The salvation of Australia's Merino Industry

Cameron McMaster, Specialist Dohne Consultant, Napier

A rapidly improving prime lamb export market is having a profound effect on the demographics of the Australian Merino flock, which currently is delicately balanced at the limit of sustainability. Lower wool prices and droughts in recent years have resulted in a dramatic decline in sheep numbers in Australia to a record low of 98 million in June 2003. At the same time a buoyant and rapidly growing prime lamb export market has seen an increasing proportion of the Merino ewe flock being mated to meat sires. Prices realised for prime export lamb are currently at record levels and are still improving.

It has been estimated that 7.7 million replacements are required annually to maintain the Merino ewe flock. Current estimates indicate that just less than 8 million are available at present levels (Rabobank Global Focus - Sheep, 2004). At the same time the outlook for wool demand is reasonably positive. During the first half of 2004 the premium for finer wools improved. Between 1990 and 2003 there was a shift to finer wool with 19.5 micron and finer now comprising of just over 30% of the Australian clip. This underlines the importance of the Merino in the national sheep industry.

Most export lambs are produced by joining meat sires to Merino ewes. The number of merinos ewes joined to merino rams has declined from 51 million in 1990 to 25 million in 2003. Should the trend to prime lamb production from merino flocks continue the sustainability of the Merino ewe flock will be in jeopardy. On an individual enterprise level, prime lamb production from the merino flock has only short-term benefits and is unsustainable in the long term. It is in this context that the Dohne is seen as the salvation of the Merino wool industry in Australia, affording producers the means to improve income from meat without compromising wool quality. This was the message that was continually brought home to me on my recent visit to Australia as consultant to the Australian Dohne Breeders Association.

It has been clearly demonstrated that even the F1 Dohne lamb can meet export specifications. Dohne's have at least 25% better growth and reproduction rates than most Merinos in Australia. Dohne lambs are achieving phenomenal growth rates - some have achieved weights of 50kg at 100 days of age. These attributes, combined with their excellent fine merino wool quality means that a sustainable system of prime lamb production with Dohne's in a self-replacing Merino Flock is not only possible, but is now proving to be the most profitable sheep production enterprise in Australia. According to gross margin analyses (Dept of Agriculture, Katanning, WA, 2003 and Hassall and Associates, Dubbo, 2004) dual-purpose enterprises are the most profitable with operators benefiting from higher lamb prices and a gradual recovery in returns from wool.

In an industry dominated by Merino wool production, wool quality is an important consideration in Australia. Much of the initial skepticism regarding Dohne wool has been allayed by the outstanding test results being obtained by the increasingly large numbers of Dohnes being tested. In a high nutrition environment where young rams achieve live weights of 70-80kg at 12 months of age, fibre diameter averages of well under 20 microns are the norm. What impresses the Australians is the unexpectedly good CV% (a mandatory record for Australian Dohnes) and Comfort Factors (CF) being achieved. The CV% of Dohne wool consistently tests below 20% and some rams test as low as 12%. CF is consistently above 99%. In most instances rams maintain their Fibre diameter to maturity, with very few instances of "blowout" being observed. Recently a commercial wool clip from F1 andF2 Dohnes earned the distinction of "Clip of the Week" at Perth. Dohne wool has proved to be particularly resistant to fleece rot and weathering in the higher rainfall areas. In all respects Dohne wool fully meets the standards set for high quality fine merino wool in Australia.

Whereas the traditional woolgrower in Australia derives 60% and more of his income from wool, those breeders who have switched to Dohnes have been able to fully maintain the volume and quality of wool produced on their properties and increase their meat production to a level where it comprises 60-70% of total flock income - which means a dramatic increase in both cash flow and profit at no extra cost. By recently incorporating eye muscle and fat depth scores as mandatory records in Dohne studs and calculating EBVs for these two records, the Australian Dohne Association has confirmed its commitment to the improvement of carcass quality.

The advantages of the Dohne are fully recognised now, to the extent that there is an insatiable demand for rams. Every effort is being made to meet this demand. There has been a steady increase in the number of registered studs and the number of sheep recorded on the Association database. When I was in Australia in August the number of registered Dohne Studs had reached 138 already considerably more than the number registered in South Africa) and there were 22 000 registered sheep. Considering that the first Dohne embryos reached Australia in 1998, this is a remarkable testimony of the competence of Australian Dohne Breeders and Vets who have used Embryo Transfer technology to achieve this rate of growth.

Because of the limited number of rams available for commercial production, prices remain high and rams are fully extended in efforts to cover as many ewes as possible. The usual mating rate is 1 ram to 100 ewes but there are numerous reports of rams covering 200 and more ewes in a normal mating period. Every effort is being made to increase the numbers of rams available and to bring prices down to a level that will make them available to a larger spectrum of commercial producers, especially those in the remote pastoral areas to which Dohnes are so eminently suited.

My role as Dohne Consultant in Australia has primarily been a supportive one - conducting Stud and Commercial Workshops, explaining the Dohne philosophy, setting standards and providing guidance and motivation for breeders and inspectors. Over the last three years I have been privileged to view and handle Dohnes at both stud and commercial level throughout Australia and to share the enthusiasm and passion of a great many talented and successful sheep breeders. The impact of the Dohne in Australia is a wonderful outcome of my life's work in developing this Sheep Breed. I have been astounded by the progress that has been made and by the performance of the sheep I observed. The success of the Dohne in Australia is clearly due to consistent selection for commercial production, initially in the harsh sourveld environment in the Eastern Cape where the sound genetic base was established, and later the application of this philosophy throughout the RSA.

The evidence that has emerged in Australia has confirmed that the Dohne ranks amongst the most efficient and productive sheep breeds in the world - unique in its ability to produce both prime lamb and elite fine wool - an achievement of which we can be justly proud.

Published in the South African Dohne Journal - December 2004