Background information on sheep gross margin budgets
Sheep production in NSW is carried out in a wide range of environments from high rainfall tablelands country to arid country in the west. There are a range of production systems that producers have developed to meet particular markets. The budgets provided represent the more common production systems available in NSW.
They are for theoretical flocks of 1000 ewes or wethers. Assumptions are made regarding weaning percentages, death rates and growth rates to determine sale numbers and costs. The majority of the budgets presented are based on improved country capable of running any of the enterprises. The production levels are achievable by most genuine producers, given good management practices and sufficient planning.
These budgets are not a complete list of all sheep production enterprises. The aim of these budgets is to provide producers with an additional planning tool to help evaluate options. The budgets presented are a statement of recent costs and prices. As we all know, it is extremely difficult to accurately predict future prices, growth rates and feeding costs, to name a few of the variables. However, by using the best available information, it is still better to evaluate your options by making your own projections and combining them into a business plan for your property. These budgets will help you in developing your own budgets.
