ABOUT 400 head of WA Dorpers may be heading to Malaysia after Douwana Dorpers stud principal Kim Batten and veterinarian Bob Nickels visited the nation last month.

Mr Batten said they travelled to the Sabah and Sarawak regions in Malaysia in mid-October, where they visited three palm oil estates of “a progressive, forward-thinking plantation owner, who is widening his palm rows to allow for some use of machinery”.

“Almost all palm is harvested, fertilised and sprayed by hand,” Mr Batten said.

“The plantation owner we visited is moving to spraying and fertilising with machines although not yet harvesting due to a lack of purpose-designed equipment.

“By widening the rows to allow for machinery, more sunlight is able to penetrate through the plantation providing an opportunity to run livestock.”

Click here to read the full story by Aidan Smith for the Farm Weekly.