Mr Finlay said AgForce has a long-held position supporting this time-frame, and he encouraged producers to continue introducing alternatives to mulesing in the face of market demands for wool from non-mulesed sheep.

"Some wool buyers are offering contracts with a three percent premium on wool from un-mulesed sheep – it is encouraging to hear commercial drivers are being put in place to reward producers who are no longer mulesing," he said.

"Producers are using clips and breach strike chemical control, and other alternatives are being trialled.

"More than $20million from levies and research funding – plus producers’ own financial commitment on-farm – has been spent developing alternatives to mulesing.

"However, the long-term solution is breeding so producers need to continue culling sheep prone to fly-strike.

"According to Australian Wool Innovation’s production programs acting manager, Dr Paul Swan, 60 percent of lambs born in Australia this year will not be mulesed and 50-70 per cent of those that are mulesed will be treated with a pain relief, which reflects producers’ commitment to the issue."

Mr Finlay said producers’ continued use of National Wool Declarations was integral to allow the marketplace to identify the mulesing status of wool.

"The market now needs to come to fore and support the sheep and wool industry’s commitment to phasing out mulesing by drawing product through the supply chain."