This message came through clearly last week when Barmedman woolgrowers were shearing up to 1900 sheep.

Growers Mick and Norma West, “Waarbilla”, were pleased with the quality of fleece their Merino flock was cutting.

Skirted fleece weights of nearly seven kilograms were being cut off some of the ewes and the quality and lustre was described as excellent.

Aside from getting the genetics right in their flock and selecting the best sheep to grow wool the management of the shearing shed was vital in promoting monetary returns.

Mr West said overall his flock numbers were down on previous years but he was pleased with how the sheep, based on Darriwell bloodlines, were performing.

He said the average flock micron was 20 to 21 and he was happy with that.

“They (sheep) are going really well this year they are cutting a fair bit of wool and it seems to be of good quality,” he said.

In addition to running the Merinos a portion of the older ewes were joined to White Suffolk terminal sires to produce first-cross prime lamb progeny.

“We probably get 200 to 300 lambs each year,” he said.

Full story in The Land on Thursday.