Results of sheep producer survey
The swing from Merino production to a dual-purpose flock has steadied, according to a recent survey of more than 1800 Australian sheep producers. The survey, for the AWI Wool Production Forecasting Committee, was conducted in February by the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA). It revealed that Merinos made up 88 per cent of sheep older than 12 months on the surveyed properties.
Full survey results
Producers were asked about seasonal conditions, flock composition and their intentions for the coming season.
AWI general manager of wool production Ian Rogan says the trend toward crossbreeding for prime-lamb production seems to have plateaued.
“Grower intentions to increase prime-lamb production are now almost matched by the intent to increase Merino production,” Mr Rogan says. “Seventy five per cent of producers intended to maintain their current mix of wool and prime lamb production, while 11 per cent intended to move more toward prime lamb, and seven per cent toward more wool production. This is a significant change from what we were hearing two years ago.
“This is possibly due to a combination of recovering wool prices, the desire to maintain the number of self-replacing Merinos and the uncertainty caused by the current drought.”
Kimbal Curtis, from DAFWA, says the results show that Merino sheep continue to make up the backbone of the Australian flock in terms of producing wool and prime lambs through both pure-breeding and crossbreeding systems.
“While the current drought has certainly meant that rebuilding the flock will take a number of years, 72 per cent of all sheep in Australia are ewes, which means the flock could recover relatively quickly,” Mr Curtis says.
Return to Beyond the Bale Issue 29 index page.