MALLEE farmer Keith Erhardt is going against the trend.
Over the past decade he has actually increased the sheep numbers on his property at Galah, west of Ouyen in Victoria.
Mr Erhardt, who farms with wife Mary and son David, runs about 1400 first-cross ewes and grows crop on the family's 3030ha property.
Back in 2000, they were running cattle and about 900 ewes but once the cattle were sold, the sheep numbers grew.
Last year was what Keith describes as a "one in 30" year event for cropping where reasonable yields combined with high prices to provide excellent returns.
But while many have put last year's income into cropping extra ground this season, the Erhardts took a different turn.
"We've probably got half the crop this year compared to last year, we've cut back and put a few more sheep on," Keith said. "Income from grain sounds high but by the time you take out the cost . . . costs are out of hand (for) fertiliser and fuel and chemicals," Keith said.
The Erhardts have a minimum-till operation and Keith sees sheep as complementing the cropping program. "We've had sheep 100 years and I don't think the land is any worse than it was then," he said.
The first-cross ewes are joined to a Poll Dorset for March-April lambing, allowing the family to supply some of the earliest suckers in the lamb-selling season.
"You can get them a few weeks earlier and hopefully get a good price," Keith said.
