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|  | Gross margins show Merino enterprises performing well |
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| Even with the red-hot lamb market, Merino enterprises are still performing relatively well.
The gross margins range from $13.52 per dry sheep equivalent (DSE) for a 20 micron wether enterprise up to $26.12/DSE for a prime lamb enterprise bred from first-cross ewes, including fodder costs.
Gross margins show Merino enterprises performing well Even with the red-hot lamb market, Merino enterprises are still performing relatively well.
The gross margins range from $13.52 per dry sheep equivalent (DSE) for a 20 micron wether enterprise up to $26.12/DSE for a prime lamb enterprise bred from first-cross ewes, including fodder costs.
While they have been also been calculated without fodder costs, in many areas there is a need to supplement ewes and lambs, when pasture quality is insufficient to maintain liveweight or achieve growth.
Even though enterprises that focus more on meat production are achieving around $26/DSE gross margin, the 18 micron Merino self replacing enterprise is achieving $24.46/ DSE.
In this enterprise, the value of wool is approximately 53 per cent of total income while the value of sheep sold is around 47pc.
This is excellent news for those producers who have continued to focus on growing wool.
This year each gross margin is supported by a number of sensitivity tables that enable the user to quickly assess the impacts of varying prices and production levels.
For example, if the price of adult greasy wool lifts by 10pc from $6.89 to $7.58, the 18 micron gross margin increases to $26.27/DSE, on par with meat focused enterprises.
Combined with this increase, if the value of wether weaners lifts by 10pc from $42 to $46.20 the gross margin increases to around $27.07/ DSE, and to around $28 if the value of ewe hoggets increases from $100 to $110.
The sale of cast for age ewes, wether weaners and ewe hoggets makes up an increasingly larger portion of total enterprise income with 53pc coming form sheep sales for a 20 micron enterprise.
The 20 micron enterprise with a gross margin of $18.40/DSE is not performing nearly as well as others, however, when the wether lambs are finished with a grain supplement the gross margin increases to about $22.77.
It is becoming increasingly common for wool producers to join a portion of their Merino flock to terminal sires.
In this case, the gross margin increases to around $23.92 for a 20 micron flock joining 25pc of the ewes to terminal rams.
With the same ewe base all joined to terminal sires, the gross margin increases to around $26.08/DSE, however, if the cost of replacement ewes increases from $90 to $99, it decreases to $25.27.
For Merino wool producers, the need to get finer still remains, however there are a number of options in the short term that can improve the enterprise considerably. 
Industry & Investment NSW has just updated 10 sheep enterprise gross margins that can be accessed on the web. It is important to note that gross margins do not take into account the cost of changing enterprises and the risks associated with the change.
Visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/farm-business/budgets/livestock for the updated gross margins.
Agriculture Today June 2010 |
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| | Precision Sheep Management – bringing it all together |
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| Precision Sheep Management (PSM) is all about gaining benefits from superior animals by managing animals as groups or individuals rather than as a flock. To do this, producers need to identify each animal and take advantage of the variation that exists within all flocks.
Precision Sheep Management – bringing it all together Precision Sheep Management (PSM) is all about gaining benefits from superior animals by managing animals as groups or individuals rather than as a flock. To do this, producers need to identify each animal and take advantage of the variation that exists within all flocks.
The benefits that are available will depend on production, identification method and data management systems.
Using a flock management approach, all animals are managed according to the flock average. However, if something is known about the attributes and value of individuals, then the contribution of the better animals can be maximised and the cost of, say, the bottom 25% can be reduced.
There are many opportunities for producers to use measurement on individuals to improve profitability through selection (improving current and future generations), targeted marketing and precision management.
Many of these benefits are incremental and rely on re-using information on multiple occasions.
In order to extract maximum benefits a producer may need to contemplate the cumulative benefits that will arise from a number of changed strategies rather than looking for a single ‘big hit’.
The Sheep CRC has developed a range of decision support tools to help producers understand the amount of change that can be expected in their flocks over time, as well as some operational tools that use real flock data.
