Merino wether evaluation set to run in WA, as national trial highlights $50 per head difference at shearing

The convener of a national trial that compares the fleece and carcase values of Merino wethers run under the same conditions is bringing the evaluation system to WA. The 2025 to 2027 Australian Merino Production Trial is the biggest to date and is made up of 74 teams of 30 wethers entered from every state. Convener Craig Wilson, Redgum River Pastoral Co, Wagga Wagga, NSW, said a similar trial would be run in WA next year for 2026-drop lambs. He said the national trials had demonstrated sheep could possess both high quality carcase traits and fleece values, and WA producers would have the opportunity to get detailed feedback that could help value-add their operations in the face of the live export ban. As the trial runs all sheep under the same conditions, it demonstrated the influence of different bloodlines on an animal’s performance, he said. “If you have no idea what the capacity is of the genetics you’re buying, it’s a pretty big risk to your business,” he said. “The big thing for people is you need to control what you can control. And genetics is 100 per cent under your own control.” The national trial has the wethers running at Temora and Condobolin in NSW, with 15 from each team processed at Fletcher International Exports abattoir at Dubbo last year. The first shearing evaluation, conducted last month, assessed fleece values according to the Bin Line Method, which replicated the conditions in a commercial operation based on a five-year rolling average wool price. Results were split into autumn, winter and spring drops to account for age differences, but across all groups there were notable price variations between the top and bottom teams. The top-performing team were winter drops run at the Condobolin site, which returned a $98.60 per head fleece value, compared to the $72.24 average. The lowest performing team in the same cohort returned $43.05 per head. The trial also delivered big variations in the carcase component. The top winter team recorded a carcase value of $334 per head, while the lowest in that cohort made $251. Mr Wilson said the most successful growers were those that continued to seek feedback and keep improving, but the lower-performing teams had the most to gain if they were prepared to adapt their operations. “We see this massive range — they all think they’ve got good sheep. They don’t put them in to prove how bad they are,” he said. “It’s absolutely frightening. It would probably explain why people have gone out of wool growing. “The people that have got these good results, they just continue to improve on those results and then they just keep buying the neighbour’s farm. “Once they’ve got their genetics ticked off, they can start to concern themselves with the other stuff.” Further details on the WA trial will be announced in the coming months.