News Archive

By Porcia Maley

Australian anthems such as Waltzing Matilda would have us believe that our farmers share a unique bond with their sheep.

But looking at the statistics we could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Every year an estimated 15 - 35 per cent of Australian lambs die within a week of birth - a figure unchanged in 30years. That's around two million lambs in Western Australia alone, or a veritable mountain of roasts, chops and shanks.

Programs are available to farmers which detail strategies to combat problems such as lamb mortality. However, despite widespread awareness of the programs, few farmers participate - just 17 per cent according to a survey by Meat and Livestock Australia. Furthermore, only 11 per cent implemented the recommended strategies following these programs.

Focused feeding, providing shelter and selecting ewes for calm temperament are all strategies recommended to promote lamb survival and, combined, can reduce mortality by up to 50 per cent - potentially enough to impact prices for everyday consumers, according to Assistant Professor Joanne Elliott.

Assistant Professor Elliot and her colleagues from the Schools of Animal Biology and Business at UWA, investigated the driving factors behind the farmers' decision-making processes, in the hope of seeing greater implementation rates throughout the industry.

"Programs tended to focus on changing farmers' attitudes towards certain strategies," A/Professor Elliott said. "We thought that providing the facts would convince them to take up these strategies,"

But they have discovered they may have been on the wrong track.

The study found that farmers' perceptions of control and social influences were also key factors in their decision-making. The study also highlighted the benefits in presenting arguments to farmers on a personal level, relevant to each individual's social, emotional and financial situation.

Previous studies had also found that farmers were inclined to ‘follow the flock', being both more likely to adopt practices after their neighbours implemented them, and to act on information from other farmers than from researchers.

"The fact that farming is a lifestyle rather than just an occupation means there are a lot of factors which play a role," A/Professor Elliot said.

Her study, which used focus groups to identify the attitudes, beliefs and intentions influencing farmers' behaviour, showed that they held positive attitudes toward improving lamb survival, but had mixed attitudes to the strategies themselves.

"Not all strategies suit all farming enterprises and farmers," she said.

"Farmers do want to improve lamb survival; they are interested in doing something. It is a case of us understanding how we can best support them to make those changes."