Edition 100 of the Ovine Observer
One hundred editions of the Ovine Observer, 26 years of pasture, meat, husbandry and breeding research.
The first edition of the Ovine Observer was published in September 1997. The key topics of discussion included the export market, finishing lambs on tagastate, preparing sheep for slaughter, progeny testing among other topics. The aim for the newsletter was to improve the communication of research progress and results to producers interested in improving their sheep meat production enterprise.
The Ovine Observer now has over 600 subscribers. Many from within Australia’s borders, and some beyond. The Ovine Observer still holds to a focus on providing information on research, case studies and other key industry findings.
Fact Files 1997 vs 2023
The first edition of the Ovine Observer included some facts about the sheep industry. Looking back we can see how the sheep industry has grown over the past 26 years.
Issue 1 – September 1997
- Average carcase weight for Australian lambs in 1995-96 was 18.5 kg compared to 17.6 kg in 1990.
- Total lamb exports for April 1997 was 6,509 tonnes, shipped weight, and increase of 44% for the same period the previous year.
- The Australian export industry accounts for 25% of total lamb production, the remaining 17% is consumed on the domestic market.
- The value of Australian lamb exports in 1995-96 was $198.7 million, compared to $132.8 million in 1990-91 (Agriculture Western Australia 1997).
Issue 100 – September 2023
- 2023 lamb carcase weights were forecasted to be 25.1 kg (MLA 2023a).
- Total lamb exports for April 2023 was 22,222 tonnes, shipped weight (Australian Gov 2023a).
- In 2022 the Australian export industry accounted for 75% of total sheepmeat utilisation, 25% was utlised on the domestic market (MLA 2023b)
- The value of Australian sheepmeat exports for the 2021-22 financial year was $4.3 billion. The main driver being a global shift from mutton consumption to lamb (Australian Gov 2023b).
References
Agriculture Western Australia (1997) ‘Fact File: the Australian Lamb Industry’, Ovine Observer, 1.
Australian Government (2023a) ‘Australian red meat export statistics, April end-of-month report’.
Australian Government (2023b) ‘Snapshot- Australian sheepmeat exports’.
MLA (2023a) ‘Sheep Projections’.
MLA (2023b) ‘Market Snapshot’.