MALLEE sheep producers have the opportunity to stage one-day workshops designed to lift the lifetime performance, productivity and value of their Merino ewes.
The workshops embrace the year-round potential of breeders through fleece value, meat value and surplus stock potential.
The Picking Performer Ewes workshop identifies the key practical actions commercial enterprises can implement on-farm to improve the net reproductive rate in a Merino breeding flock.
Australian Wool Innovation national extension manager Emily King told North West Farmer the workshop had been developed to show woolgrowers running commercial self-replacing Merino enterprises how within-flock selection and enhanced management can increase reproductive rates and lead to consistency of production and business performance – year-in, year-out.
“The top performing Merino ewe-based enterprises generate much higher profits than the industry average,” Ms King said.
“There is enormous potential for the average woolgrower to raise their profits to the level of the top producers.
“The new Picking Performer Ewes workshop aims to help woolgrowers do this by identifying the ewes in their flock which are performing and those which aren’t.
“In flocks where little to no selection pressure has been placed on breeding ewes, there is scope to increase the overall net reproductive rate, decrease reproductive wastage, and increase the consistency of production, by simply picking the animals which are producing offspring consistently.
“The new workshop aims to help woolgrowers capitalise on finding and managing the performer ewes which earn you double what the passengers do in their lifetime.
“Performance varies between seasons, as well as districts, but high weaning rates are achievable in all areas, with astute management.”
Participants in the workshop step through sessions relating to the whole reproductive cycle, with a focus on:
• Understanding a ewe’s lifetime performance and economic earnings.
• The difference between ewes that are ‘passengers’ and those that are ‘performers’, and the high cost of retaining passengers.
• The importance of undertaking the three key performance practices of: scanning, condition scoring and wet and drying at marking
• Turning potential into profit by lambing and weaning well.
• Learning strategies for success and mapping it all out in a management calendar.
• The Picking Performer Ewes workshop was piloted in October last year and is now available to growers across the country.
The Picking Performer Ewes workshop complements the AWI-funded Lifetime Ewe Management (LTEM) course, and is ideal as an LTEM refresher but also for those who haven’t completed an LTEM course yet.
To have the workshop run in your region, contact your state AWI extension network, details are available at www.wool.com/networks.
