WA'S commercial ewe price record at auction was smashed last week when a line of 367 1.5-year-old February shorn, Golden Park blood ewes sold for $146 at the recent FarmWorks-Primaries Special sheep sale at Katanning.
The previous best was $138 paid in 2003 for a line of 1.5yo ewes offered by the Foss family at a Landmark Bruce Rock-Narembeen circuit sale.
And, unlike many of the higher priced sheep lines this year, these ewes will not be heading across the Nullabor, but up to Mingenew, after grazier David Bagley paid the top money. The ewes were offered by David and Joanne Curtin, Ongerup.
The losing bidder on the line was also a WA buyer, Landmark Mt Barker agent Charlie Staite on behalf of one of his clients.
However the keen interest from the east has not subsided with a line of 310 Mollerin Rock F2 Dohne bare shorn, 1.5yo (white tag) ewes selling for $150 on-farm to South Australian producers John and Peter Miell, Tintinara.
The ewes, offered by stud principals Ian and Stephanie Longmuir, were part of the operation's 630 ewe hoggets but because of the season they could only keep 320 F3 ewes as replacement breeders.
The Miell's purchase will add to the two B-Doubles of Dohne ewes they bought from WA two years ago.
Due to the harsh conditions, many WA producers are choosing to sell their stock, with many heading east, and so far this year 722,278 sheep and 78,030 cattle have crossed the border into the Eastern States.
But the flow of sheep out of WA has concerned Aldersyde prime lamb producer Wally Mills, who said lamb producers needed to support the WA industry if it is to survive.
At the recent Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative Limited (WAMMCO) AGM, Mr Mills said if WA sheep producers keep sending their stock east there wouldn't be the numbers to sustain a productive and profitable sheep and lamb industry in the State.
Mr Mills raised concerns about the lack of lambs being sold to WA processors and said if WAMMCO was to continue operating next year, producers had to support it.
He said he was concerned that WAMMCO would not be able to survive on minimal numbers being sent to the Katanning abattoir.
"In light of the number of ewes and lambs being sent to the east, how confident is the board of acquiring enough lambs to keep the abattoir open after Christmas?" Mr Mills said.
WAMMCO assured producers that they were aware of what was happening and were confident that they would obtain the necessary number of lambs for them to continue operating.
Mr Mills, who sells all his lambs and mutton to WAMMCO, said producers needed more advanced information regarding the pricing schedule and said one of the reasons why farmers were sending sheep elsewhere was because they were continually frustrated at not being informed by WAMMCO about price movements.
He said there was a lack of loyalty when it came to supporting WAMMCO and producers only sold to it when the prices were right.
"My only comment to them is that if you don't support WAMMCO then we won't have one," Mr Mills said.
"We need to support it as it is the price setter.
"It concerns me because I want to keep on producing prime lambs for a few more years, but without loyal support WAMMCO may go broke and if that were to happen, I don't think it would ever start again."
Mr Mills said that he would prefer to be paid more for heavy lambs and less for light lambs.
"But I understand the problem this year is, that many farmers do not have the feed or water to carry stock over the summer," he said.
"So, in essence, WAMMCO is doing the right thing by these farmers, with their pricing for lightweight lambs, to help in a very difficult season."
