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McGregor, B. A. and Butler, K. L. 2015, Indices for the identification of biologically productive cashmere goats within farms, Small ruminant research, vol. 129, pp. 11-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2015.05.013 This is the accepted version. ©2015, Elsevier This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 Licence. Available from Deakin Research Online: http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30076278
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Page 1: This is the accepted version.dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30076278/mcgregor... · 60 length (SL), fibre curvature (FC) and the colour of the cashmere (Watkins and Buxton, 1992; 61 Dalton

McGregor, B. A. and Butler, K. L. 2015, Indices for the identification of biologically productive cashmere goats within farms, Small ruminant research, vol. 129, pp. 11-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2015.05.013 This is the accepted version. ©2015, Elsevier

This manuscript version is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivatives 4.0 Licence. Available from Deakin Research Online: http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30076278

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Indices for the identification of biologically productive cashmere goats within farms 5

6

B.A. McGREGORa,* and K.L. BUTLERb 7

8

a Australian Future Fibres Research & Innovation Centre, Institute for Frontier Materials, 9

Deakin University, Geelong 3220, VIC, Australia. 10

b Biometrics Unit, Agriculture Research, Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 11

Hamilton, 3300, VIC, Australia 12

13

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 3 52 273 358. 14

E-mail address: [email protected] (B.A. McGregor). 15

16

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Short title: Effective clean cashmere weight 18

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Abstract 23

Objectively comparing cashmere goats with different cashmere production, mean fibre 24

diameter (MFD) and staple length (SL) is difficult for farmers. We aimed to develop indices 25

to enable cashmere producers to identify productive goats within their own farms once 26

adjustments had been made for the primary determinants of cashmere production. That is we 27

aimed to develop indices that identify goats and herds that biologically have a high fleece 28

weight in relation to MFD and SL. We used a sample of 1244 commercial cashmere fleeces 29

from goats originating from many Australian farms based in different environmental zones 30

and a previously developed general linear model that related the logarithm of clean cashmere 31

production (CCMwt) and any other potential determinant. In the present study, sub-models 32

were investigated in order to develop new indices for comparing goats in the same farm, 33

based on fleece characteristics and biological efficiency. New Index (MFD), equal to 34

MFD1.1531

CCMwt02.6 , was developed to identify animals of biologically high CCMwt in relation to 35

their MFD. Unlike previously reported results that MFD is not a useful measurement for 36

comparing the biological efficiency of cashmere goats across farms, the New Index (MFD) 37

allows comparison of the biological efficiency of cashmere goats within farms. New Index 38

(SL), equal toSL1.1414

CCMwt70.2 , was developed to identify animals of biologically high 39

CCMwt in relation to their SL. New Index (SL) is very similar to the Clean Cashmere Staple 40

Length Index (CCSLI) that had been previously reported for comparison of cashmere goats 41

across farms, and thus the CCSLI can be usefully used for comparing the biological 42

efficiency of cashmere goats both across and within farms. New Index (MFD, SL) = 43

2/SLMFD1.243

CCMwt90.8

was developed to identify animals of biologically high CCMwt in 44

relation to both their MFD and SL within farms, and provides useful information above using 45

either New Index (MFD) or CCSLI. The indices can be presented in the same measurement 46

units as fleece weight, which is a biological concept easily understood by cashmere 47

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producers, and enable comparisons to be made between animals using just one attribute, clean 48

cashmere weight. 49

50

Keywords: Cashmere; Evaluation; Farm; Fibre diameter; Productivity; Staple length 51

52

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1. Introduction 54

55

The mean fibre diameter (MFD) is the primary determinant of the price of cashmere as it 56

affects the processing route, processing efficiency and the ultimate use and quality attributes 57

of cashmere textiles (Hunter, 1993; Schneider, 2014a). Other attributes are also important in 58

affecting the price, processing, softness and quality of cashmere textiles including staple 59

length (SL), fibre curvature (FC) and the colour of the cashmere (Watkins and Buxton, 1992; 60

