What the latest sheep data tells us about the industry

The June survey for the sheep industry has been released. See the key findings that will lead to important producer decisions.

The Australian sheep flock is on the rise, new figures show.

The latest industry survey results, released today, show the breeding flock hit 42.5 million ewes, up 500,000 since last year.

The survey, completed by Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation, is run three times a year.

The national sheep flock is on the rise, with 500,000 more breeding ewes reported in the latest survey by AWI/MLA.

Some of the key findings included:

MERINOS comprised 72 per cent of the flock

22 MILLION lambs are on hand, with 55 per cent Merinos

THE biggest ewe flock is in the great southern area of Western Australia (5.6 million)

7.3 MILLION lambs were marked in the past four months.

MLA senior market information analyst Ripley Atkinson said the results showed the good seasonal conditions were encouraging producers to increase ewe numbers especially in the eastern states.

“Compared to the last survey released in February of this year, 27 per cent of producers surveyed said that they would like to increase their ewe flock, while 60 per cent indicated they would like to retain current numbers,” Mr Atkinson said.

“The majority of this growth is coming from eastern Victoria, northern NSW and southern Queensland where there have been very wet conditions.

“This demonstrates plenty of confidence in the market with room for growth moving into spring.”

In the past four months, the 7.3 million lambs marked saw Merinos dominate with 47 per cent, 28 per cent were crossbreds and pure meat lambs were 18 per cent.

“With the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting strong seasonal conditions for the eastern states as the new season lambs hit the market, the signs are looking positive for the Australian sheepmeat industry,” Mr Atkinson said.