Contest Win A Team Effort
A team effort between Woodanilling farmers, Richard and Karen Bessell-Browne, cousin Richard House of ‘Barloo’, farm adviser/Suffolk breeder Bob and Roxaine O’Toole and local Elders man Clark Skinner resulted in the winning entry in the 2004 WAMMCO/Katanning Agricultural Society Lamb Carcase competition.
Their 106 Suffolk/Merino cross lambs averaged 26.37 kg carcase weight with a fat score of 2.54, and were selected from a June drop of 1225 lambs from 1180 ewes.
The winning lambs averaged $84.24 per head. They were weaned and shorn in November and finished on pasture, tagasaste with twice-weekly rations of lupins and hay.
Richard said the result marked a final phasing out of Merinos for wool and wethers, in favour of lamb on the small Woodanilling property.
“We have always produced young wethers for sale, but are now seeing that prime lamb is more profitable than merinos or cropping, particularly on a relatively small scale.
He said 50 ha of tagasaste growing on eight separate areas of the farm, was integral to the success of the lamb enterprise.
A line of 113 Coolalee/Merino cross lambs won second place in the competition for Ian Quartermaine of Newdegate. The February drop lambs were from a 99 percent lambing and averaged 25.44 kg carcase weight with a fat score of 2.82.
2003 competition winners, N.W. & C.N.Perry of Borden came in third with the same mix of White Suffolk/East Friesian/Merino lambs averaging 26.1 kg carcase weight with a fat score of 2.99.
RECORD WAMMCO BONUS OFFSETS TOUGH YEAR
Media Release 28/07/2022 Western Australia’s largest sheep and lamb processing cooperative will return a record $8.4 million in pool bonuses to its producer members at the end of August 2022. The 2021/22 ...
Read moreWAMMCO PIONEER DIES
Media Release 14/07/22 Des Griffiths, an early CEO of the WA Meat Marketing Cooperative, credited with helping WA lamb producers to reshape an influential global lamb processing and marketing cooperative, passed ...
Read moreNEW LIVESTOCK MANAGER FOR WAMMCO
Media Release (20-06-2022) Recently appointed Livestock Manager for WAMMCO, Mike Curnick is looking forward to capping his 37-year career in WA’s livestock sector in the lamb and ...
Read moreWAMMCO LEADER RETIRES
A distinguished career in the meat processing and livestock industry will end with the retirement of the WA Meat Marketing Cooperative’s Livestock Manager Peter Krupa on June 30. Mr ...
Read moreFEBRUARY WIN FOR TIMARU
A later than normal delivery of prime Merino/SAMM lambs straight off abundant stubbles from the bumper season, helped Tim Alexander and his family of Timaru Beverley to capture WAMMCO&...
Read more
