Interest in joining ewe lambs is running high as producers look to quickly rebuild flocks and cash in on booming commodity prices.
Latest survey figures from Meat and Livestock Australia show 42 per cent of producers want to increase their flock and another 52pc want to maintain it.
But leading senior sheep consultants warn although the benefits of getting it right are enormous, there are consequences if targets aren't met.
Thrive Ag Services' Andrew and Kirsty Kennedy, who operate throughout western Victoria, are in the pilot phase of a new producer focused program called 'Thriving Ewe Lambs'.
"When it comes to ewe lambs it's no different to any stock - targets are different, methods by which you get there may be different, but it's all about measure and manage," Thrive Ag Services specialist Kirsty Kennedy said.
"It's being able to inform your decision making with the data and knowing what is going on which will optimise your results."
Mr Kennedy said with 10 years of research already done in the space, they knew how profitable it could be, but producers were running into issues around not hitting some critical targets.
Traditionally, Merino ewes can be joined for the first time around 18-months of age but they can be joined successfully at as young as seven months.
Meat breeds like Dorpers, crossbreds and composites tend to get to the required joining weight quicker than Merinos.
Normally, a ewe lamb needs to be around 75pc of the average weight of the mature ewe flock before joining.
And the general rule is to try and get ewes in as high a condition score (CS) as possible - at least 2.7CS, but target to 3CS.
But the Kennedy's saw some producers didn't quite have the targets right and were dropping the ball at critical times.
Producers in the pilot phase were recruited in August/September with most lambing down in June/July.
And because each enterprise is independent, weight and condition score of the adult sheep were recorded at each property to determine their own standard reference weight.
"This helped us in setting their joining weights and growth rate targets for the ewe lambs in different flocks," Mr Kennedy said.
"It wasn't enough to have mob averages, it needed to be individual data. Some of them are very large enterprises so they are weighing a fair few sheep."
A reasonable amount of discipline was required from the participants.
Producers were required to weigh the ewe lambs at a number of points throughout the year to derive individual data.
"They need to be a certain weight at post-weaning which generally coincides around the Christmas period which is quite tricky because it's busy that time of year," Mr Kennedy said.
"Whether you're turning off slaughter lambs or shearing, that appears to be a point where things go wrong."
Weight was taken at joining, or when rams are introduced, and when rams are removed plus a follow-up weight at scanning.
Yet there is a concern, particularly surrounding the Merino, on the effect on the lifetime productivity of the ewe and what may be compromised if joined as a ewe lamb.
If things go pear-shaped the ewe lamb may have an inferior offspring and be difficult to get into lamb the following year.
But Ms Kennedy said the program goes beyond the first joining of the ewe lambs.
"The program continues to monitor the ewes throughout their lives," she said
"Producers will have all of their data back for their individual animals. It becomes an opportunity to then benchmark the ewe's production going forward.
"There is no limitation to what they can add into that, whether it is kilograms of wool or microns of wool. They are measuring them on an individual basis to do analysis on their production."
