PASTORALISTS in New South Wales are reaping big rewards with hardy meat-sheep and goats aptly suited to the pastoral country and record-high market prices.
Young pastoralist Angus Seekamp runs 42,000 hectares on Woolcunda station and 18,000ha on Warwick station, between Broken Hill and Wentworth.
Eight years ago, the Seekamp family turned away from Merinos to Dorpers and have not looked back. This year Angus is building his ewe flock on the back of an excellent season across the Western Darling division.
"The season has been unbelievable," he said. "It is the best since the 1970s, I have been told probably even better," he said.
Angus runs 2100 White Dorper and 2100 White Dorper-Damara ewes and hopes to increase numbers to full - about 6000 ewes - by the end of the year. He hopes to gradually breed the Damara out of his second flock.
Angus says meat-sheep like the Dorper and Damara are better suited to his country than the Merino, and are more fertile and productive with higher lambing percentages.
"We get three lambs every two years with our Dorpers compared to one a year with Merinos," he said.
Returns are boosted by solid meat prices and fewer costs by cutting-out shearing, crutching and mulesing.
"Too much vegetable matter caused big issues when we had wool production," he said.
Angus said his Dorpers still need "tidying up" with clipping every few years until he can improve to a complete-shedding flock.
Angus breeds his own rams for the station, concentrating on genetic improvement. He puts a top-quality stud ram over 60 stud ewes, with the progeny used over the rest of the flock. He sells through independent agent Malcolm Brady and his team at BR&C Broken Hill, NSW.
The last lot of wether lambs were sold at Ouyen market in Victoria at the beginning of May and averaged $134 to a top of $174.
"Prices are excellent at the moment," he said.
Angus sometimes he sells over-hooks at Ararat, Vic. Sale choice varies, depending on load weights and target markets.
With goat meat prices at record highs, feral goat control also presents a lucrative sideline for NSW landholders, with legislative requirements differing from South Australia in recognising the value of domestic goats in the pastoral zone, and commercial drivers in assisting feral goat management.
The old Woolcunda shearing shed is now largely defunct. Instead, it is used to yard feral goats, which Angus musters by motorbike with dogs, because it is still too wet to trap the goats.
Last month, he trucked 400 goats to Wodonga. Feral goat prices are at record highs at the moment. Bucks weighing more than 50 kilograms can make upwards of $75 and lighter weights of about 20kg can make about $45. Not bad money for a relatively low-cost resource on hand.
"All protein prices are going up," Angus said.
According to Meat & Livestock Australia, goat meat is the most widely-eaten meat in the world and there are strong export opportunities for Australia.
Australian goat prices have reached record levels, up 43 per cent on last year and up 62pc on the five-year average, following surging mutton prices.
Global markets take goat meat as viable and exchangeable substitute for mutton, particularly given tight mutton markets.
*Full report in Stock Journal, June 16 issue, 2011.
