AUSTRALIA's sheep flock is forecast to reach 74.4 million head this year - the highest level since 2013.
In parts of agricultural WA, paddocks full of green feed and ewes with multiple lambs at foot are a telling sign of success.
For some WA farmers this lambing season has been "the best on record" - thanks to the abundance of pasture, stubble and little summer rainfall.
But the surge in lamb survival can't just be put down to rolling the dice and hoping for good fortune.
Management, investment in pastures and expanding access to reproductive orientated genetics have also compounded seasonal opportunity.
Reflecting on 2021, Agpro Management's Ed Riggall, Narrikup, said there were some "pretty terrible" lambing percentages in southern WA.
Taking a deeper look, he said some producers recorded 70 per cent survival in singles and 100pc overall in twins.
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So what was the reason for this?
For the most part, it was wet and windy weather conditions, coupled with exposure.
"Lambs were dropping into water and that exposure really bowled them over," Mr Riggall said.
"As a result, there were a few farmers who recorded some disappointing results."
Further afield in the State's north, it was a similar story, yet different.
The similarity is the season and the difference is in the lamb survival - thanks to the nature of the location and a much milder winter
Stock came out of lambing in good condition and - with ample spring pasture, stubbles and little summer rain - this condition carried through to conception.
According to Mr Riggall, 2021-22 was a great example of the compounding impact of sheep condition on production.
He said last year's season and summer set-up radical lambing potential and this - with the benefit of a milder lambing season - led to lamb survival up to 20pc higher than last year.
"It is a great example of how one season's management can have a flow-on-effect into the next, much like weed management in cropping."
One of Mr Riggall's Wheatbelt client groups jumped from a 95pc average five years ago, to 117pc this season.
This included one client at 125pc - not bad for the humble Merino - and was all while increasing the stocking rate.
For those asking, how?
It came down to the high condition score of sheep at joining, of which Mr Riggall said he had never seen such conception potential or as many multiples.
He said - as well as enjoying extra lambs on the ground - farmers should now focus on the condition score of sheep coming out of lambing by ensuring they were healthy and/or feeding them earlier instead of later.
"What happens after several poor seasons is you end up on the other end of the spectrum," Mr Riggall said.
"There are ewes too skinny at lambing, out of lambing and into joining.
"But this can be changed through management including investment in pastures, condition scoring, parasite management and appropriate feeding amount and type."
Having benchmarked livestock businesses for a long time, Mr Riggall has found rarely an operation is in the bottom 30pc due to a high investment in feed.
On a separate note, he said despite some nervousness surrounding the meat processing market and biosecurity threats, the industry was well-positioned.
"The average sale price from our benchmarking last year was $150 per sheep - that's off the charts.
"There is still good money if they are averaging $100 and wool price remains strong.
"I think the fundamentals are still very strong.
"However there looks like there is going to be a correction this year, and those that continue to focus on profit drivers of lambs per hectare and wool cut per hectare - as well as the condition of their sheep - will continue to profit."
