Moojepin Merinos, Katanning, hosts field day on ewe lambs

The event was aimed to educate local growers on all things ewe-lambs.

Moojepin Merinos stud co-principal Hamish Thompson was the first guest speaker to begin the day.

So why join ewe lambs?

"Ewe lambs are the best genetics on the property - it's a snowball effect, the earlier you get them going, the quicker it passes down through their progeny," Mr Thompson said.

He highlighted the key aspects of their enterprise and the breeding processes of ewe lambs that were implemented onsite and ways to assist and advise growers about production on their own properties.

"We are still learning ourselves, the rulebook for ewe lamb joining is still being written," Mr Thompson said.

Moojepin is highly focused on reproduction and high animal welfare traits.

"We really try to push that into the future," he said.

"We concentrate on breeding values and use them to select our animals, both male and female."

With an emphasis on land sustainability, they tend to utilise all animal efficiencies and use it as a major driver.

The main driving force behind the land sustainability was their confinement feedlot.

Since the feedlot has been implemented, the family has noticed major improvements in terms of land degradation.

Mr Thompson said that using every portion of the flock has a huge benefit, genetically and financially.

"We are very big on maintaining a passenger-free farm, every animal needs to be accountable for its place, if they're not performing, why are they here?" he said.

"We need to stop making excuses for our stock."

Mr Thompson said increasing lamb survival could be "the biggest free kick in sheep reproduction".

He said reducing mob sizes at Moojepin had resulted in a reproduction increase as well as a 20-30 per cent boost in weaning rates over the past 10-15 years.

"Ewes that had conceived as lambs showed a 10-25pc increase in reproduction, this is an increase on top of what our maidens already do," Mr Thompson said.

The family finds that the first seven months of life are crucial in setting up how the flock performs over its lifetime.

"Don't leave it until they are 18-months-old, it's too late by then," he said.

"Put the work in within the first seven months, even if you don't join them, it kick starts their life and you will benefit far more productivity-wise, they will produce more wool and wean more lambs."

Joining at seven months suits the enterprise best, taking into consideration that if they run into a dry spring it will make it difficult to get weight into the lambs and get them in lamb.

"If we work together to understand what works best for you and your environment, it will dictate when you can join," he said.

The Thompsons use vasectomised rams to tease ewes for a 10-12 day period to try to synchronise the lambs.

Growth through the joining period plays a key role in the scheme of things and they aim to feed 150 grams or more a day, during this time to maximise the result.

In 2010 the Thompsons were told ewe-lamb joining wasn't possible.

"It wasn't easy to begin with because there were limited people to talk to and no rules or guidelines,"

Mr Thompson said.

"No matter the result, it should never be viewed as a failure, a lifetime set up will set up lifetime performance, don't be scared to try something different, we all learn from each other.

"Every year we have done something different here and if something works we implement it the next year, there's always something new coming up."

Other speakers at the event included Murdoch University's Andrew Thompson (who has no relation to the Moojepin Thompsons), Farming Systems Analysis Service's John Young, Murdoch University veterinarian Caroline Jacobson and Thrive Agri Services adviser Andrew Kennedy.

Andrew Thompson touched on the effects of liveweight at joining, liveweight change, age and genetics on likely performance of ewe lambs.

During his speech, he covered the ideal Merino that growers desire.

"Modern day Merino people are aiming to breed an animal with high growth, high fat, high muscle and a plain body," Andrew Thompson said.

"We seem to be seeing high fat and low wrinkle ewes have more lambs."

When selecting ewes, he advises selecting a good liveweight and fleece ratio, balancing out the two desirable traits.

"Fleece weight is very important, if they go up 10pc in fleece weight the reproductive performance will go down by 5pc," he said.

Mr Young talked the crowd through the ins and outs of the Ewe Lamb Decision Support Tool (DST), through an interactive tutorial.

Growers were able to get a snapshot on how the tool can be operated.

They were shown examples and scenarios of live weight joining, feeding overlays and production.

The tool can be found on the Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) website.

MLA put money towards the project and did the first round of economic modelling.

The confidential, computer-based tool takes data that the client enters and puts it into an 'economic ball' and completes a series of calculations, taking into account farmers' variations and feed budgets.

"The current tool is taking the information we've got with the feed budget for different onfarm scenarios and presenting clients with an answer that is closely related to their property," Mr Young said.

Caroline Jacobson discussed sheep health and production and summarised results from a recently conducted trial.

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The trial was lamb survival based - highlighting the wastage of lambs (lamb mortality and foetal loss) after scanning and before marking.

Nineteen ewe lamb flocks were involved in the Southern Australian-based trial.

Ewes were condition-scored and weighed pre-joining and scanned after joining, and then again 40 days after the first scan.

Measuring the reproduction and lamb survival rate varied from farm-to-farm.

The most common causes of lamb deaths in WA were mismothering, stillborns, starvation, exposure and dystocia (difficult birth).

Results showed that the first three days around birth are the major cause of mortality in the flocks and an overall 36pc of ewe lambs that were scanned were lost by marking.

Some farms had considerable losses over the years and it was unknown why or how due to not finding aborted lambs in paddock because they happen early on.

Ms Jacobson advised that helpful strategies for growers to consider were to provide shelter for ewe lambs, reduce mob sizes and make sure there was appropriate feed so that the mother ewes didn't feel the need to leave the birth site.

The last person to address the group was Andrew Kennedy.

He discussed a program offered by the Thrive Agri Services, called Towards90.

The program was made to achieve 90pc and beyond in lamb survival across single and twin-bearing ewes and optimise the reproduction rates of sheep.

Mr Kennedy covered key points on high conception and scanning rates and the importance they have on enterprises across the country.

He was able to give a visual on the analysis that farmers will receive and how they can make improvements, by showing past results of Australia-wide operations.

The take home message was that the program can provide growth plans and feed budgets for the participant and benchmark performance.