Ram sales for the three studs continued to grow, peaking in 1989 with 1300 rams – 610 One Oak rams, 320 One Oak No.2 rams and 370 Poll Merino rams. That same year, One Oak’s Melbourne sale team topped at $55,000 with an average of $22,000. At the same time, Graham also purchased Pooginook “Cuthbert” for a record two-tooth Peppin price of $50,000. Graham would eventually add another stud breeding line to the One Oak operation. While visiting South Africa in 1990, he noticed a trend emerging for a different type of Merino – a pronounced breeding emphasis on early maturity and carcass traits – and, on returning to Australia, Graham would import embryos from Andries Pienaar, Kilassfotein Stud, Colesberg. Graham called this new family the Prime family, with an accent on growth rate and high eye muscle with high fertility. This is a characteristic that a lot of studs are now combining in their breeding goals. Graham was also a very early adopter of DNA technology and used it across all his special stud groups. Having all the One Oak special stud ewes DNA sampled allowed him to drop the time-consuming process of mothering up lambs for DNA pedigrees. With the added fleece weight, micron and lambing records, he was able to produce an in-house recording system that tracked the lifetime production performance of his topend stud animals. One Oak was a founding member of the Riverina Field Days, which showcased the three studs’ depth of quality and breeding goals. Graham was as a long-time committee member, serving as President from 1990 to 1991. Graham commented on the impact of the field day by saying, “It gave studs the opportunity to showcase their studs to visitors from all parts of Australia and overseas and give every stud the opportunity to market their product on an equal basis”. Graham also served as a long-time NSW SMBA Councillor and was Chairman of the Technical Committee. He was keen to integrate the scientific aspects of Merino sheep breeding with the practical approaches used by stud masters. To achieve this, Graham dedicated considerable time consulting with numerous bodies, believing that the fusion of these two worlds could bring about positive outcomes for the industry. Graham was made a Life Governor of the NSW SMBA in 2016 for his many years of service. Graham was involved with the start-up of Sire Evaluation committees in the Riverina, both at the Hay Field Station and the Faulkiner Memorial Field Station, Conargo. Professor Euan Roberts of the University of Sydney, Allan Casey of the Department of Primary Industries and many other Riverina studmasters were on the committee that elected Graham Wells as Chair. These committees eventually, like other areas, also undertook trials and became the organisations we know today as Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association (AMSEA). Graham terminated his involvement with AMSEA because the organisation decided to combine on-farm data with the AMSEA data from sire evaluation central test results. At Faulkiner Field Station, under the leadership of Graham as Chair, two consecutive wether trials were conducted. The first trial was an open trial using a random draft selection method, while the second trial involved clients of Riverina Field Day stud members who were able to select their own team using their preferred selection method. Both trial teams were managed together as one group until shearing, after which results were calculated. Graham with One Oak “Alexandra”– who was sashed Supreme Exhibit Jerilderie, Grand Champion Ewe Deniliquin and Grand Champion Medium Ewe Melbourne in 1992. – 49 –
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