SHEEP flocks across the country are being given that "autumn feeling" during spring and summer, due to a simple melatonin implant which tricks a ewe's reproductive system into thinking days are getting shorter.
The implant, which is inserted into the ear of the sheep and slowly releases melatonin, triggers a natural sequence of hormonal events that would normally occur in autumn - the ideal reproductive period.
The melatonin implant known as Regulin is nothing new to producers but its use in Australian sheep flocks - both Merino and prime lamb - continues to rise.
Producers across the country have staged on-farm trials to weigh up the effectiveness of Regulin in their flocks.
Prime lamb producer Ian Kyle, Bairnsdale, Victoria, has used Regulin for the last three years and found his marked lambs had increased by 30 per cent to 40pc.
Mr Kyle - who runs about 2400 commercial ewes consisting of half Merinos and half first-cross ewes, and also sells about 300 rams a year through his Ashley Park Poll Dorset, White Suffolk and Suffolk studs - crunched the numbers to ensure the cost of the implants paid off.
"Like anyone in business when there is an expense involved you have got make sure that it works and is profitable to the business," Mr Kyle said.
Mr Kyle said he had mostly used Regulin in his commercial flock as his stud animals were already producing twins.
"Last year we implanted all the maiden ewes and conception rates have been excellent, and there is certainly anything from 30pc to 40pc increase in marking percentages," he said.
Mr Kyle had also noted added health benefits in his flock since using Regulin.
"In the last three years there have been side effects that I'm sure aren't just a coincidence - the health of the animals has improved and we are down one less drench a year now."
For South Australian woolgrower Peter Wallis, Glenlea Park Merinos and Poll Merinos, Pinnaroo, South Australia, the cost of Regulin at $6 a head was prohibitive.
"I've trialled Regulin and can see some benefits, but at its current cost it doesn't warrant me adopting it into my program," he said.
"It's just another job to do as well and we are time poor as it is."
Mr Wallis said better flock management would help producers lift their fertility figures at no cost to their hip pocket.
That said, if the cost of Regulin was reduced to $3 per head Mr Wallis would most probably use it to protect against problems at joining.
Regulin manufacturer Ceva Sante International (CSI), France, launched the Australian developed product to the market 20 years ago and it’s become very popular with producers in Spain.
CSI Australian technical manager, Russ Davis, Melbourne, said since its Australian launch four years ago there had been 180 per cent uptake increase from its first year to the second year on the market and since then usage has grown 30pc annually.
Mr Davis said the biggest uptake was by commercial producers.
A commercial client near Wagga Wagga conducted an on-farm trial four years ago with 300 ewes and now they use 13,000 implants a year (for a Merino/Border Leicester joining).
Mr Davis said ultimately Regulin was decreasing the number of dry ewes by targeting increased conception by boosting the strength of a ewe’s cycle and ovulation.
"It's not that sheep can't join in spring and summer, it's that they lose productivity of 20 to 25pc, and a ram also has lower genetic value in spring with lower libido, reduced sperm count and semen quality is lower
"We recover this with Regulin by making the animal think and respond as if it was autumn."
However, Mr David stressed Regulin can't exceed genetic capability.
"The studmaster, the breeder, the farmer are the ones to genetically improve the sheep not the product. We can't turn bad sheep into good sheep."
Extra lambs worth the price
PRIME lamb producer Ian Kyle admits it does hurt to write up a cheque for $20,000 for Regulin implants but the payoff from extra lambs on the ground is worth the investment.
This year he planned to implant over 3000 ewes, his own paddock rams as well as his sale flock rams with the melatonin implant in a bid to ramp up reproduction.
"If we can get an extra 25 per cent lambs on the ground that will be an extra 750 lambs from my 3000 ewes, and if we sold those for $100 each that's $75,000, so once I deduct the best part of $20,000 for implanting the ewes and rams, that's a profit of $55,000," Mr Kyle.
That said, Mr Kyle said the success of Regulin came back to farm management.
"If you don't go around the lambs, shoot for foxes and drench and vaccinate the ewes pre-lambing then you are not going to get the benefits of using Regulin," he said.
