Q&A: Building a Resilient Sheep Business in WA – Rhodes Pastoral

In the heart of Western Australia’s south west mixed-farming country, Rhodes Pastoral has taken a deliberate, long-term approach to building a resilient sheep enterprise. Farm Manager Michael Wright explains how the 15,378-hectare operation built feedlot, finishing pens, invested in on-farm water security, and focused on producing high-quality lamb. Genetics have underpinned this plan, with Rhodes Pastoral breeding its own Merino rams and operating a registered White Suffolk stud. It’s a system where nutrition and genetics work together to maximise each lamb’s potential. Today, the business joins about 25,000 ewes, finishes its own lambs, and remains firmly focused on quality, efficiency and control over its supply chain. 

Q: You’ve got quite a diverse operation, including cattle, cropping, and sheep. Why have you persisted with sheep?  We’ve stuck with sheep because it’s a good way to manage risk in a mixed-farming area. This is dual-purpose country - cropping and livestock go hand-in-hand. We’ve already invested heavily in facilities and fencing, so six years ago we made the call to start finishing our own Merino wether lambs. The writing was on the wall for live export back then, so we built our own finishing pens and invested in a mixer. It’s been the right decision - we’ve been finishing both Merinos and crossbreds since. 

Q: How are your finishing pens set up?  We’ve got three feedlots with six pens each, holding about 500 sheep per pen. They’re built on laneways close to the yards, with quality water and shade structures. The troughs are concrete around a 5,000-litre cup-and-saucer setup (to limit mud) and the pipes are buried 800mm deep to keep the water cool. The pens have shade sails, at the back and the sheep are fed at the front. This forces the sheep to move from the back to the front – keeping their rumen active. 

Q: What role does nutrition play in your system?  A huge one. We brought in a nutritionist and use a whole-farm ration built around what we grow - barley, oats, lupins and hay. We’ve also installed key dams to drought-proof the property - so we aren’t forced to sell lambs because we’ve run out of water - and supply the finishing pens. Backgrounding is critical, too. We start pre-weaning by giving lambs straw or hay to stimulate rumen development. Once that rumen’s developed, they can handle grain and really perform - they hit the feedlot ready to rock and roll. Feeding roughage pre- and post-weaning sets them up to reach their genetic potential. 

Q: How do genetics and nutrition work together in your business?  As the saying goes, feed well, breed well. Genetics only pays off if you feed stock properly from day one. We AI our Merinos and White Suffolks and spend a lot on sires. But if you don’t grow young animals right, they’ll never express that genetic potential - it affects every lamb they produce after that. 

Q: What makes your feedlot design different?  Shade is a big one. We noticed sheep always camped under trees near the old dams, so our new feedlots have coastal-style shelters that allow airflow but still let us get machinery underneath. We’ve got starter, grower and finisher rations that gradually increase barley and reduce lupins. Canola oil binds nutrients to each grain, so every mouthful delivers the right balance. We also strengthened all entry and exit points - double-strapped fences, pig netting and W-strap reinforcement - so pens are safe and easy to manage. 

Q: The live export phase-out hit confidence hard. How did you prepare for that?  We saw it coming. Years ago, we had a chat with the owner and CEO of D.F.D Rhodes back then (Rhodes Pastoral now). If the government had moved loading live sheep to Kwinana, instead of through the cafe strip at Fremantle 20 years ago, we might not be in this position. But when it became clear the policy was heading that way, we made a business decision - built infrastructure, invested in a mixer, put in dams and focused on value-adding. We already had everything else - grain, water, yards, shearing shed, loading ramps - so it made sense to scale up and finish lambs ourselves. 

Q: Do you get feedback from your abattoir?  Not really - just a kill sheet. No comments, no data, no feedback. It’s frustrating. There’s little competition here and no forward contracts, which makes it tough for producers. I’ve raised it at meetings - we need more processors and options to keep pricing fair. 

Q: How important is feedback for your breeding and management decisions?  Critical. If we had carcase feedback - intramuscular fat, shear force, meat quality - it would shape our genetics program. We’re already breeding eating quality in our White Suffolks, but we don’t get paid for it yet. If abattoirs shared data, we could improve faster and deliver what consumers want. 

Q: What would you like to see change in the next 5–10 years? Forward contracts. And more competition. Farmers need incentives to supply year-round and confidence to invest. Consistent flow into abattoirs benefits everyone, but we need systems that reward planning and production. 

Q: How many sheep are you running now?  We mated about 25,000 ewes and this year marked 25,300 lambs- 14,000 are Merinos. We turn off 14,000–15,000 lambs to processors, with smaller Merinos going into airfreight markets at around 18–20kg and the rest are replacements or rams.  

Q: What’s sentiment like in WA? It’s been tough after a couple of dry years - low water and feed - and the live export decision forced a few hands. Some pulled fences out for cropping and might regret it now. In mixed systems like ours, spreading risk is key. Maintain your infrastructure, do the one-percenters, and when things turn, you’re ready. Those who walked away will find it costly to rebuild.