Dalton and Franck, 2001; McGregor 2000, 2014; McGregor and Butler, 2008a; McGregor 61

and Postle, 2008, 2009). 62

The importance of MFD in affecting market demand for cashmere has led to a range of 63

genetic studies on the inheritance of MFD and genetic improvement programs to reduce MFD 64

in cashmere producing goats (Pattie and Restall, 1989; Bigham et al., 1993; Zhou et al., 2002; 65

Tseveenjav et al., 2004; Younesi et al., 2008; Allain and Renieri, 2010; Wang et al., 2013). 66

These developments have also led farmers to use the MFD of their cashmere to compare their 67

goats both within and between farms. In Australia, cashmere farmers have compared the 68

productivity of individual cashmere fleeces and stud breeding using the Patrick Index 69

(Anonymous, 1989, 1990; Graham and Bell, 1990). The Patrick Index (PI = 4277.335 70

[cashmere weight (g) / (MFD)3.3] was designed as a biological index that balanced the amount 71

of fleece with the MFD of fleece. Two fleeces with the same PI should be equally difficult to 72

produce. The PI is standardised to a MFD of 12.6 μm which it means that, at 12.6 μm, the PI 73

equals the weight of clean cashmere. 74

In Australian, cashmere goats have been farmed in the western, southern and eastern 75

regions of the continent. The determinants of cashmere production of commercially farmed 76

Australian goats have been recently quantified (McGregor and Butler, 2008b,c) and research 77

shows that cashmere production had not increased during the previous 25 years. The lack of 78

improvement may be a consequence of the slow rate of progress predicted from selection 79

studies, the cost of testing cashmere fleeces, or a lack of producer skills in undertaking the 80

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genetic evaluation of animals. For example, when the generation interval was fixed at 4 years, 81

Pattie and Restall (1984) predicted responses of 4 g of cashmere per year in the best system 82

using a selection index maintaining MFD, and 12 g per year if MFD was allowed to increase 83

1.1 µm per generation. In such cases cashmere production should have increased by about 84

100 g over the intervening 25 years, but such progress was not evident. 85

McGregor and Butler (2008c) developed a relationship between clean cashmere 86

production and other fleece characteristics using fleeces sourced from 11 Australian farms 87

and showed that cashmere weight is related to a range of fleece measurements and to animal 88

growth measurements. Further, once these fleece and growth measurements are taken into 89

account there are no longer any age or sex cohort effects observable (McGregor and Butler, 90

2008b) thus indicating fleece characteristics and animal growth are primary determinants of 91

cashmere production. Subsequently it has been shown that cashmere SL is important for 92

comparisons between farms not the MFD of the cashmere. The use of a Clean Cashmere SL 93

Index provided a more robust comparison of cashmere productivity between farms as it is an 94

indirect indicator of desirable skin secondary follicle development (Butler and McGregor, 95

2014). 96

Australian cashmere growers have been unable to increase cashmere production when 97

there are a multiple of ‘competing’ biological attributes to evaluate. How can farmers 98

compare goats within their herds which display large variation in productivity, MFD and SL 99

(e.g. goat producing 130 g of 14 µm versus 250 g of 17.5 µm cashmere)? We aimed to 100

develop indices to enable cashmere producers to identify biologically productive cashmere 101

goats within their own farm herds once adjustments had been made for the primary 102

determinants of cashmere production. The resulting statistical models were used to develop 103

new indices for effective clean cashmere weight, and to compare these indices with PI, and 104

indices that have been developed for comparing cashmere goats between farms (Butler and 105

McGregor 2014). The use of one term, effective clean cashmere weight, would allow farmers 106

to focus genetic selection upon one parameter, rather than a diversity of parameters such as 107

greasy cashmere weight, cashmere yield, MFD and SL, which may result in less selection 108

