By Alastair Dowie. Originally Published in Agtrader
Shedding sheep make producers question the contribution of crossbred wool returns and wool harvesting costs to an enterprise.
Shedding-type sheep may provide an option for producers as prices for strong composite wool show no sign of rising. Low wool prices, combined with increased costs of wool harvesting and overall labour, had made breeds like Nudies a more desirable option. That was the message at a recent 'Becoming a Nudie' day, facilitated by Meridian Agriculture. Glenthompson sheep producers Russell and Fiona Mitchell have made significant changes to their operation, moving from a Merino flock to a self-replacing composite flock and most recently a Nudie flock. After concluding that the wool component of the composite flock was not a big driver of profit, they decided to give the Cashmore Nudies a go. They trialed the Nudies, joining Nudie rams to selected composites with the barest faces and bellies, and these became the foundation flock. By the fourth year the wool had almost gone and they didn't shear for two years and after that, 50 per cent didn't need shearing. "I don't think we will run them into the shed again for 18 months and then only 20pc will need shearing," Mr Mitchell said. "We will have moved on the first-crosses and getting closer to a pure Nudie flock." He said the Nudies were "marked pretty hard" against the composite flock. He said the Nudies average 330 grams a day growth rate from lambing to weaning at 13 weeks while the composites averaged 360g/day. "We sell all our sale stock after 20 weeks with no extra feed," he said. The complete drop of lambs last year were sold over the hooks and averaged 22.6kg. Mr Mitchell said their operation was separated into two blocks, with the Nudie operation of 700 ewes undertaken at the block away from the home block. The Nudies lamb down at nine ewes a hectare (same as the composites) and both breeds achieved a combined 162pc conception rate. He said Nudie ram selection mirrored the composites for lower birth weight and high early growth rates. Emma Bolding, Meridian Agriculture, provided attendees of the conference a look at the economics of shedding sheep and maternal composites. Ms Bolding presented data on what income was derived from both and what expenses would change if making the move to shedding sheep. She said she used data from local producers who were running both types of flocks. She said wool harvesting costs included flock shearing, shed labour (including owner's labour), crutching and ram shearing and then identified what was needed to cover those costs. Some areas for producers to consider when looking at making the change to running shedding sheep included possible future shed replacement, the opportunity to expand into land that didn't have shearing facilities and what was the future of the wool price. Nudies had been developed with the same aims as composites - good growth, high reproduction rates, tolerance to parasites, good carcases, coupled with being self replacing. "The Nudies are all those things, without the wool," Mr Keiller said. "Most animals have 10 functional traits with economic value and the Nudie breed has just one less - the wool." He said breeding values were a key part of the continued development of the Nudies. He said there was an increased interest because of changing economic circumstances. "We see a world that wants protein, but don't want strong wool," he said. "Producers might carry that for one year but not forever."
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