Australia: Mixed results in a very challenging sale season for WA's stud breeders

Published Nov 14, 2024

Tridge summary

The article provides an overview of the current challenges and dynamics in the sheep industry, focusing on ram sales, lamb, mutton, and wool markets. This year, the ram selling season experienced a decline, with the average price for rams hitting a seven-year low and a significant reduction in the number of rams sold. Despite some breeds like British and Australasian seeing improved results, overall producer confidence is low due to factors like the upcoming cessation of sheep live exports by sea in 2028 and dry seasonal conditions. Lamb and mutton prices have dropped significantly from 2022 levels, while the wool market remains stagnant. These market conditions have forced producers to reconsider their operations, with some reducing flock sizes or exiting the industry. Merino rams, although seeing a decrease in numbers, still lead in market share and gross sales, followed by White Suffolk breeds.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

This year's ram selling season could best be described as mixed - good in parts and challenging in others. Some breeds enjoyed improved results on last year, while others found it another tough season. While sheep prices have shown improvement over the past six months and are stronger than this time last year, the confidence of producers in the sheep and wool industry is still low due to a number of other factors. There has been the passing of Federal government legislation which will see sheep live exports by sea cease on May 1, 2028 and since then there has been very little information given to producers on the transition package and when it will kick in. Then there have been the tough dry seasonal conditions across the State over the past 12 months. Last year the spring cut off very quickly and this was then followed by the driest six months (December 2023 to May 2024) on record which saw dams dry up and producers struggle to buy additional feed as costs were high and supply ...

Source: Farmweekly