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differential for each parameter and possibly less improvement in the selection of productive 109

goats (Turner and Young 1969). 110

111

2. Materials and methods 112

113

2.1. Data 114

115

Fleece and live weight data were analysed from commercially managed cashmere goats 116

from 11 farms in 4 States of Australia (Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and 117

Queensland). Full details are provided elsewhere (McGregor and Butler, 2008c). At shearing, 118

greasy fleece weight (g) was measured and fleeces were sampled. Cashmere fibre SL (cm) 119

was measured to the nearest 0.5 cm. Fleece samples were sent to a commercial fibre-testing 120

laboratory and measurements recorded for clean washing yield (CWY; %, w/w), MFD (µm), 121

fibre diameter standard deviation (FDSD; µm), fibre curvature (FC; /mm) and fibre 122

curvature standard deviation (FCSD; /mm). Clean cashmere yield (%, w/w) was determined 123

as: clean washing yield Optical Fibre Diameter Analyser (OFDA100) cashmere yield 124

(determined using fibre diameter profiles (Peterson and Gheradi, 1996)). Clean cashmere 125

production (g) was determined as: CCMwt = greasy fleece weight clean cashmere yield. 126

Live body weight (LW; kg) was measured and LW change (LWC; kg) was determined as the 127

difference between the Initial LW (taken in January; kg) and the final LW in June. 128

129

2.2. Statistical analysis 130

131

McGregor and Butler (2008c) developed a general linear model with normal errors to 132

determine the relationship between the logarithm of clean cashmere production and any other 133

potential determinant. The form of this model was: 134

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log10(CCMwt) = α+ β1MFD + β2FDSD + β3FC + β4FCSD + β5SL + β6CWY + 135

β7LWC + β8InitialLW + β9(FDSD×FC) (1) 136

where the parameters α, β1, β2, β3, β4, β5, β6 and β7 differed between farms, the parameters β8 137

and β9 were the same for all farms, and α, β3, and β4 also differed for 2-year-old goats on farm 138

7. According to McGregor and Butler (2008c), this model accounted for 67.6 % of the 139

variation of log10(CCMwt). Least squares models that, included α differing with farm, α, β3 140

and β4 differing with 2-year-old goats on farm 7 and either (i) prescribed subsets of the other 141

‘β’parameters in model (1) but not allowing those parameters to differ with farm, or (ii) 142

prescribed subsets of the ‘β’ parameters in model (1) but allowing those parameters to differ 143

with farm if they differed with farm in model (1) were fitted and compared using percentage 144

variance accounted for (Payne, 2012). Models in option (i) can be described as having an 145

additive effect of farm, while models in option (ii) can be described as having different 146

responses for each farm. All these models are calculated with the separate terms for 2 year 147

old goats from Farm 7 being a priori included in the models because they are considered to 148

be an anomalous group of animals (n=25) (McGregor and Butler, 2008c). They have been 149

included in the analysis to improve the precision of the estimates of residual variance. 150

Percentage variance accounted for were calculated compared to both a null model (the 151

standard calculation) as well as compared to a model that had only a farm effect. The second 152

of these calculations is appropriate for evaluating the contribution of effects within farms. 153

These models were used to develop and examine biological indices (effective clean 154

cashmere weight indices) that balance the amount of fleece with the quality of fleece. For 155

MFD we used the same standard MFD (MFDS) as the PI, namely 12.6 μm (noting that the 156

standard MFD is defined as the MFD when the PI equals CCMwt). Thus indices were 157

developed so that at 12.6 μm, PI = effective clean cashmere weight indices = CCMwt. In 158

developing indices we used the typical SL of 7.5 cm for low MFD cashmere (12.6 μm; 159

McGregor and Butler, 2008b,c) as the standard for SL (SLS). 160

161

3. Results 162

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163

3.1. General results 164

165

Irrespective of whether farm is included as an additive effect or whether there is a separate 166

response for each farm the most important measurements for maximising the variance 167

accounted for were MFD and SL (Table 1). Models involving MFD and SL that restrict the 168

farm effect to being additive, are not much worse than those models that allow separate MFD 169

and SL coefficients for each farm. That is, if MFD and/or SL are measured, there is little 170

benefit in having the responses of CCMwt to MFD and SL calibrated separately for each farm 171

