A CAUTIOUS strategy of marketing their wool clip over several sale days at the Western Wool Centre (WWC) paid off last week for the Dempster family, of Southern Brook and Goomalling.
In recent weeks at the WWC the Wednesday has proved to be the better of the sale days and it was last week when the family’s top line topped the sale.
The three-bale top line of 16.1 micron, 82 millimetre staple length fleece with 36N/kt strength, 1.4 per cent vegetable matter and 65.1pc yield, sold to Techwool Trading for 1960 cents a kilogram greasy, equivalent of 3011c/kg clean.
While topping the sale was a source of pride for Dan Dempster, who runs the family’s sheep and wool enterprise, the preceding weeks’ results were just as important.
“Our sweep-the-floor price was $13.64kg greasy and that was with everything in – Merinos, 10 bales of crossbred lambs and even a bale of downs wool from the Poll Dorsets,” said Mr Dempster, who farms with wife Emily, brother Rob and wife Jade and parents, CBH Group deputy chairman Vern Dempster and wife Amanda.
“Our wool cut was down this year compared to last year due to seasonal conditions and a nine-month shearing, but from a budgetary perspective the good prices have helped compensate.
“I do the classing of our wool and I rate this year’s clip as the best we’ve produced.
“Seeing our stud ewe hoggets’ wool (the line that topped the sale) come up on the table, I was impressed.”
Mr Dempster said the broadest wool the family produced this year was 18.5 micron and along with the oddments was sold off first, with more mid to fine micron and better specification wools sold off progressively at subsequent sales.
“We’ve been doing that for a few years,” he said.
“I guess you could call it a risk management strategy, but it has worked well for us.”
Mr Dempster said the prices the wool attained across the sales were the best he could recall.
“I was going through some of our old accounts and the greasy prices we got were better than the clean prices we were getting for our wool a few years back,” he said.
The Dempsters mated 3600 Merino ewes, about 55pc to Merino rams and 45pc to Poll Dorset rams, in their mixed sheep, wool and cropping enterprise which was split roughly 50-50 last year between livestock and cropping, on properties between Northam, Meckering and Goomalling.
Mr Dempster also runs Karabein Poll Dorset stud and registered Karabein Poll Merino stud several years ago.
The main shearing in January produced 136 bales, down from 178 last year.
A wet start to last year disrupted shearing schedules and pushed their shearing back to April, Mr Dempster explained.
This year, they brought the main shearing forward to January to avoid a clash with seeding.
Westcoast Wools & Livestock broker and auctioneer Danny Ryan said there was strong bidding for the Dempsters’ top line of wool.
“It was pleasing to see the Dempster family getting some just rewards for staying with sheep and wool,” he said.