The survey, run three times a year, collects sheepmeat industry livestock numbers and lamb production expectations.
Merinos accounted for 72 per cent of the total breeding ewe flock.
Merino breeding ewes were further divided into Merino ewes for purebred Merino production and Merino ewes for cross-bred production and ‘other’ Merinos, accounting for 51 per cent, 19 per cent, and two per cent of the Merino flock, respectively.
There were 22 million lambs on hand reported by Australian producers.
Merinos made up 55 per cent of the total lamb flock, at 12 million head, followed by first-cross and pure meat lambs (accounting for 19 per cent and 17 per cent of the national lamb flock, respectively).
The breeding ewe population was largest in the Great Southern region of Western Australia at 5.6 million, central-west NSW at five million and south-east NSW at 4.8 million.
The number of lambs on hand in the survey was greatest in central-west NSW at 3.1 million. This was followed by southern WA at about 2.7 million head.
MLA’s Ripley Atkinson said the desire to retain breeding ewe populations stemmed from stellar growing seasons, particularly in the eastern states.
“Compared to the last survey released in February of this year, 27 per cent of producers surveyed said that they would like to increase their ewe flock, while 60 per cent indicated they would like to retain current numbers,” Mr Atkinson said.
“The majority of this growth is coming from eastern Victoria, northern NSW and southern Queensland where there have been very wet conditions.
“This demonstrates plenty of confidence in the market with room for growth moving into spring.”
A total of 7.3 million lambs were marked in the four months.
Merinos accounted for the largest proportion of lambs marked in the past four months at 47 per cent. First-cross breeds and pure meat accounted for 28 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.
While 7.6 million ewes were joined to produce the lambs that were marked in the past four months, national Merino marking rates were below that of non-Merino breeds at 93 per cent and 101 per cent respectively.
A total of 7.6 million lambs are expected to be sold in the next four months, about 34 per cent of the total number of lambs on hand.
Of these Merino, first-cross breeds and pure meat are expected to account for 36 per cent, 29 per cent and 23 per cent of lamb sales, respectively.
“With the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting strong seasonal conditions for the eastern states as the new-season lambs hit the market, the signs are looking positive for the Australian sheepmeat industry,” Mr Atkinson said.
