Beyond the Bale - Issue 25 - Challenge shows the potential of wether lambs
A pen of lambs that returned $153.54 a head won the hotly contested Merino Wether Lamb Challenge
The Merino breed was the big winner at the inaugural Merino Wether Lamb Challenge at the National Merino Ram Show and Sale in Dubbo, with 120 commercial Merino wether lambs being valued as a package at more than $110 a head.
The Merino lambs proved they were capable of producing a carcase competitive with export-weight prime lambs, while also producing a profitable fleece and pelt after being shorn then finished for 10 weeks off-shears.
Forty teams, each made up of three Merino wether lambs bred in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, took part in the Challenge and were displayed at Dubbo before being sold over the hooks at Fletcher International. The 120 Merino wether lambs involved grossed $13,294.88 and averaged $110.79 a head.
The highest-valued lambs in the inaugural Challenge were bred by Glen and Margot Rubie from Forbes in central-west NSW. Their winning pen of lambs returned an average value of $153.54 a head.
The Rubies' wethers had an average carcase yield of 49.9 per cent and weight of 41.3 kilograms dressed, cut 6.3kg of 19.1 micron wool worth $32.95 and had a skin value of $6.50. The top 18 lambs in the Challenge had an average value of $135.13 a head.
Event organiser and sheep classer Ian Marwedel says the Challenge results demonstrate the potential of the Merino. "The Merino is effectively a dual-purpose sheep and we need to promote it as a package of meat, wool and a pelt," he says. "It has been shown that the Merino lamb hangs up, fat scores and, most importantly, tastes the equal of, if not better than, its competitors.
"Some people don't realise the potential of their Merino sheep. We have to convince more people to value-add their lambs rather than letting them go for $25 to $30. The Challenge demonstrated the profitability of commercial Merino wether lambs through the efforts of 28 switched-on breeders from all over eastern Australia. It's time to challenge other breeds and show people they are better off sticking with Merino sheep and value-adding their wether lambs with grain when it's possible."
The Merino Wether Lamb Challenge was supported by AWI, Fletcher International, Rural Press, Lanoc Wool and Chad Wool Fleece Testing Services.
More information: Ian Marwedel, 02 6882 7830; Anne Ramsay, AWI project manager applied genetics, 03 9347 6059, anneramsay@woolinnovation.com
Return to Beyond the Bale issue 25 index page.