CAVENDISH wool grower Peter Henry is ignoring the temptation of the prime lamb market and is sticking with his self-replacing Merino flock.
Although his five-year and older ewes are joined to Border Leicesters, and he is running a 1500-head crossbred ewe flock, Peter said it would be too risky to swing over completely to prime lambs.
"Six years ago we were entirely Merino and if wool prices improve, it will be easy to go back completely to Merinos," said Mr Henry, who currently has a flock of 5000 Wurrook-blood Merino ewes.
"I prefer to breed all our own stock, including first-cross ewes, because you don't run the risk of footrot or lice, or other diseases," he said.
Last month Mr Henry was in Melbourne to see half his January-shorn Merino clip sold in the Arcadian sales.
The best of his lines, seven bales of 18 micron with a 72 per cent yield and a 33N/kt staple strength, sold for 836c/kg greasy. Overall, his fleeces lines averaged 810c/kg greasy.
At a cut per head of 4.5kg, his flock's clip averaged $36/head.
Like most other superfine wool producers, Mr Henry said fine-wool prices were still 200-300c/kg below where they should be.
Mr Henry's hopes of a lift in prices weren't helped when the AWEX Eastern Market Indicator closed the week down 6c/kg to 918c/kg greasy, with the fine wool the most affected.
According to latest southern region prices, the premium for 18-micron indicator against the 21-micron indicator has fallen to 19.5 per cent.
With an 18-micron Merino, on average, cutting 30-40 per cent less than a 21-micron Merino, growers have every reason to be envious of the middle-micron flocks.
In more buoyant times the price premium would be 50-60 per cent.
