Fat Lamb Industry

It was the crossing of the various British breeds with the Merino that was the forerunner of the fat-lamb industry of today

The development of agriculture created the conditions favourable to the type of sheep-raising that was to develop into the lamb industry of today.

In the early-1950s the number of lambs slaughtered in Australia was roughly 9,000,000 annually, of which from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 were available for export, mainly to Great Britain.

Lamb production was between 140,000 and 150,000 tons bone-in-weight (compared with 230,000 to 240,000 tons for mutton and up to 750,000 tons for beef). Exports were subject to fluctuation, but averaged approximately 90,000,000 lb. (mutton, 34,000,000 lb.; beef, as much as 323,000,000 lb.). The volume of exports is mainly decided by seasonal conditions in the lamb-raising districts which cause fluctuations in lambing percentages and the number of lambs that can be marketed in prime condition.

Due to climatic and pastoral conditions throughout Australia, it is reasonable to assume that wool- production will always be the basis of the sheep industry. In the drier areas the Merino is supreme and no other breed or combination of breeds can compete with it.

Breeds

At some time or other practically every British breed has been imported to Australia. Some of them have played an important part in the establishment and development of the fat-lamb industry while others had only fleeting popularity or failed entirely.

It was the crossing of the various British breeds with the Merino that was the forerunner of the fat-lamb industry of today. Originally this crossing was done in a haphazard manner, with no preconceived idea of developing another branch of the sheep industry. The crosses between the British breeds and the Merino gave an improved mutton carcass. The slaughter of tender, succulent lamb for consumption was a much later development. In the early stages crossbred wool was looked on with a certain amount of disfavour because of its nondescript style and quality.

Fat-lamb raising as it is now known did not assume a definite pattern until there was a considerable development in closer settlement. With this came the change in land-use from purely grazing to mixed fanning. The development of agriculture created the conditions favourable to the type of sheep-raising that was to develop into the lamb industry of today.

Lamb-raising became a specialized type of sheep-fanning which, with improved techniques of sheep-husbandry and management, has become the major type of sheep-production in the agricultural areas and in those areas where pasture improvement can be successfully undertaken. The chief requirements for economic production are suitable environmental conditions where an adequate supply of nutritious feed is available for the continuous growth of the lambs to marketable weights, a suitable combination of breeds, and husbandry and management of a high order.

As the sheep population in Australia is predominantly Merino there is a limitation on the type of ewe that can be used. Practically all ewes used for lamb-production have some Merino blood. The combination of British breeds with the Merino is the basis of the ewe flock. The Border Leicester-Merino first cross and the Romney Marsh-Merino first cross are the types of ewe most widely used, with Corriedale and Polwarth types used to a lesser degree.

First and Second Cross

Fat-Iamb production may be divided into two main classes—first cross and second cross. In the production of first-cross lambs one of the British longwool breeds—the Border Leicester, the Romney Marsh, the Lincoln or the English Leicester— is crossed with the Merino ewe. The progeny may be marketed as fat lambs or the ewe progeny retained as breeders for use or for sale. This type of production is confined to the marginal areas where the production of the second-cross lamb would be hazardous.

In the second-cross breeding, British breed rams of the “ Downs” type are mated with first-cross ewes. Here all the progeny are sold for slaughter. The Border Leicester X Merino, and Romney Marsh )< Merino first-cross ewes are the most extensively used and the Dorset Horn and Southdown are the rams most popular. Other types of ewes are used to a limited extent. One of the great disabilities from which the fat-lamb industry has suffered over the years is a shortage of ewes of a type suitable for the production of the best type of lamb. This state of affairs has imposed a limit on both the quantity and quality of fat-lamb production.

Fat lambs are produced in varying quantities during the year. In the peak periods of production there is an exportable surplus, while during the remainder of the year the country is self-sufficient or under-supplied. Sucker lambs are marketed direct from their mothers at an age of 12 to 16 weeks. These are the lambs that command the highest price per pound in the market. Lambs are sold on consignment through the metropolitan and country saleyards or sold in the paddock to operators or butchers. The dressed weight at which the lambs are sold varies between 28 and 45 pounds. The highest price is usually paid for the lightweight lambs.

Areas of Production

The fat-lamb producing areas of Australia include a long arc of country stretching from the Darling Downs in Queensland to Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and extending from the inland slopes of the tablelands to the edge of the wheat belt and, in New South Wales, into the pastoral zone; a large part of north-eastern Tasmania1 and parts of the south-west of Western Australia. Within these areas part of the country is poor or mountainous and unsuitable for fat- lamb raising. The industry is extensively carried on in the irrigation areas of New South Wales and Victoria. Altogether in Australia there are about 20,000 properties producing fat lambs, of which three-quarters are in these two States.

The volume of lamb-production is influenced by the price of Merino wool in relation to the price of crossbred wool and mutton. If the price of Merino wool is relatively high there is a tendency towards wool-production at the expense of fat lambs.

Since World War II high prices of Merino wool and increased population have led to a decrease in the number of fat lambs available for export. In many areas of the southern States there are considerable possibilities of increased production. The further development of the better-rainfall areas by pasture improvement and the extension of the irrigation areas will probably result in greatly increased production.