Ovine Observer

A big thank you to participants in the 2022 WA Sheep Producer Survey

We would like to thank all the sheep producers who took the time to complete the 2022 survey. The survey was completed by a large, random sample of sheep producers in the Medium Rainfall Zone and Cereal Sheep Zones.

The latest survey, completed in 2022, is the fourth conducted after previous surveys in 2011, 2014 and 2018. This provided a unique opportunity to assess trends over the past decade in sheep businesses, management practices and use of technology.

Some observed trends over time include:

• Average flock size has consistently decreased.
• Average marking rates of Merino lambs, meat and maternal lambs have increased since 2011, up to 96% for Merinos and 100% for cross-bred lambs.
• The use of some technologies has increased: electronic identification and an individual data management system, sheep handler, and a remote water tank sensor and pump controller.
• Merino mulesing has increased with 82% of respondents mulesing, and 84% of all Merino lambs being mulesed in the 2022 survey.
• The use of pain relief for mulesing has increased significantly, from around half of respondents in 2011 to 90% in 2022.
• More respondents are pregnancy scanning for litter size. Just over a quarter of respondents and a third of the total ewe flock are now scanned for litter size.
• Producers are incorporating more data into their ram selection, as opposed to purely visual selection.

To read the full WA Sheep Producer Survey 2022 report, and previous years’ reports visit the Sheep Producer Survey webpage.