As the year reaches a critical stage for livestock producers across the state, industry consultants have urged graziers to ensure they are sufficiently monitoring ewe condition, or be prepared for increased mortality rates during lambing.
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South East-based livestock consultant Tim Prance said most producers in his region had started supplementary feeding ewes in mid-January but condition loss was evident.
"Ewes are not looking too bad but most producers are feeding grain at fairly high rates of about 500 grams (a head) to 600g a day," he said.
"At these rates a grain-feed test is essential, as metabolisable energy content of grain can vary by plus or minus 10 per cent.
"It is easy to underfeed or overfeed ewes and overfeeding could cost $4000 for 60 days for 3000 ewes."
Mr Prance also advised producers that because dry feed was low in quality and volume, this point of the season was a critical time for boosting nutrition intake.
"Some producers will need to increase to about 700g of grain a day," he said.
"The key is to monitor ewe condition every few weeks and adjust the amount of grain feeding gradually.
"Producers need to be putting their hand on a ewe's short ribs and measuring how much muscle there is."
But Mr Prance said he did not recommend any major feed adjustments in the final trimester.
"Particularly twin-bearing ewes do not need to gain condition late in the pregnancy, but in all ewes it can cause foetuses to be big and cause ewe and lamb deaths from dystocia," he said.
Sedan grazier Matt Seidel and his brother Daniel run about 1200 Merino ewes and they begun feeding ewes heavily about eight weeks ago.
Ewes are run at Sedan and Wanbi, with lambing expected to begin next week.
"We cropped most of the Sedan country so there was not much feed there but we had better luck at Wanbi," Matt said.
"We have fed out about 10 tonnes of barley and 40 round bales of hay," he said.
"We do not want a repeat of last year when we lost about 10pc of a ewe mob during lambing because we were too late with feeding."
Matt will also begin containment feeding in the coming week.
"It will limit energy loss and for the first time we have also used a loose lick that is high in magnesium and we will keep using it for a further six weeks," Matt said.
"The grain has a buffer pellet in it too so hopefully it stops acidosis, grain poisoning," he said.
Landmark Oakley Orroroo branch manager John Sheehan said it was too late for Upper North producers who had an April/May lambing to improve ewe condition.
"To start feeding at this late stage would have no advantage for the ewes. The main worry for those who are feeding is sourcing hay and grain for an extended period," he said. "But ewes that are in-lamb are also likely to abort or walk away from the lamb.
"Basically if producers are not supplementary feeding with pellets, grain or hay, this area will be a mess in the months to come."
Many Upper North producers have been sporadically supplementary feeding ewes since 2017, and Mr Sheehan said with a long lambing period ahead this season would be another "costly exercise".
"We are coming off the back of pretty ordinary lambing percentages and a 30pc ewe mortality rate during lambing last year and, the cost of feed is as high as it could be," he said.
- It's Ewe Time forums set for SA P36.
