AS CROPPING increases, what exactly does the future hold for sheep in western Victoria, asks SIMONE DALTON
With another disappointing cropping season, sheep numbers at a historical low and - for a change - a recent run of good lamb prices, you'd think sheep should be coming back into favour in the Wimmera and Mallee in Victoria.
But drive along local roads, where fences are gone and crops spread out as far as the eye can see, and you've got to wonder just what future the humble sheep has.
Many older farmers say the "young ones" just don't want the hassle and commitment of sheep, and even when the Wimmera Mallee pipeline brings back a secure water supply there are questions about just how many sheep will return to western Victorian paddocks.
Much-maligned sheep are accused of being dumb and face terms such as "ground lice" and "necessary evil" in some farming circles.
But look at local saleyard throughputs and, while there have been hiccups in droughts, numbers have been fairly constant over a turbulent decade.
Hamilton Livestock Exchange's numbers grew gradually from the late 1990s and have hovered at roughly a million head over the past five years.
Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange has seen numbers grow and stabilise at 520,000-560,000 a year since its relocation to a site out of town.
Mallee sheep numbers have fluctuated in the past decade but, with a regular water supply, many farmers have stuck with lamb production.
Ouyen Livestock Exchange yarded nearly 214,000 sheep in 2000 and numbers grew to 280,000 in the 2002 drought before dropping as low as 158,000 in 2006 and then rising to 219,000 last financial year.
Ouyen Livestock Exchange chairman Gerald Leach said the yards were sourcing stock from a wider catchment, which stretched into South Australia and southern NSW.
Mr Leach said it was hard to say how much of last year's increase was due to stock being sold off and not replaced.
He also questioned claims it was younger farmers who were turning away from sheep.
"Farmers going into intensive cropping usually say they don't like sheep anyway, irrespective of their age," Mr Leach said.
He said it was hard to tell what future throughputs may be but he believed the wheat-sheep enterprise mix was not dead.
"There still is a (wheat-sheep belt) at the moment and I am confident there will be," he said.
Ouyen stock agent Paul Brown said sheep numbers had been gradually dropping as the emphasis on cropping, especially no-till farming, intensified.
Some no-till enthusiasts refuse to even have one sheep on the farm, arguing that livestock cause too much soil disturbance, which helps weeds germinate.
Mr Brown cited the example of 20 farmers in his area who had changed to no-till and sold all their sheep during the past two years.
But with high cropping costs and unreliable years Mr Brown is not discounting a move back to sheep in the future.
"If the inputs for crops stay high and the grain price doesn't improve much I think we'll see a bit of a turnaround," Mr Brown said.
In the Wimmera, sheep numbers have dropped because of continuous cropping and a dire lack of water, which has forced farmers to cart both domestic and stock supplies.
But the local saleyards still managed to sell more than 527,000 sheep last season.
Rod Schulz, from Peppers Plains, said his sheep numbers had dropped to a third of previous numbers due to poor years and a lack of water.
Ross McKenzie, from Willenabrina, who recently connected to the Wimmera Mallee pipeline, said his sheep numbers did get down to 600 head but would soon be back to 1300.
This year, Mr McKenzie sold more than 540 lambs to an average of more than $100.
"They (sheep returns) are a lot better than frosted crops or crops that are dead," Mr McKenzie said.
Ken Batson, whose family has a cropping, contracting and sheep production business at Goroke, in the west Wimmera, is a strong supporter of sheep.
He said about a quarter of the farm's income was derived from sheep and he liked getting both a Merino fleece and a White Suffolk-Merino lamb out of the ewes.
"Sheep have been our main income for years but dry years are allowing us to get crops without getting waterlogged and we are having a field day, but if and when the wet years come back we are going to struggle with our cropping program," he said.
"I still like sheep to do a job on the farm, we know there is a place for them."
David Jackson, from Jackson Border Leicester and Poll Dorset stud at Moyston, has witnessed a swing to cropping but feels optimistic about sheep.
"I feel really positive about the sheep-meat industry because of the declining numbers and (the fact that) the MLA (Meat and Livestock Australia) has done a good job marketing lamb and mutton," Mr Jackson, who had a 100 per cent clearance on a recent ram sale, said.
He said some people didn't seem to be looking closely enough at the positive returns from sheep, compared to cropping.
The Western District has also seen a big swing to cropping in recent years but sheep numbers at the Hamilton saleyards remain strong.
Bernie Grant, from LMB Linke Hamilton, said sheep numbers had held despite the expansion of both blue-gum plantations and crops around Hamilton.
"I don't think cropping will have a huge impact on numbers," he said.
