Claire Swann believes sheep producers have shifted their focus.NEW figures released by the Department of Primary Industries have revealed sheep trading has had a greater influence than the sale of wool on Victorian producers’ gross income.
The figures, reported in the 2009-10 Livestock Farm Monitor Project Feature Article, came from comparing income and profit from cross-bred and Merino ewes joined to terminal sires on farms in Gippsland, north east and south west Victoria.
DPI Farm business economist Claire Swann said the high price of lamb, created by strong international demand coupled with reduced supply from a decline in sheep numbers, sparked interest to explore some of the trends and drivers of sheep gross income.
“We know many sheep producers responded to these market signals and shifted their focus towards sheep meat, particularly prime lamb production,” Ms Swann said.
“In both wool and prime lamb enterprises, the income from sheep trading had a greater influence on gross income than wool income, but this was partly because of the volatility in price movements.
“In that financial year, the changing trends in proportion of income from sheep trading matched the fluctuations in lamb prices in the wool and prime lamb enterprises,” she said. “Wool contributed between 62 and 87 per cent of a producer’s gross income and the changes in the proportion of income from wool were mostly influenced by the price of wool in each of the three regions.
“Wool production per hectare was found to be driven by stocking rate and was important in lifting gross income when there was a drop in wool price.”
This year, wool price has increased significantly and the continuation of high prices for lamb will be reflected in the 2010-11 Livestock Farm Monitor Project, which will be available on 31 August at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/livestockfarmmonitor. For a copy of the feature article send an inquiry to farm.monitor.project@ dpi.vic.gov.au.
