It is such very hard times for sheep farmers in Western Australia. It’s been a very teary day for me. Started organising a neighbour to dig a pit big enough to put 3,000+ sheep in. This video shows our beautiful lambs. I can’t cope with the thought of shooting them. No buyers. pic.twitter.com/NBOEv7nx3Y

— @calukafarms (@calukafarms) April 17, 2024

THE frustrations of Western Australian sheep farmers battling with low prices and the proposed live export trade phaseout has been highlighted in the recent social media posts of struggling WA farmer Wayne Smith.

Mr Smith’s 17 April Caluka Farms post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was organising to shoot sheep received more than 831,000 views by today, prompting a flood of comments ad advice.

“It is such very hard times for sheep farmers in Western Australia. It’s been a very teary day for me. Started organising a neighbour to dig a pit big enough to put 3,000+ sheep in. This video shows our beautiful lambs. I can’t cope with the thought of shooting them. No buyers,” the Caluka Farms post said.

“When no one can buy them, there is no more money to buy feed for them (if you can find any to buy), there is no feed in the paddocks and sometimes no water, there is no choice. We can’t let them suffer from hunger and thirst. It breaks our hearts having to do it. Gut wrenching,” Mr Smith said.

Mr Smith posted that he had been trying for many months to sell down his flock.

“Had 6,000. Down to 4,600 but 1400+ are dropping lambs. Can’t sell them for another few months. It’s been brick walls trying to sell them. Our agent is working really hard, but so many are in the same boat and can’t buy them, nor take them.”

Mr Smith posted many had already made the decision to shoot sheep.

“I’m just not as strong, yet, but there is no other option for hundreds and hundreds of sheep farmers. This is all political. Records imports and prices overseas, but we are being squashed and blocked in Australia, especially West Australia.”

Government policy and lack of rain made it tough

Sheep Central has been unable to contact Mr Smith, but was been told by his friend and crop consultant and no-till pioneer Bill Crabtree that he is well-respected in the state and is “a champion of innovation.”

Mr Smith is the director of Agronomic Acumen, an agricultural consultancy firm that specialises in agronomy “and helps farmers to achieve crop yields and livestock production beyond what was thought possible.” His website says he has an Honours degree in Agricultural Science (majoring in Agronomy) from the University of Western Australia. After six years as a research scientist with the Department of Agriculture in Western Australia, he started his private consulting business in 1992.

Mr Crabtree said Mr Smith had been able to sell some of sheep and lambs “for a low rate,” and hasn’t had to shoot any yet.

“Not yet, he will keep that option open.”

Mr Crabtree said the “two Gs have got him (Mr Smith)” — an Act of God in the lack rainfall for eight months and an Act of Government in the live sheep trade phaseout policy.

“He wouldn’t have anticipated eight months of no rain.

“He’s been an innovation champion, but the two things have come together and made it tough.”

Mr Crabtree said Mr Smith has been able to quadruple the stocking rates or Dry Sheep Equivalent capacity of his land to run 4000 sheep on his 180 hectare (arable) farm between Albany and Mt Barker for the last four years, by investing in soil fertility, pasture quality and sheep handling innovations.

“Normally he would be able to hang onto the sheep because he normally gets rain up to November and it starts again in March, but this year it has been eight months of very dry weather – it hasn’t rained since September and no rain now.

“He will have to let the whole thing go.”

Mr Crabtree said Wayne Smith has been an innovation champion and his “right-hand man and co-leader” during the no-till revolution in the state.

“Wayne inspired people to believe that they could grow really high-yielding crops and one of his favourite sayings was ‘a tortoise doesn’t make any progress unless it sticks its neck out’.”

A ‘serious cry for help’ – Hassell

WA Farmers president John Hassell said Mr Smith’s posts were “a serious cry for help.”

“The dire prices for sheep have essentially forced him into receivership, so they’ve been sold out.

“But since he put that post on there (X) he has had some people take the lambs – I don’t know whether he has sold them or given them away and the rest of the sheep I just don’t know.”

Mr Hassell said an AgForm analysis of mutton prices in Western Australia last week showed that mutton was selling at 80c/kg cwt in WA, with the national mutton indicator of 266c/kg. The mutton indicators in the other states were Queensland 182c/kg, South Australia 191c/kg, Tasmania 205c/kg, Victoria 284c/kg and New South Wales 297c/kg.

Mr Hassell said the problem Western Australia had was that Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt and even the WA Premier Roger Cook did not accept that the proposed phaseout of the live sheep export trade by sea was affecting the price of sheep in the state.

“The reality is that it (the phaseout policy) has had a massive effect on the sheep prices in Western Australia and it certainly has an effect on the cattle as well.

He said livestock exporters were already redirecting their vessels to service other markets because of the Federal Government’s phaseout policy.

“But also, they haven’t invested in the ships to maintain them.”

This meant that were fewer live sheep vessels were servicing the WA market and fewer opportunities for associated live cattle exports, Mr Hassell said.

“And the season finished in September last year, which is very early and so people didn’t have the conserved fodder, huge numbers of farms have more stock on their farms than they have ever had before because they haven’t been able to turn them off.

“And we are not able to sell because there is an oversupply.”

The disruptions to air freight flights into the Middle East – due to the Qatar Airlines decision and Iran-Israeli conflict — stopped trade that totalled 15,000 lambs a week, he said.

“An avalanche of issues have all hit us at once and Murray Watt then pretends that it is nothing to with the live trade issue.”

Mr Hassell said there are proposals to shorten the three month self-imposed moratorium on Middle East live sheep exports during the northern summer that normally starts on 1 June.

“It needs to be shortened now, but the problem is the boats are already not coming.

“I think they should be shortening it by two months down to just August,” he said.

“My goal is to defeat this (live sheep phaseout policy) policy, it is a shocking policy, but I don’t think Murray Watt realises how bad it is and is pandering to the Greens, inner city lefties and the Animal Justice Party.

“If there are any animal welfare issues being caused now it is down to them 100 percent,” Mr Hassell said.

“The RSPCA, the Greens, the Animal Justice Party have caused this, no-one else.”

Mr Hassell said Mr Smith has been to lift his year-round stocking rate to 45 DSEs, but is not unable to turn off stock when necessary because of the lack of abattoir space and downturn in live sheep  export demand.

Episode 3 analyst Matt Dalgleish’s most recent post ‘A critical time’ outlines why viable year-round marketing options for WA sheep producers are needed, with the impact of airfreight disruptions, price differences leading to the movement of sheep from Western Australia to eastern states and the loss of the live export avenue for turnoff until mid-September due to the moratorium. Mr Dalgleish said science and economics favoured a shortening of the live export moratorium to the month of August.

“He (Mr Smith) is not the only one over there, I’ve seen several others in his position.”