BROOKTON sheep producer Mark Whittington was happy with the performance of his crossbred lamb flock, but didn’t expect to be named WAMMCO’s Producer of the Month for October 2018.
His line of 233 new season lambs sired by White Suffolk and Poll Dorset rams and out of Merino mothers was processed at WAMMCO, Katanning on October 4, averaging 22.16 kilograms to return $151.60 per head including skins.
Of the line, 97 per cent achieved WAMMCO’s premium status.
Mr Whittington said he had experienced a season of excellent feed, unlike the previous year when the red clover epidemic in the area wiped out most of his pasture, forcing him to buy in pellets to keep his stock going.
Last year was also the first time he had sold lambs to WAMMCO, having previously directed them to local and South West processors.
“I have enjoyed dealing with the WAMMCO team and sharing in their producer rebates over the past two years,” Mr Whittington said.
The Whittington sheep enterprise consists of a self-replacing flock of 2500 Merino ewes sourced over many years from the Walker family’s Warranine Park stud at Brookton and more recently from Clinton Blight’s Seymour Park stud, Highbury.
Rams from Seymour Park are used to mate half the breeding flock for wool production with the remaining 1250 ewes, including all culls, mated equally to White Suffolk rams from the successful stud at Kiara College and to Poll Dorsets from Ray and Allan Hathaway’s Longdale stud, Kweda.
“Both the Merino and crossbred matings take place in November for lambing by the end of April,” Mr Whittington said.
“We accept that spring flush lambs offer the best lamb at a lower price because of the higher volume, but also recognise that pellet feeding costs for out of season lamb production can be hard to justify.”
Both Merino and crossbred flocks have consistently returned 90pc lambings, attributed by Mr Whittington to the robust, big-framed Merino ewe base developed over many years.
Mr Whittington and his father Fred Whittington have two properties totalling 1650 hectares of freehold and some extra leasehold land property at Brookton as the base for a long proven ratio of cropping to Merinos and crossbreds.
This year’s crop of 560ha of wheat, barley, canola and oats is again set for good yields.
A program to introduce more Seradella pasture is under way and there has been no return of the red clover problem this season.
Mr Whittington farms with his wife Christie and daughters Brinley, Rachel and Gemma.
WAMMCO’s POM co-ordinator Rob Davidson said that no less than nine consignments of lambs to Katanning in October had achieved 96pc or higher lambs in the premium grade.
Three of these deliveries were from Andrew James, Abban Farms, Hyden, totalling 471 lambs that averaged 20.85kg to return $136.74 per head, with a combined sweet spot percentage of 96.6pc.
