BEST prices in 10 years for Warranine Park wool was ample reward for nine months of trail feeding according to Ellen Walker.
“I’ve only been home (running the Brookton farm) just over 10 years so they’re the best prices I’ve ever seen,” Ms Walker said after her 114-bale clip sold at the Western Wool Centre (WWC) last week.
Sale of the Warranine Park clip coincided with the fifth consecutive price record-setting day at the WWC.
There was strong bidding from a number of buyers for the clip from a late April shearing, with Techwool Trading and PJ Morris Wools taking the bulk of the wool which averaged 17-18 microns, mid 60s percentage yield and 85 millimetres staple length.
The 13 fleece lines sold to a top of 1762 cents a kilogram greasy and achieved an average price of 1445c/kg.
“It was low-mid-break, reasonably sound wool given the season,” Elders wool broker Tony Alosi said.
Ms Walker said about 2000 ewes were mated to Merinos this season and another 1000 to crossbred rams.
“We did just over 6000 at shearing,” she said.
“We aim for an April shearing, it’s much easier on the ewes I think when they are lambing with no wool on them.”
Ms Walker said “not even dad remembers a winter as bad as what we had (although) spring worked out quite nicely – that’s probably our saving grace”.
“We were still trail feeding in August, then we had to stop because we kept getting bogged,” she said.
“When it did finally rain it was too cold to grow.
“We started trail feeding again mid January.
“I’m really amazed at how well the sheep are holding.”
Ms Walker said in a normal year about 350 hectares were sown to barley and oats for hay to feed their flocks and for export.
“We’ve put in about a third of our program – we’ve only put in barley so far – but we’ll wait and see what the rain does before we decide whether to go more barley or oats.
“Hay is our big decider.”