(Table 1). It turns out that all these models also have additive terms for MFD and/or SL. 172

173

(Table 1 near here) 174

3.2. Indices for comparing goats within farms 175

176

The relative costs of measuring MFD and SL will differ depending on situation. In a 177

developed economy, measuring SL can be relatively expensive because of the labour 178

involved in measurement. MFD requires either laboratory measurement or field equipment, 179

which may involve prohibitive costs to many farmers in developing countries. We have thus 180

chosen to develop indices that are derived from (i) an additive model involving only farms 181

and MFD, (ii) an additive model involving only farms and SL, and (iii) an additive model 182

involving farms, MFD and SL. 183

184

3.2.1 MFD index 185

The least squares additive model involving only farms and MFD is: 186

log10(CCMwt) = α + 0.06187 (MFD – MFDS); (2) 187

where the intercept α differs with farm. 188

Since MFDS = 12.6, this implies that 6.1206187.01010 MFDCCMWt . 189

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Thus within any farm, CCMwt is proportional to: 190

6.121531.16.1206187.010 MFDMFD 191

Noting that this constant of proportionality is 1 at the standard MFD, it is appropriate to 192

adjust clean cashmere weight for MFD by a factor 193

MFD

MFD1531.1

02.66.121531.11 194

Thus, the New Index (MFD) = MFD1.1531

CCMwt02.6 (3) 195

196

3.2.2 SL index 197

The least squares additive model involving only Farms and SL can be written as: 198

log10(CCMwt) = α + 0.05742 (SL – SLS); 199

where the intercept α differs with farm. 200

Thus within any farm, CCMwt is proportional to: 201

5.71414.15.705742.010 SLSL . 202

Noting that this constant of proportionality is 1 at the standard SL, it is appropriate to 203

adjust clean cashmere weight for SL by a factor SL

SL1414.1

70.21 5.71414.1 . 204

Thus, the New Index (SL) = SL1.1414

CCMwt70.2 (4) 205

206

3.2.3 MFD and SL combined index 207

The least squares additive model involving only Farms, MFD and SL can be written as: 208

log10(CCMwt) = α + 0.04848 (MFD – MFDS)+ 0.04453 ( SL – SLS); (5) 209

where the intercept α differs with farm. 210

Thus within any farm, CCMwt is proportional to: 211

5.71080.16.121181.15.704453.06.1204848.010 SLMFDSLMFD212 SLMFD 115.1 . 213

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Noting that this constant of proportionality is 1 at the standard SL and MFD, it is appropriate 214

to adjust CCMwt for MFD and SL by a factor 215

2/243.1

90.81 )5.7(6.12115.1

SLMFD

SLMFD

. 216

Thus, the New Index (MFD, SL) = 2/SLMFD1.243

CCMwt90.8

(6) 217

218

3.3. A comparison of New Index (MFD) and Patrick’s Index (PI) 219

220

The New Index (MFD) = MFD1.1531

CCMwt02.6 , and PI =

3.3MFD

CCMwt 335.4277 . At a fixed 221

MFD, both these indices are proportional to CCMwt. Also, both indices equal CCMwt at a 222

MFD of 12.6 μm. Thus it is sensible to graph both CCMwt

(MFD)Index New and 223

CCMwt

Index sPatrick' against MFD, so as to compare their sensitivity to MFD. The relationship 224

between the New Index (MFD), the PI and CCMwt are shown in Fig.1. 225

Clearly, while the New Index (MFD) is sensitive to MFD, it is considerably less so than 226

PI. Fig. 1 shows the correction factor used to convert CCMwt to effective clean cashmere 227

production at a range of fibre diameters. Therefore, with the New Index (MFD), for each 100 228

g of cashmere production at 12.6 m, cashmere production must be equal to 140 g at 15.0 m 229

