The Old Ram-Australia
Herd Master
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
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SHEEPMEAT PRODUCTION IN AUSTRALIA IS “CHANGING”, BUT DO THE INDUSTRY LEADERS (including the MLA) UNDERSTAND THE CHANGES AND WHY THEY ARE OCCURING?
The past record of industry bodies in advocating “change” is terrible. In the recent past industry leaders were calling on producers to produce larger lambs to supply the U.S. market, so the farmers obliged and several years down the track they are producing said weights. But at what cost? Shearers are becoming reluctant to drag 100kg x-bred ewes over the boards due to the likelihood of early retirement because of injury. When industry leaders called for this change did they “not” understand the differences in the production models in both countries?
Industry bodies seem today (including MLA) to reside in centrally heated offices, drive air-conditioned cars (which we the producers pay for through our levies) which they park in underground car spaces and it seems are far removed from farmers who tend their flocks in temps of -8c in winter and +40c in the summer. So when they call upon us farmers to make changes to production we think they are “all knowledgeable” and usually comply. But if it all goes “sour” they seem unable to admit that we were only following the advice we were given by them.
For those of you who have been in the sheep industry long enough will remember that it was the industry leaders that brought about the “wool price crash” through “greed”.
So what is this quiet revolution that is taking place at the “coal face” in the back paddock? The supermarkets and some exporters are awake to the changes and this winter were offering fixed price contracts for lambs be they x-bred or Hair types. It seems to me that change is being driven, by a number of different sectors within the production cycle.
1. The un-reliable nature of rainfall and a drying climate.
2. Increasing input costs in all areas of the farming operation
3. The shortage and the increasing reluctance of shearers “to get the wool off at a time of the farmers choosing.”
4. Increasing the lamb drop of the flock without exorbitant cost pressures.
It seems more and more sheep producers are turning to Hair Breeds because it can be shown that they can do more with less in a production sense and if you start with your existing flock and transition them over, it only takes a couple of years of selection to “reap” the benefits from the change, by way of increased productivity, reduced labor costs and the ability to withstand the times when everything is “not perfect” and these situations now seem to occur increasingly more often. The last 12 months are a classic example for lots of districts.
So while the industry leaders are enjoying an expensive lunch or an overseas trip (at our expense) farmers are getting on with making the necessary changes to keep their business afloat and increasing their bottom line and one day industry leaders will awake and find that things have changed “down on the farm” and they will say with a look of surprise “when did all these changes happen, and why did no one tell us?”………
The past record of industry bodies in advocating “change” is terrible. In the recent past industry leaders were calling on producers to produce larger lambs to supply the U.S. market, so the farmers obliged and several years down the track they are producing said weights. But at what cost? Shearers are becoming reluctant to drag 100kg x-bred ewes over the boards due to the likelihood of early retirement because of injury. When industry leaders called for this change did they “not” understand the differences in the production models in both countries?
Industry bodies seem today (including MLA) to reside in centrally heated offices, drive air-conditioned cars (which we the producers pay for through our levies) which they park in underground car spaces and it seems are far removed from farmers who tend their flocks in temps of -8c in winter and +40c in the summer. So when they call upon us farmers to make changes to production we think they are “all knowledgeable” and usually comply. But if it all goes “sour” they seem unable to admit that we were only following the advice we were given by them.
For those of you who have been in the sheep industry long enough will remember that it was the industry leaders that brought about the “wool price crash” through “greed”.
So what is this quiet revolution that is taking place at the “coal face” in the back paddock? The supermarkets and some exporters are awake to the changes and this winter were offering fixed price contracts for lambs be they x-bred or Hair types. It seems to me that change is being driven, by a number of different sectors within the production cycle.
1. The un-reliable nature of rainfall and a drying climate.
2. Increasing input costs in all areas of the farming operation
3. The shortage and the increasing reluctance of shearers “to get the wool off at a time of the farmers choosing.”
4. Increasing the lamb drop of the flock without exorbitant cost pressures.
It seems more and more sheep producers are turning to Hair Breeds because it can be shown that they can do more with less in a production sense and if you start with your existing flock and transition them over, it only takes a couple of years of selection to “reap” the benefits from the change, by way of increased productivity, reduced labor costs and the ability to withstand the times when everything is “not perfect” and these situations now seem to occur increasingly more often. The last 12 months are a classic example for lots of districts.
So while the industry leaders are enjoying an expensive lunch or an overseas trip (at our expense) farmers are getting on with making the necessary changes to keep their business afloat and increasing their bottom line and one day industry leaders will awake and find that things have changed “down on the farm” and they will say with a look of surprise “when did all these changes happen, and why did no one tell us?”………
