SPECIALIST prime lamb flocks were not necessarily more profitable than wool flocks, according to Hamilton farm consultant and veterinarian Dr Graham Lean.
He said the dual purpose option of a terminal ram put over a Merino ewe could work well too.
Early Evergraze research at Hamilton showed Merinos joined to terminals produced 100 per cent of lambs while Coopworth ewes weaned 152 per cent, run side-by-side and replicated four times.
Dr Lean said the Merino gross margins for 2008-09 were about $740 a hectare and the Coopworths returned $510-$530 a hectare.
“The Merino flock running on that trial over a number of years has averaged over $1000 a hectare (gross margin)," he said.
“Early results from 2009-10 indicate similar results for Merinos, but both are high because lamb prices are high."
“The key outcome is that the Merino system is more profitable and that’s what we’ve seen in our benchmarking as well.
“And the key reason that Merinos were more profitable is that they weren’t far behind in lambs per hectare produced because there are more of them run per hectare because they are a smaller ewe.
“Despite the lower weaning percentage their lambs weaned per hectare weren’t quite as high as the Coopworths, but the wool income was significantly better,” Dr Lean said.
“This year the results are coming out much the same, though the wool prices in 2008-09 on a historical basis were fairly high.
“There is certainly a role for Coopworths but it is a matter of 'horse for courses' and your environment - rainfall will determine that.
“The key issue is that you need to keep rearing replacements.”
Dr Lean said in many areas, Merino ewes could work well for producers wanting to move into prime lamb production.
“The critical thing is don’t run out of ewes,” he said.
“If you overjoin them to terminals eventually you won’t have replacement ewes and it is rather expensive to buy them."
Producers need enough grass to finish lambs or a lamb feedlot system.
“If you don’t measure you can’t manage it so whatever you do if you are looking at changing your enterprise to prime lambs, measure it to manage it.”
Dr Lean said if a Merino producer was moving into prime lamb production it was critical to have a high lamb survival rate and a high stocking rate to lift lamb turn-off per hectare.
