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.
WAMMCO PAYS 2019/20 POOL BONUS
WA lamb and sheep meats producer co-operative WAMMCO has defied a tough operating season to maintain payment of a pool bonus to its contributing producer shareholders. Group CEO Coll MacRury ...
Read moreWINNING DIRECTION FOR KOJONUP FARMERS
When WAMMCO asked its June 2020 Producer of the Month winner Roger Bilney of Kojonup to nominate the most significant example of technological change in the livestock operation of his family&...
Read moreNEW POSTS FOR WAMMCO BRAND
West Australian Creative Director and brand development specialist, Mr Mark Lucas has joined the board of Katanning-based, producer-owned lamb and sheepmeats processing cooperative WAMMCO International. WAMMCO Chairman Craig Heggaton said ...
Read moreWINNING WITH MERINO MOTHERS
A realization that they had to simplify and increase their sheep production – in response to low viability in the wool, lamb and mutton markets back in the late 1990’...
Read moreWAMMCO ANNUAL SHUTDOWN
WA’s producer-owned sheepmeats processing cooperative WAMMCO International, will close its Katanning plant for three weeks of annual repairs and maintenance from July 3. Katanning Manager Tony Bessell said receivals ...
Read more
