What new breed of Australian sheep is being called the Wagyu of the sheep world? Find out why this need breed is in hot demand the world over and what sets it apart from other more traditional breeds of sheep. Read on to learn more about the Australian White and how you can import this breed into your market.
What are Australian White Sheep?
The Australian White Sheep is a specialty bred woolless (haired) sheep – promoted as a low maintenance, high quality meat producing alternative to traditional wool lambs. It’s become known for exceptional eating quality, flavour and high intra-muscular fat content.
According to a radio interview on 2GB (5th October 2017), the Aussie White is the fastest growing sheep association in Australia. They recently had their fourth annual Australian White sale where 23 stud rams were offered for a 100% clearance with the top sold for $240k and average sale price of $9,700.
Around the country and around the world the mentality that a sheep must have wool is changing. Many farms are now looking for high-protein, woolless breeds of sheep.
The Australian White Origins
The Australian White’s heritage boasts the best traits from Poll Dorset, Texel, White Dorper and Van Rooy genes. It has taken many years of line breeding and crossing to develop a good blend of characteristics that take in the right proportions of the aforementioned breeds. The result is a breed of sheep with very marketable points of difference. This is reflected in the ever-growing export demand for this high quality breed.
Benefits and Characteristics of the Australian White Sheep
- In terms of eating quality, some think the Australian White is better than Wagyu
- The meat quality is high in omega 3 fatty acids and has a low melting point, making it an ideal premium choice for selective consumers
- An award winning breed, the result of extensive research and world class breeding projects in Australia
- Bred to be woolless: the sheep have short hair (as sheep originally did)
- The hair grows longer in winter and shorter in summer (similar to a horse)
- These woolless sheep are generally regarded as being easier to farm because they don’t need to be shorn or mulesed.
- In country areas where you can’t get shearers (labour shortages), hairless sheep are ideal
- They have a thick leather-like coat that increases lamb survival rates in cooler climates
Australian White Sheep for Export
Right now there are around 65 registered Australian White breeding studs in Australia, and Australia’s Livestock Exporters can certainly help you secure this highly sought after breed for export to your local market. There is growing demand in the international market for the Australian White and we are seeing growing exports to markets like China, Mongolia, Canada and South America.
According to an article published by the ABC:
“Kazakhstan used to have around 40 million sheep; they were the backbone of the Russian sheep industry, but from the statistics they’ve given us they are down to two million sheep. They are lifting numbers again but they are basically looking for shedding sheep.”
That is where the Australian White Sheep comes in and could be the perfect solution for markets like Kazakhstan that are looking for high quality, shedding sheep.
Contact Australia’s Livestock Exporters
Australia’s Livestock Exporters can help you import the Australian White Sheep into your local market so you can breed up your stock levels, helping you to meet the ever-growing global demand for this premium breed. We also export a variety of sheep breeds.
