Sheep

The key products of the Western Australian sheep industry are wool, sheepmeat (lamb and mutton) and live sheep. At around 12.4 million sheep, the WA flock turns off between 4.5 and 6 million sheep and lambs for meat and live export as well as 65 million kilograms of greasy wool (primarily for export markets) annually.

The Merino is the most common breed of sheep in WA, making up 80% of the state's flock. The remainder are ‘British breeds’ or so-called maternal breeds, meat specific breeds such as Dorpers and some breeds for specialty meat and fibre markets.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's current focus is on increasing lamb supply, improving the productivity, welfare and sustainability of sheep production and developing and extending targeted information products and services to generate practice change. In an effort to increase the marking rate of lambs, the department, in collaboration with industry, has developed the More Sheep initiative.

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Articles

  • Typical flock of ewes and lambs with symptoms of body lice

    Sheep lice control for ewes and lambs

    27 May 2014

    Treatment of ewes and lambs is more complex than treatment of a mob of single animals because they exist as a unit of two or three animals in close contact rather than individuals within in a mob.

  • Laboratory staff viewing worm larvae

    Sheep worms - testing for drench resistance and effectiveness

    26 May 2014

    The sheep industry relies heavily on drench chemicals to control sheep worms but in Western Australia (WA) worms have become increasingly resistant to drenches.

  • More sheep logo

    More Sheep initiative

    18 November 2014

    More Sheep was a partnership initiative between the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) and the Sheep Industry Leadership Council (SILC) to address the critical issue of t

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    Lifetimewool project

    14 May 2015

    Lifetimewool was a national research, development and extension project that delivered profitable and practical guidelines for managing Merino ewes in the Australian wool industry.

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    Managing sheep in the dry spring: for agribusiness professionals

    6 July 2017

    2017 will be a challenging growing season for many agricultural businesses, particularly across the grainbelt.

  • Merino ewes waiting in sheep yards

    Sheep worms – breeding worm resistant sheep

    13 February 2014

    Lost productivity due to drench resistance in sheep worms has been recognised as a widespread problem in Western Australia (WA) since the 1980s.

  • Merino ewe with poll dorset twins in a paddock.

    Key monitoring times for the ewe flock

    15 November 2013

    To ensure sheep are in the right condition at the right time, they should be frequently monitored and their nutrition adjusted throughout the year.

  • Young ewe with twins

    100%+ Club

    8 August 2014

    The 100%+ Club celebrates the success, expertise and contribution of Western Australia’s leading sheep producers who achieve a whole-farm average marking percentage of at least 100%, assisting to r

  • Prime lambs running with their mothers in a paddock

    Integrated parasite management in prime lambs project

    25 November 2013

    This project will quantify the cost of worms on prime lamb production in Western Australia through observations on a number of commercial properties, and provide the basis for best-practice worm co

  • Winning dish is Dorper lamb cutlets with a lupin crumb, served with a sweet potato salad

    WA's Signature Dish is lamb and lupins

    15 January 2014

    WA's first Signature Dish was chosen on WA Day, Monday 2 June.

    The winning dish was lamb cutlets with a lupin-based crust, accompanied by a sweet potato salad with Moroccan flavours.

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