Dowerin Lambs Top $5 per kilo
WAMMCO’s June 2010 Producers of the Month, Darrel and Diane Hudson of Yleena Farm, Dowerin have scored important district and statewide firsts. Their winning consignment of 232 SAMM lambs was not only the first from the Dowerin wheatbelt district, it was also the first to top $5 per kilo on WAMMCO’s daily schedule.
The consignment averaged $5.08 per kilo, which with an average carcase weight of 24.66 kg and a skin allowance of $1.45, returned $125.36 per head. There was a further WAMMCO Select payment of $546.29 covering 90 lambs in the draft for an extra $6.07 per head and pushing the overall payment up by 9.5 cents per kilo to 517.5 cents for the 232 lambs.
Darrel attributes the excellent value now being generated by his lamb enterprise, firstly to the production skills passed on by his father Peter and secondly to the big lift in sheep genetics and feeding in WA promoted by WAMMCO.
Peter and Darrel Hudson have been delivering Merino and Merino/Poll Dorset cross lambs to WAMMCO from their Dowerin property since ‘well before the Linley Valley days.’
Five years ago Darrel decided to move to SAMMs because of their low maintenance, mothering ability, high quality meat and low fat characteristics, and has been using SAMMS from Margam stud at Gingin, and also Dorper rams from the same stud.
His aim is to achieve a self replacing flock of pure SAMM ewes and Dorper rams to produce about just over 2,000 prime lambs per year. He said the first SAMM/Dorper lambs this year were showing the ability to get to weight quickly and were expected to dress out well.
Darrel said lamb production was easily integrated into to his farming operation and he was surprised that there were not more wheatbelt farmers using lambs to improve their bottom line.
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