of Glen Leith farm stud-breeder Janine Smith. “I truly believe that the market for good quality Romney wool is not just about microns but about reducing or eliminating the coarse edge of the fibre, and focusing on whiteness and brightness,” Janine says. “My stud rams are tested three times, as lambs, as hoggets and just before sale, with the focus on the length of the fibre for the animal’s age, curvature, coarse edge, medullation and, finally, micron. “We don’t want wool that feels scratchy against the skin but are seeking that true rounder fibre that signals softer wool. “These are all aspects of the Romney fibre that have been neglected over the years in the face of poor wool prices, but I’m certain that’s going to change and those values will come back to Romney breeding.” Glen Leith is near Patearoa on the Maniototo Plain in Central Otago, and Janine and her partner Simon Norwick took it over from her father, Ian Smith, in 2016 after Janine, who has a nursing background, returned home from 26 years living in Greece. Ian started the Glen Leith Romney Stud in 1964, introducing Australian blood in 2013 to make the wool finer, and today the farm carries a total of 800 sheep, including the 180-ewe Romney stud and an unregistered Dorset Down stud of 160 ewes, backed up by a herd of 30 mostly Hereford breeding cows. “Our stud programme benefits from having my sister, Margo Hall, farming next door, and she and I do all the handling, selecting, recording and showing of the studs together,” Janine says. Fibre diameter has been a major measure of Ian’s, and now Janine’s success with the Romney stud, though it’s a collateral benefit brought about by the more important breeding focus on whiteness, softness and brightness, without compromising growth and carcass weight. The ewes produce wool under 34 microns, while the finest of the lambs’ wool is as low as 26 and an average of 29 microns. That brings the lambs’ wool into the stronger market for apparel wool, rather than being consigned with the ewe clip to carpet production. Janine has Don Morrison of the Christchurchbased firm Pastoral Measurements doing the testing of all her Romneys, and she’s some major successes exhibiting her stock at the shows, most notably winning the Supreme Champion title twice in a row at the New Zealand Agricultural Show in Christchurch. The recent decision by the National-led coalition government to insist on wool carpets for 41 Leask Street, Main Road, Omakau PHONE US TODAY (03) 447 3838 OR EMAIL office@hickeywool.co.nz W.S Hickey & Son is proud to support Glen Leith’s farming operations Locally owned & operated family business for 72 years South Street, Ashburton PHONE (03) 308-3147 Email o ce@blacklows.co.nz Your one stop engineering & supplies shop. Zone Ashburton Trade government buildings and schools is likely to have a positive effect on the demand for Romney wool, and while it could be a spur for higher prices, Janine believes its greater effect will be to have farmers take greater care with their fleece preparation before selling. “The biggest benefit from the government’s move will be to get people talking about wool again,” she says.
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