Wimmera grazier Wes Preston holds a national record

Wimmera farmer Wes Preston set a national record for his White Suffolk-Merino heavy lambs when they made a whopping $410.

Jeparit farmer Wes Preston broke a national record this week for his White Suffolk-Merino lambs. Picture: Rachel Simmonds

An “absolute perfect storm” has led to a Wimmera grazier setting a new national record for his heavy lambs.

Detpa Jeparit grazier Wes Preston was the third producer to break a national record last week after Ballarat ($400) and Horsham ($403) sales fetched high prices for heavy lambs.

Wes sold 47 White Suffolk-Merino lambs in total and his first pen topped at $410. His previous record price was $299.

His second pen of lambs made $407 and a third pen made $409, after a bidder sought lighter-weight lambs.

Wes focused on genetics, a large-frame, and regularly used Detpa Grove rams. He had a containment feeding program to put weight on his lambs.

“I couldn’t believe it, to begin with,” Wes said. “It really just came about because of supply and demand.”

“Last year’s lambs were just as good if not better, and they only got $220.”

Jeparit farmer Wes Preston broke a national record this week for his White Suffolk/Merino lambs. Picture: Rachel Simmonds

Wes was halfway through his sowing program with vetch for feed, lentils, barley and wheat.

He also held two years’ worth of 20-21 micron Merino bales to sell when wool prices improved.

“2023 the market was very quiet, only about $150 we were getting (for lambs),” he said.

“The wool has been very quiet as well … I’m waiting for China to come to the party and start buying up again.”

He started destocking his flock two years ago and removed half to manage about 250 breeding ewes during the dry conditions. His flock had just finished lambing after starting in mid-April, and Wes expected about 100-110 per cent for lambing rate.

Jeparit farmer Wes Preston‘s White Suffolk/Merino flock.

Wes’s agent, Elders Warracknabeal branch manager Aaron Zwar said each of the 15 vendors at Warracknabeal would have broken a record cents-a-kilogram price.

“It was an absolute perfect storm, you couldn’t have asked for anything to go better. Short supply out of Tasmania, rain in the north, and the quality we had in the yards,” he said.

Warracknabeal’s top price at a previous sale was $285.

“We are running out of lambs and look to a point where we’ve had quite a few clients exit the livestock industry over the past five years, there’s been quite a lot who have left the livestock business,” Aaron said.

“It’s very good to see reward for effort, I think that’s why farmers farm and do what they do, it’s wonderful for farmers to improve season to season.”