After two tough years Kaniva again started the season behind the eight ball, with a lot of areas getting a start in late April we missed again.
May was probably one of the mildest Mays we have had for a long time, hence crops and feed bouncing out of the ground as soon as we got a bit of moisture.
Feed and crops are ahead of the same time last year but will slow down a bit with the recent cold burst and a few frosts. Kaniva has had 280mm for the year to date, with 41mm of that in July making things look pretty promising. In 2015 we had a year total of 299mm with 62mm falling in the middle of January, hence not leaving a lot for the sowing and growing season.
Breeding sheep numbers in the West Wimmera would be on a par with recent years while lambing percentages are above recent years.
There are probably two reasons for this, when most of our ewes were joined in November/December they were actually in stubble and failed crops with high feed value due to the ordinary year. Hence being on a rising plain and conceiving well, also lambing in April and May with it being very mild there were a lot less fatalities.
Looking at lambs the last week they seem to be doing pretty well. I would say on a par or slightly ahead of last year.
With the job being pretty solid the last few years producers are putting even more effort into their flocks with tighter joinings, more scanning, intense early weaning programs and mineral supplements.
There is no doubt this has increased productivity in these tougher years and will do more so in better years.
Shearing is just getting started with some of our early growers just kicking off, once again due to our last 12 months I would expect cut and yields to be down.
A few sheep I saw coming out of the wool last week weren’t too bad, which I would attribute to the last two months.
The state of the market looks pretty healthy even prior to getting a good break everywhere. There were no great numbers of store sheep on the market, whether it was in saleyards, AuctionsPlus or privately, with values holding well.
Now we have generally a good season over a large part of the country, creating less numbers and buying opportunities, adding to this a very strong lamb and mutton market at winter highs and some very solid forward contracts through until Christmas. A result of all this was the Wycheproof sheep sale held on July 16, setting a cracking pace, which I think will be an indication of store prices to come.
We are not home and hosed in the West Wimmera yet, but from a slow start we have gained a fair bit of momentum and with a couple of vital spring rains, it could turn into a very productive year.