Dr Sue Hatcher, senior research scientist in merino breeding at Orange Agricultural Institute, said a shortage of livestock following the dry means careful pasture management is essential to maximise lamb and wool production this season.

"The importance of pasture for ewes cannot be understated," said Dr Hatcher. Making the most of ewes held through the dry is going to be especially important this year, because once a good break arrives, the numbers for sale are likely to be limited, she said.

Consequently, weaning weights for lambs are critical to weaner survival, while ewe liveweight at joining is vital for [subsequent] successful joining ... "For a start, the target weight for weaners should be 20 kilograms liveweight to help maximise survival," said Dr Hatcher. "The easiest way to reach that target weight is to ensure nutrition is adequate prior to weaning.

"It's much harder to get lambs up to target weights once they are weaned, and this approach also has a negative impact on survivability."

Coupled with the impact on lamb numbers is the impact poor nutrition will have on wool production, she said.

"If ewes are losing condition during late pregnancy, this will have an impact on wool cut per head of the progeny for their entire lifetime," advised Dr Hatcher.

"The secondary wool follicles – the engine room of wool production – develop between day 90 of the pregnancy and lambing.

"The more secondary follicles you have, the more (and finer) wool you grow." Consequently, ensuring good nutrition for the ewe is critical during this time. "It doesn't matter how much you feed a lamb after birth, you will not get any more secondary follicles developing," she said.

"Weaning lambs earlier may be one strategy to give the ewes the chance to put on weight before next joining but be aware of the impact this will have on weaner survivability."

She advised producers to fat score the ewes at weaning, and to aim for a fat score of three by joining time.

"This year it is extremely tough but it is important to fat score ewes to determine which sheep need feeding and which sheep don't," Dr Hatcher said. "Only supplementary feed those sheep that need it."

(Issued with approval from Dr Hatcher, as also quoted in The Land.)