THE Australian sheep industry is staring at a deficit of up to 9.4 million sheep this financial year as increased slaughter rates and low rainfall leave forecasters tipping a 69.9 million flock next year.
Andrew Bouffler, a Nuffield scholar who farms a sheep operation at Lochart, in southern NSW, says two years ago the combined sheepmeat and wool industry was the nation’s second biggest exporter.
A report by the Australian Bureau of statistics shows that the drop in flock numbers is likely be far worse than handed down in estimates last year.
The report showed that a fall in numbers predicted for 2009-10 could end up being below 70 million head, rather than the expected 76.9 million head, especially if the dry southeastern weather patterns continue.
On his 3,000 hectare mixed farm, Mr Bouffler said attention to both wool and meat production traits was given on the basis of which sector determined the largest income stream increased the profit of his flock.
“Sheep are Australian agriculture’s good news story,” Mr Bouffler said.
“Already we are the dominant world players and set the agenda. If we take full advantage of modern breeding technologies we’ll be able to retain the domination to take full advantage of growth in the sheep meat and wool markets”
Mr Bouffler said increasing the profitability of sheep enterprises had nothing to do with changing breeding programs, but ‘relied on sheep producers better understanding their business.’
He said the answer to the low sheep numbers was to breed dual purpose animals that could supply quality product in both markets, while supplying replacement ewes to grow the national flock.
Speaking at the Riverina field day last Friday in Deniliquin, NSW, Mr Bouffler said, on his Nuffield scholarship trip to South Africa every sheep breeder he visited could instantly tell him their income ratio from sheep.
“The adoption of this simple procedure in Australia would instantly change how sheep producers view their flock and breeding programs,” he said.
The head of Meat and Livestock sheepmeat and lamb research and development Dr Alex Ball, said in the last six months the sheep flock had shrunk by 4-6 per cent.
Dr Ball said the challenge was for producers to balance up a short term cash flow view versus a long term view that tackled the issue of dwindling maternal ewe numbers.
The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee's revised forecast for Australian shorn wool production next season is 335 milion kilograms greasy, 6 per cent lower than numbers for this year.
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