You can make 50pc more profit from Merinos says consultant

“I can’t believe more people aren’t more enthusiastic or wanting to know that data,” he said with the fourth two-year Peter Westblade wether trial in southern NSW now being wrapped up following the final shearing in Wagga Wagga. 

“If you were in any other business and someone could prove that you could make 50pc more without doing any more, you would get run over.

“But it just doesn’t happen (in the Merino industry),” he said.

Mr Wilson said a decade of data from sheep entered by farm businesses across Australia in the Peter Westblade had shown the great variation in performance in the industry. 

This wide variation in financial performance was even more interesting, he said, because each trial attracted teams of 30 from around 50 woolgrowers who believed they had good sheep.

“People don’t put sheep in these trials if they think their sheep aren’t good, yet you still get this massive range (in net profitability).  

“For me, this trial is not about winners and losers, it’s about understanding what’s limiting your profitability.”

Preliminary results indicate a $23 difference in the highest and lowest value fleece. The difference in carcase value from top to bottom was more than $25.   

Yet Mr Wilson said these sheep cost the same to run. 

“We have got a lot of people in this trial who have got $1 million plus wool cheques, so there are a lot of people there (in the trial) who have got a lot of sheep.

“For them it’s about measuring their changes (genetic gains) over time. A lot of these guys have been involved in all the trials I have run, it allows them to measure over time their genetic changes.”

Mr Wilson said the Peter Westblade challenge also measured meat traits with half the 1500 wethers entered put into a feedlot before slaughter and carcase evaluation at Fletchers’ Dubbo plant.

“History says you could be feeding lambs (in a feedlot) and not know their genetic potential and if you don’t know your genetic potential, it’s largely the difference between making money and not making money.” 

Topping the 2016-18 challenge for overall sheep value (sheep and wool) was the Hargate Park team from Esperance, WA.

Winner of the fleece value and second overall was the Bahr family, The Rock, with their team of Pastora-blood cutting 3.7kg clean of 15.7 micron wool, valued at $13.95 above the trial average.