Electronic technologies and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) have been applied in conjunction with software to allow producers to effectively obtain information that is otherwise difficult and/ or costly to obtain.
MatchMaker is one example. This exploits the natural behaviour of ewes and lambs, where lambs tend to closely follow their mother. The sheep are recorded in the order they pass the reader and software identifies mothers based on how often they were followed by a particular lamb.
Another is Walk Over Weighing, a system allowing weights of sheep to be recorded daily over a period of time, without the need to bring sheep to yards.
Autodrafting is another labour saving device and improves recording identification accuracy. It uses collected information to draft according to defined criteria, without manual handling.
The Sheep CRC has extensive information about these systems available on its website and continues to conduct training events (workshops and webinars) to help producers understand how to capture benefit from these applications and others, how to set up systems and how to find people who can assist. PSM Decision Support Tools Merino vs Terminal Flock: calculates minimum Merino ewes needed for a self-replacing Merino flock Wether Calculator: calculates optimal proportion of wethers to ewes within a flock OFFM Calculator: determines profitability of wool clip preparation from fleece measurements Selection Assist: compares different breeding strategies Ram Value Calculator: compares the $ value of different rams within a flock Simultaneous Assortment: sorts ewes for wool production, meat production and culls Pedigree MatchMaker: identifies the mother of each lamb Walk Over Weighing: determines weight of individual sheep in the paddock Lamb Growth Predictor: estimates lamb finishing date or weight at finishing date.
Courtesy of Sheep CRC Ltd |
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| | Cost of lamb production |
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| Compare the health of your business annually with other lamb producers and find out if there is scope for improvement or if your enterprise is already performing well.
Cost of production calculatorCompare the health of your business annually with other lamb producers and find out if there is scope for improvement or if your enterprise is already performing well. Developed by MLA, the cost of production (CoP) calculator is measured in cents per kilogram, and is an indication of the outlay required to produce each kilogram of lamb. The calculator allows you to improve the performance of your lamb enterprise as well as develop a good understanding of the current health of your business. Calculating your cost of production is an important step in assessing flock performance and a first step to making change. » Click here to improve your lambing enterprise. |
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| | Integrated Parasite Management for sheep |
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| Worms, lice and blowflies are the three biggest health problems for the Australian sheep industry and represent more than $700 million in direct and indirect costs to Australian woolgrowers every year. Forecasts suggest that these costs could increase significantly, due to increased parasite resistance to chemical control, impeded market access from pesticide residues, and growing occupational health and safety concerns.
Integrated Parasite
Management for sheep | Worms, lice and blowflies are the three biggest health problems for
the Australian sheep industry and represent more than $700 million
in direct and indirect costs to Australian woolgrowers every year. Forecasts suggest that these costs could increase significantly, due
to increased parasite resistance to chemical control, impeded market
access from pesticide residues, and growing occupational health and
safety concerns. There is an urgent need to develop parasite control programs that
do not strongly select for chemical resistance, that produce nil or
very low residue wool at harvest, and that do not pose human health
concerns. Australian Wool Innovation is working with universities, government
departments and hundreds of Australian woolgrowers to develop Integrated
Parasite Management programs for the major sheep producing regions
of Australia. There is a major message coming from the Integrated Parasite Management-sheep
(IPM-s) project in terms of worm control – every farm is different
– but IPM-s programs will provide the flexibility to deal with this
variability. Sheep farmers need to develop and monitor their IPM-s programs in
consultation with a veterinary or animal health expert who is familiar
with both the research and the subtleties of their local environment. Programs need to consider:
Worms
- Testing for drench resistance to know which drenches are effective
against the parasites on your property
- Monitoring worm egg counts at critical times of the year in different
mobs
- Drenching only after monitoring of worm egg counts indicate the
need
- Timing drenches to reduce worm burdens or slow the development
of drench resistance
- Using grazing management strategies to reduce exposure of sheep
to worms on pasture, such as the ‘Smart Grazing’ approach developed
by the Mackinnon Project for winter rainfall regions, or intensive
rotational grazing, or sheep-cattle interchange in summer rainfall
regions
- Selecting sheep for both increased resistance to worms (low worm
egg count) and, in winter rainfall regions, for less scouring (low
dag score)
- Setting targets for ewe condition score at lambing and weaner bodyweight
over summer-autumn and monitoring progress towards meeting these
targets
- Use of protein meal supplements during late pregnancy in summer
rainfall regions to increase worm resistance.
