Implementing excellent weaning practices along with rigorous assessment processes can benefit farmers in the long run despite the current low prices in the sheep market.
At a presentation at the Grassland Society of Southern Australia's 'Take Control of What You Can Control' breakfast, Thrive Agri Services director and farm systems specialist Andrew Kennedy said drafting in November will help to know where a flock is at and then putting plans in place.
He said while there were always challenges in agribusiness, it was essential to "double down" on controllable things.
He said farmers should stay focused on aiming for returns over a ten-year cycle, with the realisation that there will be downturns in that time.
But in the short term, implementing a great weaning practice could be the "number one thing we can do at the moment", dependent on seasonal and disease management conditions.
"There is very little value to the lamb in having it on mum past 12 weeks of age, from a nutritional or energy value," Dr Kennedy said.
"A lamb is generally only getting around about 5-10 per cent of its energy value out of a ewe past that 12 weeks."
He said undertaking ewe classing 4-6 weeks post-weaning for udder, feet and teeth defects was also "an absolutely critical process".
In his presentation, Dr Kennedy cited results of Meat & Livestock Australia's Fit To Join project run near Hamilton, which found lambs had a 21pc higher risk of death from scanning through to marking if their mother had a bad udder.
The project found that ewes were more than four times more likely to be scanned empty if they were classed as unfit compared to fit.
It also found unfit ewes were three times more likely to die between joining and marking compared to fit ewes.
Dr Kennedy also said "preparing cracking future breeders" was necessary, although he acknowledged it wasn't always an exact science.
But he said new lambs should always be making 25pc of a flock, while the next age group should make up the next 15-20pc.
He said they were a "highly important cohort" to get right as possible, as they have a significant impact on future breeding.
"Ewes on the ground now that are probably going to join in February or March, will be likely be at their peak for a return for farmers in 2016-17," he said.
"That's when they will be three or four years old, delivering lambs on the ground then.
"Don't skimp on something now, that could give you value in three years time."
He said it was also essential to look after ewe lambs coming into their second lambing, as it's when they'll give good results, but it's where he sees "most people drop the ball".
Farmers also needed to know their ewe's condition score and deferentially manage if required.
"The greatest piece of technology for farmers is their hand and they should get onto ewes for the next few weeks just to see where they are at, check in, then put plans around that," he said.
"The reality is you need to be rewarding those ewes that are delivering those results now and prioritising those ewes."
