Australia wins best Merino wool bale

Two New Zealand farmers have lost to their Australian counterparts in the search for the world's finest bale of Merino wool.

Each year the Italian textile giant, Loro Piana, honours the breeders that produce the finest bale of wool, and then takes the fibre to produce just 40 bespoke men's suits.

Now in its 14th year, the competition was won by Australian farm Pyrenees Park in Victoria. Farmers Pamela and Robert Sandlant produced an 11-micron bale.

This equalled the effort by New Zealand farmers Yvonne and Barrie Payne, from Timaru, however the Australian fibre was judged to be slightly stronger.

Mrs Sandlant said she was still happy to concede a draw to her New Zealand rivals.

"It's been a lot of hard work, years of genetic research and while it's been hard it's also been a lot of fun. We're delighted to win," Mrs Sandlant said.

Dr Pier-Luigi Loro Piana started searching for fine wool bales in 1997. The first one from New Zealand weighed 100 kilos and measured a little over 13 microns. Last year's winner recorded a fibre of 10.6 microns.

The competition, which started in 2000, was designed to push farmers to produce an even finer fibre.

"Thanks to the ongoing collaboration and the breeders' constant commitment, the quality standards have grown significantly, in only 17 years the fibre's finesse improved by 30 percent," Dr Loro Piana said.

"This challenge is a way to keep celebrating the excellence and uniqueness of the world's best raw materials."

The jury, which is formed by the president of the Superfine Wool Growers' Association and the director of the New Zealand Stud Merino Breeders Society, certifies each bale of wool and records the micron fibre count.