Lice
- Instituting a lice biosecurity plan that could include checking
lice history and quarantining purchased or agisted sheep, preventing
strays, guarding against the introduction of lice by contractors
or shearers who have recently been on an infested property and coordinating
treatment with neighbours
- Monitoring for lice before shearing, before crutching and at other
times when sheep are yarded
- If lice are detected, treating thoroughly with an effective chemical
at next shearing regardless of whether or not a long wool treatment
was used – ALL sheep must be mustered and treated.
Flystrike
- Correct tail docking and mulesing (or a replacement technology)
- Strategic timing of crutching and shearing
- Selecting sheep that have reduced susceptibility to both body and
breech strike
- Controlling scouring through good worm control, selection for low
dag score and nutritional management
- Strategic application of pesticides with regard to fly biology,
flystrike risk and residues
- Other methods that may be applicable on some properties – including
choice of low flystrike risk paddocks for the most susceptible sheep
and the strategic use of flytraps.
| Linkswormboss.com.au
http://www.wool.com.au/page__2244.aspx http://www.wool.com.au/page__2251.aspx LiceSmart
sheep lice risk assesment
University of New
England
University
of Melbourne, Mackinnon Project
Queensland Department
of Primary Industries and Fisheries
Department of
Agriculture & Food, Western Australia |
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| | Weaner weight gain akey to survival |
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| Research undertaken by Dr Angus Campbell at the Mackinnon Project, School of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, shows there is a very strong association between weaner survival and body growth rates.
Weaner weight gain a
key to survival | “… lightweight lambs are not destined to die, provided
they keep gaining weight after weaning and the higher the growth
rate the fewer the deaths.”
Research undertaken by Dr Angus Campbell at the Mackinnon Project, School
of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne, shows there is a very
strong association between weaner survival and body growth rates. | |
How?
According to Dr Campbell, “While weaning weight is important, for some
spring lamb producers it is unrealistic to expect minimum weights can
be achieved.
“This research shows even modest increases in average growth rates have
substantial impacts on the risk of death. Increasing growth rate over
summer and autumn by just one extra kilogram is nearly twice as effective
at reducing death rates as increasing bodyweight from around 12 kg to
15 kg around the time of weaning,” he said.
Table1: Effect of increased average weaning weight
on mortality rate (weaning to 12 months) |  |
Current mortality rate
(MR)
|
MR if average 4 kg
heavier at weaning
|
1% |
0.5% |
2% |
1.0% |
3% |
1.5% |
5% |
3% |
10% |
5% |
15% |
8% |
20% |
11% |
25% |
14% |
|
“This shows that lightweight lambs are not destined to die, provided
they keep gaining weight after weaning and the higher the growth rate
the fewer the deaths. In mobs studied, we could have reduced deaths from
an average of 14% to 4% by increasing growth rate an extra 1.1 kg per
month over autumn and summer,” Dr Campbell said.
How much extra will it cost to increase survival? |
“At
the peak supplementary feeding, this might require feeding an
extra 1.3 kg/head/week of an oats/lupins ration costing an extra
$1.00 per head per month,” Dr Campbell said.
“We estimate that decreasing the annual weaner mortality rate
from 12% to 4% is worth an extra net profit of $15 per hectare
to the average wool farm in Victoria. For a 500 ha farm this
is an extra $7500 in the pocket each year, even after the extra
feed has been paid.” |
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