StockedUp

For WA Sheep and Cattle Industries

Season and production advice

Pastures

• Do not graze pastures to a residual Feed On Offer (FOO) below 600-700 kg DM/ha. Refer to Pastures from Space for current FOO and pasture growth rates for your property. 
• Where possible, rotationally graze pastures allowing rest for improved growth rates and loss of desirable forages due to selective grazing.
• Consider applying nitrogen fertiliser to grassy pastures if spring pasture growth rates are poor to increase summer dry feed. Apply prior to decent rainfall.
• Check the updated Timerite date at TIMERITE to control redlegged earth mites this year.
• Targeted herbicide use can reduce weeds and increase legume content where excess feed is present.
• Always check herbicide labels, as tolerance varies between legume species.
• Combine chemical control with adequate phosphorus and potassium, and rotational grazing, to help legumes outcompete weeds.

Livestock

• Many areas of the Wheatbelt have received much lower-than-average rainfall for the growing season, resulting in low dam levels and reduced pasture production. Formulate or re-visit feed and water budgets, along with your cashflow budget, and put plans in place ahead of time to manage stock numbers, grain/pellet and hay availability, and water availability for the summer/autumn ahead.
• It’s important to get ewes back up to condition score 3 after weaning, and prior to joining. This ensures greater reproductive potential next season. Assess ewes using MLA’s Fit to Join assessment, which involves assessing the udder, condition score, feet and mouth to make decision about a ewe’s fitness to join.
• Wean lambs and calves at target weights to reduce nutritional demands on breeding females and maintain livestock productivity.
• Check sheep regularly for flystrike risk, particularly following spring rainfall and periods of warm, humid weather.  Managing worm burden, and controlling dag and wool around the breech are two short term methods to reduce flystrike incidence. 
• Monitor livestock, particularly lactating cows and ewes, for signs of grass tetany during spring when lush pastures can be low in magnesium and provide appropriate mineral supplementation where required.
• In wetter areas, foot abscesses may become an issue. Keep an eye out for signs such as lameness. Foot abscesses normally only affect one foot, however the signs can also look like footrot, which is a reportable disease, so contact your local DPIRD field vet to investigate.

• Ensure sheep and cattle have access to adequate clean water as temperatures increase and demand rises during spring.

Keep up to date between editions with relevant seasonal information via the Season 2026 webpage.

Sheep industry turn-off update 

Western Australia's (WA) sheep turn-off continued to decline in the first half of 2026, falling 29% year-on-year to 2.16 million head. Adult sheep slaughter dropped sharply by 55% and live sheep exports fell 95%, while interstate transfers increased 66% due to strong eastern states demand. The reduction in sheep sales suggests producers are retaining breeding ewes, with increased lamb tag sales indicating a potential flock rebuild and stabilisation of the WA sheep flock.

For more information, contact Kate Pritchett - kate.pritchett@dpird.wa.gov.au

Cattle industry turn-off update 

WA's cattle turn-off totalled 342,600 head in the first half of 2026, down 6% year-on-year but still 6% above the 10-year average. Domestic slaughter remained the dominant sales channel, accounting for 69% of turn-off, with 235,400 cattle and calves processed, slightly above 2025 levels.

Live exports fell 22% to 91,400 head, while interstate transfers increased 18% to 15,800 head. Feedlot turn-off declined 17% to 83,300 head, although it remained relatively strong by historical standards.

Despite lower live export numbers, strong domestic processing and improved cattle prices supported the industry, with the Western Young Cattle Indicator averaging 989 c/kg in July 2026, its highest July level since 2022.

For more information, contact Kate Pritchett - kate.pritchett@dpird.wa.gov.au

What H5 bird flu means for livestock producers

The risk to Australian livestock industries from H5 bird flu is negligible for beef cattle, sheep and goats, and low for pigs and dairy cattle. This is supported by published national risk assessments.

Despite H5 bird flu being present across the world, there have only been sporadic cases reported in alpacas, pigs and goats, and a single case in a sheep. These have all been associated with grazing with poultry and spillover of the virus from livestock grazing a contaminated environment.

The United States outbreaks in dairy cattle were primarily caused by H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype B3.13, a different genotype to the one detected in Australian H5 bird flu cases, and outbreaks have not occurred in dairy cattle elsewhere.

While currently there is no evidence that H5 bird flu has established in Western Australia, it is advisable to maintain good biosecurity, including running livestock separately from poultry, and minimising contact with wild birds and pests.

Producers should monitor animals as part of their ongoing animal biosecurity, and report unusual illness or deaths in livestock to their DPIRD veterinarian or the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888. Early reporting is critical for protecting livestock industries and cases may be eligible for a subsidised Significant Disease Investigation.

For further information, read the livestock risk assessment factsheet.

For current WA H5 bird flu information, visit wa.gov.au/birdflu.

­Help improve ARGT surveillance in Western Australia 

Annual Ryegrass Toxicity (ARGT) remains an important risk to livestock production and hay industries in Western Australia. Although the incidence of ARGT declined by the early 2000s, recent diagnostic results and producer reports suggest ARGT incidence and distribution may be changing. Combined with changing farming systems and seasonal conditions, there is a need to improve our understanding of where ARGT occurs, and where it doesn't, to better support future surveillance and risk prediction. 

DPIRD has commenced the Modernising Detection, Risk Prediction and Management of Annual Ryegrass Toxicity in Western Australia project to improve ARGT surveillance, better understand current producer practices, and support the development of future risk prediction tools. 

A key part of the project is a 5–7 minute producer survey. We are seeking input from producers across all farming systems where annual ryegrass occurs, including livestock, cropping, dairy and hay enterprises. Even if you have never experienced ARGT, your responses are just as valuable in helping us build a more complete picture of ARGT risk across WA. 

