Abstract:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH STOCKING RATES ON A WHOLE FARM BASIS PHILIP RUSSELL* Summary Approximately 500 ac of an 8760 ac (3545 ha) grazing property in the Western District of Victoria were set aside as a pilot whole farm to examine the problems likely to be encountered with high stocking rates of ewes on large areas. Two year's results are presented and discussed. I. INTRODUCTION Mawallok is about 100 miles west of Melbourne and is currently carrying about 30,000 sheep and 300 cattle on 8760 ac (3545 ha). The soil is very acid (pH 4.9), and the average annual rainfall is 20.95 #in. (53.2 cm). Only about 15% of the area is easily cultivated and sown with PhaZaris tuberosa. Much of the remaining 85% is very rocky but it is expected that phalaris will h,ave been established on about half of it in due course. When managed in the traditional manner as an indigenous-pasture grazing property, wool production was relatively static at approximately 15 lb/at (16.8 kg/ha) up till 1961. The establishment of phalaris has allowed stocking rates to be increased from 1.8 to 3.5 sheep per ac (4.4 to 8.5 ha), and has promoted an increase in wool production to 32 lb per ac in 1967. In order to gauge what might be an optimum stocking rate from the point of view of ease of management and economic return, a pilot whole farm area of 496 ac (201 ha) of phalaris and subterranean clover pasture, known as 'Koonooworra', was set aside in June 1954. Modifications were made to the water supplies and fencing so that the new farm consisted of 16 approximately equal sized paddocks. It was stocked with sheep representing all age groups selected from the Mawallok flock. II. MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY Lambing occurs in September. The system employed (Anon. 1967) is to examine the udders of the ewes daily and those seen to be about to lamb are withdrawn each day from the flock and placed in one of 20 small (one-third acre) lambing paddocks. These have been left ungrazed for about two months so that ample pasture is available on the whole area to provide approximately 20 days feed for each of the 3,000 or so ewes lambing in and passing through the unit. These paddocks are readily accessible, and are in a valley well protected from inclement weather by the topography and shelter trees. Their arrangement is such that very little labour is required at lambing. It has been found that the ewes rarely require assistance, that mis-mothering, previously a serious problem in large paddocks, has been eliminated, and that the opportunity is presented for giving greater attention to ewes bearing twins and maiden ewes. Five days after lambing, ewes with lambs are transferred to a 2 ac pasture; five days later they are moved to a 10 ac pasture and so gradually return to their original paddock. Lambs are marked (tails docked, males castrated) in October/November. Mulesing (Belschner 1965) was attempted at this time but insufficient skin could +Mawallok, Beaufort, Victoria. 103 be removed to make the operation effective and it is now done when the sheep are about six months old. Lambs are weaned in December when all wether lambs, any ewe lambs surplus to requirements for flock replacement, and cast-for-age ewes, are sold. The sheep are shorn and dipped in March. The fleeces of maiden ewes are weighed before they are promoted to the breeding flock. In April, ewes aged 18 months and with a liveweight of about 90 lb (41 kg), and adult ewes are joined with rams hired from Mawallok. The rams are fitted with raddle-harness (Radford, Watson and Wood 1960) so that matings can be recorded. Attempts have been made to achieve high liveweights at joining because it is realized that these are closely related to good lamb-marking percentages. All stock are weighed regularly, and are drenched as necessary, rather than `strategically'; cobalt bullets are administered in autumn and spring. Hay is conserved in November and December. Most of it is left in the paddock as large Econ* fodder rolls, but a small hayshed is filled with approximately 3,000 conventional square bales. Oat grain is bought in January and about 4,000 bushels (73 metric tons) are kept in a silo for use during periods of scarcity of pasture. TABLE 1 TABLE 2 Summary of costs and returns It has been found possible to produce approximately 60 lb wool/at (67 kg/ha) without much difficulty in management. However, there was a decline in lambing percentages compared with those obtained from the less intensively managed indigenous pastures. As profit seems to be determined by the size of the lamb crop, a principal object of future studies will be the improvement of methods for the control of lambing. Much more thought will be given to improving methods of selecting the ewe before she enters the lambing system, especially of ewes bearing twins. Emphasis will be given to increased wool production per head, both through a genetic gain from the ram and by selection for high fleece weights in ewes, especially of twin-bearing ewes whose numbers will be increased. Experiments on methods for the handling and management of sheep will continue, especially at mating and lambing, and some thought will be given to the bulk-handling of wool. Future planning will be directed towards increasing the net farm income per acre and may entail a reduction in stocking rate to ensure that the intensively farmed property can be easily managed. IV. REFERENCES A B R NON ELSCHNER ADFORD, ' . (1967). J. Agric. Vict. Dep. Agric. 65: 420. , H. G. (1965). 'Sheep Management and Diseases'. (Angus and Robertson : OOD Sydney). H. M., WJTSON, R. H., and W , G. F. (1960). Aust. vet. J. 36: 57. 105