Stanich family wins WAMMCO’s top award

Great Southern farmers Ben and Mardi Stanich won their first WA Meat Marketing Co-operative Producer of the Year award after claiming top points in the crossbred large supplier category. Trading as DM Stanich & Co, the couple delivered 4593 feedlot finished lambs at an average weight of 23.70kg, scoring top points of 90.85 in the annual competition. The Stanich family won the crossbred large supplier category before being awarded the overall win from the five-category competition. They edged out the Lucchesi family, of Kulin, who earned 90.77 points and a second-place finish in the crossbred large supplier category, by just .08. Ben and Mardi are the proud parents of Indi, seven, Charlie, five, Louis, three, and Nina, one, at their farm, 20km south of Pingrup. In accepting the award at WAMMCO’s annual meeting last Wednesday, Mr Stanich thanked the co-operative for the opportunity and Nutrien Livestock agent Mark Warren and Elders agent Russell McKay for finding the lambs. “This was a surprise,” he said. “We rely on our stock agents to source quality crossbred lambs between 28kg and 40kg liveweight for us to finish. White Suffolk cross Merinos types are preferred.” Mr Stanich said his family decided to begin trading lambs on a big scale two years ago to diversify their enterprise and value add their 9500ha crop production. “Sheep will improve our bottom line,” he said. “When the lambs arrive to our farm, we background them on fodder crops including oats, vetch and cereals.” Mr Stanich said the lambs were entered into the feedlot at about 42kg and fed a high-protein-and-energy diet. “Finished lambs are graded out at 51kg-plus, he said.” “We are quite pleased to win this competition and will invest the $5000 prize into our feedlot.” WAMMCO supply and development manager Rob Davidson reiterated the competition took on a new more real commercial competition four years ago. “The Producer of the Year is a Statewide competition,” he said. “It enhances all aspects of the efficiencies for the WAMMCO business.” Mr Davidson said the competition was based on 100 points gained from producers who delivered lambs throughout the year. “Ideally, a nice line of 22kg to 24kg dressed weight lambs nicely muscled — two and three score with no defects is what we’re chasing,” he said. “We see carcases ranging any where from 10kg up to 60kg.” Mr Davidson said producers who delivered 250 lambs, Merino or crossbred, were automaticity entered into competition. “There was a little more than 636,000 lambs, representing 93 per cent of our total lamb throughput per year, involved in this competition,” he said. “In terms of categories, we split into small, medium and large based on the number of lambs that meet that criteria. We try and make as equal as we can.” Mr Davidson said producers hitting the sweet spot — 18 to 28kg carcase weight with fat score two to three and a defect of three would be scored to the maximum of 80 points. “The other possible 20 points are based on delivering your lambs at various times of the year and number of lambs that you deliver at particular quarters of the year,” he said. WAMMCO INTERNATIONAL PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Overall winner: DM Stanich & Co, Pingrup: 90.85 points Crossbred large supplier winner: DM Stanich & Co, Pingrup: 90.85 points Crossbred medium supplier winner: Daybron Farms, Wongan Hills: 90.46 points. Crossbred small supplier winner: JD & TC Alexander, Beverley: 86.13 points. Merino large supplier winner: B & M Waddell, Newdegate: 84.81 points. Merino small supplier winner: TM & CA Brown, Jerramungup: 84.26 points.