Survey participants can also register their interest in receiving a free ELISA ARGT test kit (limited numbers available). 

Are you ram sale season ready?

Ram sale season is ramping up with producers preparing breeding flocks for joining and turning their attention to producing next year’s lambs. Stud breeders across WA are presenting their top genetics through on-property sales and auctions. Purchasing the right ram is one of the most significant long-term investments a producer will make in flock productivity. A single ram can sire hundreds of progeny during his working life, so selecting the right ram for your enterprise has a lasting impact on genetic gain, flock performance and the bottom line.

Know what you're breeding for before you walk into a sale. Before comparing figures, be clear on your breeding objective. What do you need this ram to do in your system? A terminal sire with high growth and carcase yield for prime lambs fits into a different system than a maternal or dual-purpose sire building fertility, wool and mothering ability into a self-replacing flock. Are you maintaining consistency in an established program, or shifting the direction of your flock - lifting fertility, increasing lean meat yield, reducing fibre diameter? Your objective should reflect what the enterprise sells, when, and to what specification, plus what suits your environment and management system. Deciding this before sale day means you already know which traits, and which index, should carry the most weight and stops the second-guessing at the yards. Use your breeding objective to guide your use of Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs), which let you compare animals on genetic merit for traits like fleece weight, fibre diameter, growth rate, carcase characteristics, fertility and lamb survival, regardless of how well-fed or presented a ram looks on the day.

Genetics aside, rams also require a thorough physical assessment. Check rams carefully for sound feet, legs, teeth and reproductive health. Testicles should be firm and evenly sized, with adequate scrotal circumference, which is closely associated with sperm production and fertility.

Preparation does not end once the purchase is made. Nutrition and health management in the eight weeks leading up to joining can significantly influence semen quality and reproductive performance. Aim for a body condition score of approximately 3.5 at joining, maintain effective parasite and vaccination programs, and minimise stress associated with transport, shearing and feed changes prior to joining.

As Western Australian producers continue to navigate seasonal variability and market pressures, ram selling season remains an important opportunity to lift flock performance, by making ram selection decisions that are grounded in a clear breeding objective, backed by data and a hands-on check, and followed through with the right preparation once the ram gets home.

Pilbara Extension Network Round 2 (PEN-2)

Six Pilbara station women. Six projects. One network built on the idea that the people closest to the land are best placed to drive what's learned from it.

PEN-2 brings together station leads from across the Pilbara to investigate the questions that matter most to their operations, from cattle health and reproductive performance to landscape restoration and community connection to country.

Each lead works through a series of practical modules delivered on-station, with consistent online support in between. Equipping leads to not only answer their own questions, but contribute to the broader knowledge base for the region.

The result is a network where knowledge flows in every direction.

PEN-2 Projects

• Lyndon Station is looking at ecological recovery in the gilgai (crabhole) systems found across the Pilbara.
• Limestone Station is developing an on-country youth program focused on land stewardship and connection to country.
• Noreena Downs Station is investigating the links between phosphorus deficiency, cattle health and productivity in Pilbara pastoral systems.
• Winning Station is examining reproductive performance in heifer herds.
• Ethel Creek Station is building understanding of what drives reproductive success in young cattle under Pilbara conditions.
• Munda Station is investigating rehabilitation approaches for degraded claypan systems.

For more information, visit the PIP website and read the media release.

WA Roadmap Implementation Fund – $2.5 million Farm System Productivity Program

The Farm System Productivity Program is now open until 3 September 2026.

This program provides funding to assist priority actions and activities identified in the WA Roadmap to 2028 as part of the $5 million WA Roadmap Implementation Fund.

The program enables a broad range of project ideas that align with the WA Roadmap to 2028 and deliver benefits across the broader WA sheep industry that improve productivity, profitability and industry collaboration.

Grants of $50,000 to $750,000 (GST exclusive), are available. Co-contributions are not required but are encouraged to enhance the value and impact of the proposed project.

Our work

Using advanced technologies such as GreenFeed units, Umair measures methane and carbon dioxide emissions from grazing and feedlot livestock to improve understanding of greenhouse gas production and identify practical mitigation strategies for the livestock industry.

Umair holds a PhD in Animal Nutrition from The University of Western Australia and completed postdoctoral research at the University of New England. He has extensive experience in ruminant methane measurement and emission reduction strategies, including the evaluation of feed additives such as Asparagopsis and 3-NOP.

Latest n-ewes

• Tips, targets and tools for more lambs from ewe lambs
• Check out the pastoral station fence and trap yard cost calculation tools, developed for participants of DPIRD's Southern Rangelands Revitalisation Program, but can be used by any pastoral station! 
• Catch up on the latest BeefConnect webinar
• Subscribe to DPIRD's other newsletters: Seasonal Climate Outlook, PestFacts WA, and Ovine Observer. 

Events

• Newdegate Machinery Field Days
  2 - 3 September - Newdegate
• Cunderdin Ag Open Day 
  4 September - Cunderin

• Facey Group Feed to Finish bus tour

• 9 September - Wickepin

• UWA Farm Ridgefield 2026 Open Day
  11 September - West Pingelly

• ASHEEP & BEEF - Spring Field Day
  17 September - Esperance
• Rangeland Rehydration Grader Field Day
  17 September - Cue
• BeefEx 
  22 - 24 September - Gold Coast
• Sheep Field Day 2026
  15 October - Katanning 

Further information

WA Sheep and Cattle Industry news from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). If you have any questions, or require further information please email livestock@dpird.wa.gov.au

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Important disclaimer 
The Chief Executive Officer of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the State of Western Australia accept no liability whatsoever by reason of negligence or otherwise arising from the use or release of this information or any part of it.

Copyright © State of Western Australia (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development), 2026.