Sheep farmers are facing the ‘perfect storm’ from government policy and mounting costs

As Federal Labor’s live sheep export ban looms, farmers are making important calls, but say they are being “attacked from all sides” by rising costs and government interference. Andrew Schilling lives on his Beverley sheep and cropping property with his partner, Vanessa, and four children, who all have an interest in pursuing a career in agriculture. Mr Schilling runs Merino and Kojak sheep, and said he is exploring the possibility of on-farm feedlotting. Merino sheep typically take longer to make weight specifications and are usually sold off just before they reach hogget age. This means the market often pay heavily discounted prices for the breed if they are not finished off — hence the desire to pursue on-farm feedlotting instead. “It would be a pretty serious investment, just so we can finish the animals all year around,” Mr Schilling said. However, the cost of on-farm enterprises is not the only expense the family have had to think about. Mr Schilling said interest rates, the recent crash in sheep prices, accelerated input costs for fertiliser, rising insurance prices, as well as having to compete with large-scale farming businesses for machinery has left them in a “pear-shaped” situation. “That leaves the poor old family farm scraping at the bottom of the barrel with the second-hand equipment dregs because they can’t justify investing that kind of money,” he said. Federal Labor’s ban on live sheep exports by sea — set to take effect in May 2028 — is “just another layer of bureaucratic red tape” that has added to the “perfect storm”. “What it does, it erodes a farmer’s confidence and enthusiasm because they’re always being attacked from all these different angles,” Mr Schilling said. Another major concern — “the scary bit” — was the predicted drop in WA’s flock size as a direct result of the ban. “You’ve got a deflated and unenthusiastic production system …. If they’re (producers) disengaged and have given up, and then you pour this whole big bucket of money into setting the industry up, it will become a white elephant because the industry has shrunk,” Mr Schilling said. “The Government needs to give the farmers the confidence to stay in (the industry).” Mr Schilling’s partner echoed this sentiment. “There’s no firm plan. So everyone is just going to keep reducing, because they have no idea where we’re going with this,” she said. “You can’t always carry sheep.” Asked if a four-year timeframe was long enough for WA’s sheep industry to transition from live exports, Mr Schilling said “it’s going to be a crash landing, whichever way you look at it”. North Badgingarra livestock producer Dennis Martin finishes his sheep on-farm and supplies pure Merino and crossbred lamb to the local butcher trade through Borrello Beef Processing. Mr Martin runs both a pure Merino self-replacing flock of 2300 breeders from Hill Padua (Multi-Purpose Merino type) and Challara (Soft Rolling Skin type) bloodlines, and puts terminal Poll Dorset and Charollais sires over another 2300 Merino breeders. He has been in the livestock industry his entire life. He said unless producers were “really committed” to spending money and time in on-farm enterprise, they may be better off trying to foster a relationship with their local commercial feedlotters to get the best possible price for their animals. Mr Martin also said he was fortunate to have a good water source, which was integral for feedlotting. “You can spend all the money on genetics, you can spend all the money you want on a feed ration, but if you do not give them (the sheep) good, clean, cool water, they’re not going to eat,” he said. Mr Martin, who is opposed to the live export ban, said the best thing the Albanese Government could do to help farmers was “not interfere” in the first place. WHERE AND WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT? Investing in on-farm feedlotting involves a lot of expenses, research and planning for the producer, as mentioned by Mr Martin. Out of the $107 million transition support package announced on May 11, $64.6 million has been set aside to assist business planning and actions to expand domestic sheep processing capacity, and to pay for community wellbeing activities and the services of rural financial councillors. $27 million will go towards enhancing domestic and international demand for sheep products to maintain and grow market opportunities, as well as to fund market analyses, consumer studies and build business relationships. The Federal Government is yet to break down where exactly the funds will go. During consultations, Independent Market analysis service Episode Three proposed a 12-year timeline to stagger out transition activities such as change consultancy, farm enterprise change trials and lamb feedlot trials and expansions to allow for a “smoother, more-cost effective transition”. However, the Independent Panel contracted by the Labor Government knocked back this idea in favour of the current four-year timeline. WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis has pledged to push for more transition support funding, however, many believe no amount of financial aid will be enough, including red meat industry expert Peter Barnard. Mr Barnard, who is a past international markets general manager for Meat and Livestock Australia, delivered a fiery speech earlier this month at LambEx, where he slammed the current transition support package as “a joke”. “I wouldn’t worry about the package because no amount of compensation would be sufficient to redress the damage that will be done to animal agriculture,” he said. Federal Labor has also promised $1.7 million for a new “transition advocate” to facilitate two-way communication between the Government and industry bodies, but there has been no announcement on who will be appointed to the role, or when. $11.1 million was put towards the implementation of the phase-out, which includes a transition progress stocktake in 2026-27. However, the Government has previously stated the live export end-date will not be moved back, regardless of the stocktake’s findings.