Speak to any sheep farmer in Western Australia and it is hard to get past the small talk without a mention of the recent debate on sheep export and how this impacts their livestock operations. The following is a story by Simon Williamson, a well-known farmer who has land in Kukerin and Williams. His story is one from the perspective of a committed sheep farmer who treats his sheep like they are family. Simon is extremely passionate about all aspects of agriculture and is always happy to dedicate hours of his time discussing the challenges facing the industry. He was born into a well known farming family in Williams. From there, he began working on farms across Western Australia and eventually settled on his own farm at Kukerin, before recently moving back to the family farm at Williams. Here is his story:
Simon Williamson is a third-generation sheep farmer from Williams whose family has been involved with live export since the days of Singapore wethers, dating back to sometime around the 1960s. Simon is a LiveCorp accredited on-board stockman and has sailed on board a multitude of vessels, including Bader 3, Barkley Pearl, Diamantina, Maysora, Nada, Finola, Drover, Bison Express, and the Awassi express. As you can see, he has been very active in the livestock sheep export market. He was one of the accredited stockmen on board the maiden voyage of the Awassi.
Simon has seen the Australian live export industry constantly improving the world standards for sheep export, even before the introduction of Australian Standards for the Export of Live Animals (ASEL) and before ESCAS importing countries were demanding delivery standards like ours.
On Simon’s most successful voyage he had zero mortalities. On the worst voyage he experienced he recorded a mortality rate of 0.8%. This was not due to conditions aboard but rather to an aggressive and very rapid spread of pneumonia. With quick veterinary intervention he slowed mortalities to only acute cases.
Throughout his journeys, Simon has found that vessel staff he worked alongside were some of the hardest working men you’ll ever meet, and were always willing to help. He spoke openly with them about living and working on the ships. On board they earn approximately three times that of a standard wage in their home towns. Their income is a great source of international revenue that will be spent domestically when sent home to their families.
Like all industries, this one has evolved. When Simon first got into live export, many years ago, it was a male dominated sector that employed well-known livestock handlers. These days, thanks to the unsung hard work of great, persistent, undeterred women like Blyth Callan, Fiona Bird, and Stephanie Combes, to his knowledge female stockwomen outnumber their male counterparts. The live export industry has diversified with the introduction of stockwomen and multi-racial stockpersons.
Simon feels live export is still being judged for incidents that occurred many years ago. The standards in more recent years have improved time and time again, yet the industry is still having the past held against its present and its future. These days voyages are consistently achieving decreased mortality, and increased discharge weights. Thanks to the Livestock Collective, the live export industry is now one of the most open door primary affiliated industries.
As a passionate sheep farmer, who values his animals, Simon’s time aboard was enlightening, educational, and eye-opening. Walking the decks alongside a LiveCorp accredited stockperson, meeting with the exporting agents in destination countries, talking to the importers, and seeing the network of people connected to the industry was an invaluable experience. He is keen to share the positives, and the lessons learned, from these experiences.