(100/0.71 ≈140), 160 g at 16 µm (100/0.62 ≈ 160) and 200 g at 17.5 m (100/0.50 ≈ 200). In 230

comparison, the corresponding values with the PI are 180 g at 15.0 m (100/0.56 ≈180), 220 231

g at 16 µm (100/0.45 ≈ 220) and 300 g at 17.5 m (100/0.34 ≈ 300). 232

233

3.4. A comparison of New Index (SL) and Clean Cashmere Staple Length Index. 234

235

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The New Index (SL) = SL1.1414

CCMwt70.2 , and is for use within farms. McGregor and 236

Butler (2014) defined the Clean Cashmere Staple Length Index (CCSLI) for use between 237

farms, as CCSLI = SL1.1484

CCMwt 823.2 . 238

At a fixed SL, both these indices are proportional to CCMwt. Also, both indices equal 239

CCMwt at a SL of 7.5 cm. Thus it is sensible to graph both CCMwt

(SL)Index New and

CCMwt

CCSLI 240

against SL, so as to compare their sensitivity to SL. The relationship between the New Index 241

(SL), the Clean Cashmere Staple Length Index and CCMwt are shown in Fig. 2. Clearly, the 242

New Index (SL) and CCLSI are almost identical. 243

244

4. Discussion 245

246

New indices have been formulated to enable the biological comparison of animals within 247

farms using the main economic parameters, namely cashmere weight, MFD and SL. The 248

indices can thus be considered as an ‘effective clean cashmere weight’ that enables the 249

relative performance of animals, of different ages and sexes to be compared. These indices 250

appear to have four advantages. 251

1. The indices relate to biology rather than market prices and thus are stable over time. For 252

many cashmere attributes, market price discounts and premium are not available for cashmere 253

attributes evaluated by farmers, such as cashmere yield and cashmere SL and so these 254

cashmere attributes cannot be used in economic indices to compare cashmere goats. 255

2. The indices can be presented in the same measurement units as fleece weight, which is a 256

biological concept easily understood by cashmere producers. 257

3. The indices enable comparisons to be made between animals using just one attribute, clean 258

cashmere weight and so may enable selection between animals to be more effective; and 259

4. The indices are simple to determine and apply with computer managed spreadsheets. 260

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The New Index (SL) developed to compare animals within farms is almost identical to the 261

CCSLI which was developed to compare animals across farms. This implies that a single 262

index based on SL is applicable to both between and within farms. 263

The percent of variation accounted for by MFD within farms (23%) is almost identical to 264

the percent of variation accounted for by SL within farms (22%). This indicates that New 265

Indices based on MFD and SL are almost equally effective for evaluating the biological 266

efficiency of animals within a flock. This indicates that where testing for MFD is either not 267

available or is too expensive, that farmers can measure SL and obtain similar results. 268

However, Butler and McGregor (2014) found that MFD was very poorly related to CCMwt 269

across farms (MFD accounted for 2% of the variation of CCMwt), and consequently MFD 270

cannot be used to assess biological efficiency of animals when comparing animals across 271

farms. 272

Within a flock, combining MFD and SL together explains much more of the within flock 273

variability (35%) than either MFD (23%) or SL (22%). Thus New Index (MFD, SL) can use 274

MFD and SL together to provide considerable more information about biological efficiency 275

of animals, than can be obtained from measuring MFD or SL alone. There appears to be 276

considerable advantage in assembling the resources to measure both MFD and SL when 277

evaluating animals within a farm. 278

In contrast, the extra effects of measuring FDSD, FC, FCSD, CWY appear to be minor 279

