Wool colour is appraised as being either scourable or unscourable.

Scourable colour is often described as a discolouration that will wash out during processing. It is visible in the wool as a creamy colour or a very light yellow and is common in 'old' wool that may have been stored for some time. 

As the descriptions suggests, scourable colour will wash out in early stage processing (scouring) and will result in a creamy-white product. Scourable colour is appraised in the AWEX-ID type structure using the Qualifier 'M'.

On the other hand, greasy wool with unscourable colour will result in an end product that will come out off-white or yellow, even after washing. Unscourable colour is usually visible in greasy wool in the brighter yellow shades.

Its presence in wool can be the product of a number of factors such as climate (amount of rainfall and humidity levels), diet, animal health, and control of external parasites. Unscourable colour is appraised in the AWEX-ID type structure using the Qualifiers H1 (Light/Odd colour), H2 (Medium colour), or H3 (Heavy colour).

Greasy colour is important to the processor as only white product is able to be dyed to pastel shades, whereas off-coloured wool is restricted to darker colours.

The brighter wools therefore have a wider range of uses and will generally receive a higher price. The discounts for unscourable colour depend on the severity with the brighter colours incurring the largest penalties. As with most faults, the finer the wool, the greater the discount. 

Colour Discounts - Fine Wool

Colour Discounts - Medium Wool

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Wool colour trends

The following charts show discounts for wool with light (H1) and medium (H2) unscourable colour.  The charts show that there have been large penalties present over the last five years with the discounts heaviest during the 2000 season. Since then the significance of colour on price has eased considerably, particularly in the finer microns.

Recently penalties for H2 have started to increase however, reflecting an overall market trend of buyers becoming more discerning in catalogues full of lower-styled drought affected wool.

Light unscourable colour is currently discounted by approximately 10 cents (clean), with the finer types attracting the largest reduction. As expected heavier unscourable colour has larger penalties attached to it, with these types between 25 and 50 cents lower than similar good colour types.

Colour Discounts - Fine Wool

Colour Discounts - Medium Wool

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Wool colour tips

Breeding and the environment influence the average whiteness and brightness of wool. You can select sheep specifically for these attributes, but balance this against other breeding objectives with greater economic importance.

Fleece rot can result in unscourable colour and worse, can predispose the sheep to flystrike. Sheep that develop signs of fleece rot should be culled.

Over a period of ten years or so, it is possible to greatly reduce the incidence of fleece rot and body strike with this approach, however your stud also needs to be doing the same.

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