THERE has never been a better time to be involved in the sheep and wool industry.
The sheep market is up on last year after holding steady for the previous few years, while the wool market, despite falling away in the past month is still very strong after four years of upward price movement.
As a result producers are showing plenty of confidence in the industry by not only reinvesting in their flocks, but also improving their infrastructures.
Producers are also taking paddocks out of this year's cropping program as a result of the dry season and keeping a few more sheep in their programs, to cash in on their returns.
In the past few years it has been wool prices taking centre stage in the industry and it has been steady as it goes in terms of sheep price rises, but the past 12 months have probably seen a reversal with sheep prices moving skyward and wool prices rising before seeing a correction.
In WA saleyards, sheep prices are well up on the same time last year, despite the dry season and large numbers being offered.
In last week's Meat and Livestock Australia's (MLA) weekly WA sheep indicator report (week ending May 24) the saleyard indicator for mutton was 433 cents a kilogram, which is up 39c/kg (up 10 per cent) on the same week last year.
In dollar per head terms last week heavy mutton at Katanning topped at $161 and at the Muchea Livestock Centre on Tuesday it sold to a record $210.
But it is lamb prices which have jumped in the past 12 months.
The MLA, WA saleyard sheep indicator report for last week had restocker/feeder lamb (10-18 kilograms carcase weight (CWT)) at 626c/kg CWT compared to 424c/kg in 2018, while light lamb (12-18kg CWT) was quoted at 720c/kg compared to 558c/kg last year, meaning these indicators are up 48pc and 29pc compared to last year respectively.
In terms of trade lamb (18-22kg CWT) last week the indicator was sitting at 723c/kg in 2018 it was 605c/kg, while heavy lamb (22kg plus CWT) was recorded at 696c/kg compared to 582c/kg last year, meaning both these indicators are up 20pc on the same time last year.
In dollar per head terms at Katanning last week, lambs less than 12kg CWT were making up to $96, those 12-16kg CWT peaked at $137 and air freight weights less than 18kg CWT sold to a top of $149, while trade lambs peaked at $169 and heavy lambs topped at $197.
At Tuesday's Muchea Livestock Centre sheep sale heavy lambs sold for a new State record price of $243 and a pen of Merino wether lambs made $202.
In terms of the wool market, producers saw the WA wool market peak on August 15 last year with record prices across the micron price guide spread resulting in the Western Market Indicator (WMI) hitting 2279c/kg clean.
Since then on September 12, wools in the 17.5-18.5 range moved higher to set new records and on February 20 the 21 and 22 micron guides set new records.
But since these records we have seen a downward turn in the market and when it closed last week, the WMI was sitting at 1937c/kg clean.
This means it is down 182c/kg clean on the same sale last year but in comparison to 2017 when the WMI was at 1520c/kg clean it is up 417c/kg.
Based on the current prices last week, producers were still seeing bales return more than $2500 for 17.5 micron, 19 micron and 21 micron wool types.
Last week the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) quoted a 185kg bale of 17.5 micron wool was worth $2675 and a 19 micron bale was worth $2554, while a 21 micron was at $2543 and a 23 micron bale sat at $2388.
While the returns per bale are back on this time last year for the main wool types, in WA bales have seen an increase of $326 for a 19 micron bale since 2017 and $758 for a 21 micron bale over the same period.
This combination of extremely high sheep and wool prices has meant producers have been chasing replacement breeding ewes with extreme vigour and this has resulted in the State record for commercial ewes being broken a couple of times.
In last year's spring ewe sales commercial Merino ewes sold up to $239 to set a new State record price, but this price was easily eclipsed in February at the Varone family's flock dispersal sale at Little Italy, via Hyden.
In this sale prices smashed through the $300 barrier and topped at $310 for rising two-year-old ewes, while the whole yarding of 4486 ewes and ewe lambs averaged $257.
