Opinion by Bruce Mullan, sheep industry development director at the Department of Agriculture and Food WA.
CURRENT and former sheep producers planning their 2016 operations should consider recent market intelligence that shows rising demand and values for sheep meat and wool.
The Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA)'s latest Sheep Notes shows the value of WA's sheep meat exports has grown considerably in the past four years.
DAFWA analysis shows that the flock numbers have decreased over this period, and are forecasted to decline further as a result of increased demand.
The sheep industry project led by DAFWA and funded by Royalties for Regions is focused on turning this around through the development of dedicated value chains and the adoption of new business models with a clear focus on growing the industry.
There are positive market trends that we should note.
Lamb export values have increased by 120 per cent to $204 million in 2015, while mutton exports grew by 63pc to $111m.
The analysis hows live sheep exports increased by 5pc during 2014-15 to $204m, despite a reduction in the number of head exported.
Wool has also had a boost, with the Western Market Indicator averaging 1358 cents per kilogram clean in January 2016 - the highest monthly average since mid-2011.
In 2015 the value of WA wool exports increased 13pc on the previous year, reaching $474m.
The figures show sheep are back in business.
As economies in Asia continue to grow, so too does demand for quality protein.
China continues to be WA's major customer for sheep meat and wool, accounting for 19pc of 2015 meat exports by volume and 12pc by value, worth $38m, and dominating 85pc of wool exports, worth $403.9m.
The opportunity to expand WA's share of this market was enhanced late last year, when Bunbury meat processor V&V Walsh was granted a licence to export frozen and chilled sheep, beef and goat meat to China.
V&V Walsh is also co-investing with its Chinese strategic partner in a state-of-the-art processing plant located in Inner Mongolia that will have the capacity to process 10,000 lambs and 500 cattle per day, live and boxed, from local and imported sources.
With the prospect of increasing competition and a chance to obtain market security, sheep have become a much more viable proposition for WA producers.
Our great challenge is to increase production so we have the capacity to supply these markets.
With the good start to the 2016 season and strong market demand for sheep, it is time to think about holding onto breeding stock, and implementing management strategies to maximise output per hectare.
Through its Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, supported by Royalties for Regions, the department is supporting industry endeavours to capitalise on this opportunity and secure long-term markets for sheep and sheep meat.
The project is working closely with key sheep producers and agribusinesses to identify ways to rebuild the WA sheep flock to satisfy customer demand.
Investments include encouraging producers to participate in the Lifetime Ewe Management program and adopt Australian Sheep Breeding Values to rapidly increase the volume and quality of the flock.
Other department programs include the Lamb Survival Initiative and the 100% Plus Club, to drive optimum lambing and marking rates.
These initiatives are being supported by the newly formed Sheep Technology Pilot Group, which is working to increase the adoption of new technology to save producers' time, money and effort.
Meanwhile, the department is working with Meat and Livestock Australia to identify genetic traits to improve the performance of WA sheep and carcase value, as well as enhance the eating quality of sheep meat.
The department also hosted a series of lot feeding workshops to help producers consider the opportunity to produce out of season lambs.
This is a great time to be involved in the WA sheep industry.
Find out more by visiting www.agric.wa. gov.au/sibi.