Fertility of the ewes is high on every lamb producer's priority list, with the focus on selecting those to remain in the breeding flock coming on the back of maintaining profitability in times of falling lamb prices and ever increasing costs.
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Dr Jason Trompf was addressing that issue during the 2023 SuperBorders conference held in Wagga Wagga.
Dr Trompf drew attendees' attention to one aspect of raising lamb numbers - looking after the ewe lambs from their time of birth so they have a greater prospect of having lambs themselves.
The lambing percentages of maiden ewes has long been a contentious issue for sheep producers and research has been carried out for many years.
"I've been involved with a project for the past few years called 'More lambs from ewe lambs'," Dr Trompf said.
"And you won't have heard about it because it's been basically on-farm research, but it is about to go into extension mode."
Dr Trompf said the backdrop to the project was the overriding issue of flock fertility seeking to lift lamb numbers.
"There have been a few of us working on this space for a long time, mainly led by Andrew Thompson, but any of the producer demonstration sites I have been involved with for years where I have tried to collect the data could contribute to our understanding of ewe lambs," he said.
"This project was trying to fill in the gap of our knowledge on the survival of lambs born to maiden ewes joined as lambs."
Dr Trompf told his audience that joining ewe lambs is not something that can be done 'half pregnant'.
"Are there other opportunities?" he asked. "Before we go to a commercial farm and say you have to join your ewe lambs, we have to consider what can be done to lift the lambing percentages of the older ewes."
Dr Trompf suggested producers can achieve success by concentrating on ensuring the bodyweight of their ewe lambs prior to being joined is sufficient.
"If you are focusing on that two-year-old lambing maiden and if that animal is getting to 90 per cent of its adult joining weight at 18 to 20 months of age, I have seen many flocks where the maidens will scan equal or more than the adult," he said.
"The only reason two-year-old maidens aren't marking like adults is that most of the time they start out 20 or 30pc behind on their scanning rate. They are just not grown out enough."
Dr Trompf urged caution before including ewe lambs in the flock joining.
"Before you join your ewe lambs, look at what you can do in your flock," he said.
"It might be twin lamb survival, it might be fixing your pastures, there might be other bigger ticket items."
Stephen Burns
Jackaroo on Merino sheep studs in the Riverina, a lifetime working on the land with sheep, cropping and cattle. Graduate Charles Sturt Uni with degree in Business and a Dean's Certificate. Graduate C.B. Alexander Agricultural College
Jackaroo on Merino sheep studs in the Riverina, a lifetime working on the land with sheep, cropping and cattle. Graduate Charles Sturt Uni with degree in Business and a Dean's Certificate. Graduate C.B. Alexander Agricultural College
