WAMMCO

North Boyup Brook sheep producer Martin Bleechmore and family became the 2000th members of WAMMCO, almost by chance.

“We normally negotiate to sell our Merino lambs for live shipment, but this draft of over 700, 12-13 month old, off-shears lambs had not cut their teeth and were in good condition, so I asked Peter Forrest of Elders to get a price from WAMMCO,” Martin said this week.

WAMMCO buyer Brian Norsworthy was able to offer a competitive price on-property for the wether lambs, and as required, made arrangements for the Bleechmores to sign on as a members of the cooperative to allow the lambs to be processed. Martin’s brother Tim Bleechmore became member 2001, with a following line of lambs from his property.

“It was our first dealing with WAMMCO for some years, but has identified a valuable option for our Merino wether lambs. As producers, we are also keen to support the processing industry if the returns are there,” Martin said.

“We mate about 4,000 ewes each year, about half to merinos with the wether lambs normally being sold as shippers and the ewe lambs retained as replacements within the flock, while the other ewes are mated to produce crossbred lambs that are all normally sold as wether lambs to a local processor.”

Martin said he and his family were pleased to become cooperative members and intended to include WAMMCO in their future marketing programme.

WAMMCO chairman Dawson Bradford welcomed the Bleechmore family as 2000th member of the cooperative.

“We are constantly seeking to involve more producers in our operations by making our services as attractive as possible, returning the highest affordable price, and to ensure that we comply with the cooperative requirement for a high percentage of active producer participation,” he said.

“Recent initiatives to offer competitive prices for lighter lambs, even though they are not our preferred weight range, and to include mutton in our rebates to producers are an indication of our moves to grow the membership of the cooperative.”