“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat…”
Steve Jobs
If we are honest then the last 10 years in sheep farming have not been easy. First, a 7-year drought and barely 18 months later we are again in another type of drought. A price drought as well as a drought due to political uncertainty. The question on everyone’s lips is how the ANC will fare on 29 May. Because all the possible outcomes are going to bring about change, what we don’t know is how much of it will be good or bad.
I know how change has been relevant in our journey with the Meatmasters from the beginning to now. I will divide our research and development into 3 phases.
Phase 1
During this phase, due to various factors, it was decided to farm 100% intensively. During Phase 1 we had 34 groups of 12 ewes each.
Each week the following happened:
- 12 ewes sponged, pulled and DMS sprayed
- 12 ewes vaginally KI’d by ourselves
- 12 ewes followed up with other rams
- 12 ewes “scanned” for pregnancy by ourselves
So the process rotated with 34 weeks equivalent to an 8-month lambing cycle. This process was extremely successful with an average occupancy of 98%. It was the absolute exception for an ewe not to be pregnant 8 weeks after initial mating.
Phase 2
This phase was modelled on an opportunity we got from a farmer in Richmond to take our ewes to him after weaning and get them pregnant in the field using laparoscopy. The cycle was initially also 8 months, but it became difficult to wean the lambs of the multiple ewes in time and get the ewes ready in time for restocking. We then changed the process to a 9-month cycle. In terms of this strategy, we weaned 1st-lings at 45 days, 2nd-lings at 60 days and 3rd-lings at 75 days. Ewes were transported to Landrani from Richmond 3 days before the first lambing began. We cut it very finely. Within a week or two after weaning, the ewes were transported back to Richmond. The transport cost us a lot, but in our endeavour to breed 2400 stud ewes, we absorbed the cost. The average time we fed ewes was 10 weeks. Ewes at Landrani get feed blocks which means they stay on roughage until they go back to the Karoo.
Phase 3
Now that we have reached the goal of 2400 registered ewes, we are forced to look again, very closely, at the market and our production cost structure. Initially, our expected profits were calculated on the “MUST” sale of mostly premium animals. Premium animals are slaughtered lambs at Woolworths prices or an ewe lamb at her intrinsic value (i.e. what she is worth). The “price drought” affects not only the storage lamb or slaughtered lamb price but all aspects of the value chain. If it rains and the lampreys are high then the farmers buy sheep and there is hope. Now it’s raining, but the prices are under pressure, and to make it more interesting we also have an election coming up. One can therefore understand that many farmers now follow the “wait and see” approach. In terms of fresh meat, certain butchers advertise lamb for as low as R109/kg including VAT.
But what is all this change in affordability and sentiment leading to?
For me, this leads to a further challenge! I have now challenged myself to a 100% extensive trial with the absolute minimum input costs. On 3 May we introduced 53 rams into a group of 432 ewes. We sponged them but did not spray DMS. We want most ewes to lamb within a short time so that the impact of predators is limited, at least we hope so.
There are also two technological tools that we are going to use. Soon I will tell you about our unmanned drone that will patrol the lambs several times at night as well as our “Bluetooth” collar project which we believe will connect the ewes and the lambs together. Although we did not perform specific stud coverages on this group of ewes, the ewes are still measured for Pedigree data. The lambs cannot be registered, but the lamb’s numbers are still recorded with the ewe. So it remains crucial to pair ewes and lambs together and continue to measure performance. In Phase 3 we will wean the lambs in the field at 100 days and rams will go into our lambing project up to and including slaughter weight directly from the field.
Our final target for Phase 3? To keep our herd of ewes in production and still be profitable at current prices. Both with slaughter lambs as well as with commercial ewe lambs. If we get these things right, we build the platform to be more profitable in the future. Our gene factory’s construction is almost finished and as soon as the market picks up again we will move 800 of our top ewes back to Landrani for maximum genetic improvement in the herd.
I will keep you posted as we progress.
Regards
Pieter 👋
ENG 
AFR