(Table 1). The results also suggest this is true for live weight measurements. However, some 280

caution is needed with this conclusion for live weight measurements because the live weight 281

measurements may be related to the amount of feed consumed, to reproductive performance 282

and the financial return from meat production and these direct contributors to productivity are 283

not part of the present analysis. 284

Indices based on biological productivity might not be the same as traditional selection 285

indices based on historic price differentials for MFD and SL. A difficulty of traditional 286

selection indices is that premiums for MFD and SL may not be stable over time. In fact, MFD 287

and SL premiums over the long-term might be endogenous to biological productivity, in that 288

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market forces might lead to premiums for MFD that maintain a similar total fleece value for 289

all cashmere goats with the same biological productivity. This appears to be the case with 290

Merino wool over the past decade where production of finer wool has dampened the relative 291

premium for finer wool (Schneider, 2014b). Of course this endogenicity is limited by the 292

existence or creation of markets for premium cashmere textiles at all fibre diameters. In other 293

words, the price discount curve for animal fibres will reflect the scarcity of the product, and 294

in the long-term a competitive market will ensure that scarcity is related to the biological 295

resources needed in producing the cashmere. 296

At a fixed MFD, the ratio of the New Index (MFD) to clean cashmere weight is different 297

to the ratio of the PI to clean cashmere weight (Fig. 2). The PI was determined on the fleeces 298

submitted to the National Fleece Competition during the early years of the Australian 299

cashmere industry. It can be expected that the fleeces submitted were more productive than 300

the population mean, as it would be expected that producers would choose fleeces to win a 301

particular competition. Consequently there is no way of knowing what biases exist in the 302

sample used to determine the PI. The PI also has the disadvantage that there is no adjustment 303

for attributes other than MFD. 304

The present results suggest that the PI appears to discriminate against coarser fleeces 305

compared with finer fleeces. A consequence of this discrimination would be the likelihood 306

that farmers would place more emphasis on finer MFD, compared with the production of 307

clean cashmere, than is warranted by biological efficiency as determined by the New Index 308

(MFD). If this scenario has played out over the past decades it may help explain why there 309

has been little progress in improving clean cashmere fleece weights over this period 310

(McGregor and Butler 2008b). 311

Of course equivalence in the biological production of cashmere is not the same as 312

economic equivalence and so in any breeding program economic indices would be preferable 313

if they were to exist. Unfortunately there are no detailed marketing data to enable economic 314

indices for cashmere length, cashmere yield and other parameters of importance. 315

316

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5. Conclusions 317

318

Effective clean cashmere production indices provide cashmere farmers with the ability to 319

make biological comparisons that are adjusted for the main determinants of cashmere growth, 320

rather than using subjective methods of identifying more productive goats. The results 321

suggest that a single index based on SL is applicable to both between and within farms 322

identification of more productive cashmere goats. There appears to be considerable advantage 323

in assembling the resources to measure both MFD and SL when identifying animals that 324

efficiently produce clean cashmere within the same farm. 325

326

Conflict of interest statement 327

328

None of the authors has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organisations 329

that could inappropriately influence or bias this paper. 330

331

Acknowledgments 332

333

BAM was employed with the Department of Primary Industries, Attwood, Victoria, 334

during field work. Cashmere producers who participated in this project and the Australian 335

Cashmere Growers Association are thanked. The Rural Industries Research and Development 336

Corporation partly funded this project via projects DAV200A and PRJ 2521. 337

338

6. References 339

340

Allain, D., Renieri, C., 2010. Genetics of fibre production and fleece characteristics in small 341

ruminants, Angora rabbit and South American camelids. Animal 4, 1472-1481. 342

Anonymous, 1989. New fleece index – valuable aid to selection. Cashmere Aust. 10 (2), 28. 343

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Anonymous, 1990. Cashstud Breeding Note No. 2. Cashmere Aust. 11 (2), 38. 344

Bigham, M.L., Morris, C.A., Southey, B.R., Baker, R.L., 1993. Heritabilities and genetic 345

correlations for live weight and fibre traits in New Zealand cashmere goats. Livest. Prod. 346

