The key performance indicators for a sheep business are:
- stocking rate
- profit from livestock trading
- cost structure
- gross margin
- cost of production.
Running sheep can be a labour-costly venture but with some planning and small investments in the right technology it can be efficient and pleasurable. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the Sheep Cooperative Research Centre (Sheep CRC) have produced a book that sets out the most important and labour efficient techniques for sheep enterprises.
Sheep - the simple guide publication
The guide is for farmers wanting to quickly update themselves on the technology and infrastructure they need to get back into the industry or, for those currently in the industry, to lift the efficiency of their system to increase their flock size and/or profitability. The guide was written and produced by Bob Hall (JRL Hall and Co) and Sheep CRC and department staff Mark Ferguson, Andrew Thompson and Mandy Curnow.
Topics covered in the guide include:
- manage for ease & success
- less droving, more driving
- headache-free husbandry
- healthy sheep save time
- well-fed sheep
- money grows in paddocks.
This publication is now available as a downloadable PDF (4MB) See the link in the side menu or to order a free hard copy (A4 65 pages), please email the department's Albany office.