Sci. 33, 91-104. 347

Butler, K.L., McGregor, B.A., 2014. Indices for cashmere fleece competition and across farm 348

comparisons: the role of staple length in identifying goats of higher cashmere production. 349

Small Rumin. Res. 121, 131-135. 350

Dalton, J., Franck, R., 2001. Cashmere, camelhair and other hair fibres, In: Silk, Mohair, 351

Cashmere and other Luxury Fibres. Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, England. 352

Graham, P., Bell, L., 1990. Relative down production. In: Cashmere Goat Notes pp. 145-146, 353

Ed. R.J. Browne, Australian Cashmere Growers Association, Guildford, New South Wales. 354

Hunter, L., 1993. Mohair: a review of its properties, processing and applications. CSIR, Port 355

Elizabeth. 356

McGregor, B.A., 2000. Recent advances in marketing and product development of mohair 357

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385-390. 399

400

401

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Figure captions 402

403 Fig. 1. The ratio of New Index (MFD) (solid line) or Patrick Index (dashed line) to clean 404

cashmere production at different cashmere mean fibre diameters. Values for each Index are 405

standardised to a mean fibre diameter of 12.6 μm where the indices always equals the weight 406

of clean cashmere and the ratio between the Patrick Index and the weight of clean cashmere 407

equals 1. The indices diverge as mean fibre diameter increases. Using the Patrick index, a 408

fleece with a fibre diameter of 15.6 μm will need to have twice the clean cashmere weight as 409

a fleece with a fibre diameter of 12.6 μm to attain the same index value. This compares with 410

the New Index (MFD) where a fleece with a fibre diameter of fibre diameter of 17.4 μm will 411

need to have twice the clean cashmere weight as a fleece with a fibre diameter of 12.6 μm, to 412

attain the same index value. 413

414

415

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416

Fig. 2. The ratio of New Index (SL) (dashed line) or Clean Cashmere Staple Length Index 417

(solid line) to clean cashmere production at different cashmere staple lengths. Values for each 418

Index are standardised to a mean staple length of 7.5 cm where the value of both indices 419

always equals the weight of clean cashmere. Using these indices, a fleece with a 12.5 cm 420

staple length will need to have twice the clean cashmere weight as a fleece with a staple 421

length of 7.5 cm, which in turn will need to have twice the clean cashmere weight as a fleece 422

with a staple length of 2.5 cm, to attain the same index value. 423

424

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Table 1 425

426

Variance in the logarithm of clean cashmere weight accounted for by terms involving age, 427

fibre diameter (mean, MFD; SD, FDSD), staple length (SL), fibre curvature (FC, FCSD), and 428

other measurements (clean washing yield, initial live weight, live weight change) but either 429

(i) including an additive effect of farm or (ii) including a different response for each farm. All 430

values are calculated with the separate terms for 2 year old goats from Farm 7 being a priori 431

included in the models 432

433

Terms in model Residual variance

Percentage variance accounted for

Compared with nothinga

Compared with farm effect

None (baseline) 0.03999 (i) Models with additive effect of farm Farm effect only 0.02576 36 - SL + Farm effect 0.02006 50 22 MFD + Farm effect 0.01991 50 23 MFD + SL + Farm effect 0.01677 58 35 All terms involving MFD, FC, FDSD and FCSD+ Farm effect

0.01775 56 31

All terms involving SL, MFD, FC, FDSD and FCSD + Farm effect

0.01520 62 41

Terms for all measurements in model + Farm effect

0.01504 62 42

(ii) Models having different responses for each farm Terms involving Farm and MFD 0.02004 50 22 Terms involving Farm and SL 0.01961 51 24 Terms involving Farm, SL and MFD 0.01656 59 36 All terms involving Farm, MFD, FC, FDSD and FCSD

0.01944 51 25

Terms involving Farm, MFD, SL, FC, FDSD and FCSD

0.01367 66 47

Terms involving Farm and all measurements in model

0.01323 67 49

a Except for terms involving 2 year old goats from Farm 7. 434 435