TOP SIRE 2023–2024 Annual Publication of NSW Stud Merino Breeders’ Association
GOING FURTHERTM NutrienAgSolutions.com.au NUTRIEN AG SOLUTIONS STUD STOCK NATIONAL NETWORK Market Insights Access to Export Markets Sheep Classing Leading Auctioneers Sheep Specialists Breeding Advisory Semen Sales Sire Selection Marketing Advice On Property Sale Specialists Our Services Brad Wilson bradley.wilson@nutrien.com.au 0417 467 911 Rick Power richard.power@nutrien.com.au 0437 131 925 Gordon Wood gordon.wood@nutrien.com.au 0408 813 215 SA NSW Stephen Chalmers stephen.chalmers@nutrien.com.au 0427 908 831 Nick Farley nicholas.farley@nutrien.com.au 0427 529 335 Mitch Crosby mitchell.crosby@nutrien.com.au 0438 918 992 WA VIC
Welcome – NSW President’s Message 3 New Members 6 2022 Merino Calendar Updates 8 Industry News 11 Merinos on Farm 18 Hall of Fame 29 Vale 37 Show and Sale Results 47 Field Days 77 Flock Ewe Competitions 81 NSW SMBA Trust 93 NSW Stud Directory 97 NSW Contact Index 109 Advertisers Directory 112 CONTENTS NSW STUD MERINO BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION LTD Executive Officer: Megan Giannini A: Locked Bag 4317 Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127 P: 02 9763 2744 M: 0431 876 485 E: office@merinonsw.com.au W: merinonsw.com.au President: Hamish McLaren P: 02 6777 5881 M: 0429 772 778 Snr Vice President: Justin Campbell Vice President: Malcolm Cox Treasurer: Tony Gall Councillors: G.J. Alcock H.B. Armstrong J.R. Barron M.W. Bazeley J.M. Bensley A.D. Beveridge J.A. Campbell R.T. Chalker D. Chapman M.J. Coddington M.K. Corkhill G. Cox J.A. Cox M.B. Cox P.B. Davis Life Governors: W.T. Armstrong S.D. Beveridge OAM L.R. Blanch W.J. Ferguson K.W.N. Henderson P.J.R. Hughes R.J. Lindsay J.G. McLaren R.D.M. McCully The opinions expressed in contributed copy in this publication are those of the contributor, not necessarily the Association. All information contained in this publication was correct at time of printing. The publisher takes no responsibility for any errors that may occur. For additional copies, contact NSW SMBA – 02 9763 2744. Cover Image: Rachael Lenehan Photography M: 0402 374 424 W: rachaellenehanphotography.com.au J.R. Derrick A. Frost A.D. Gall R. Jones R.E. Kent G.K. Kopp P.A. Lette Y.G. McKenzie A.J. Maclean H. McLaren A. Merriman G.N. Merriman C. Munro A.M. Rayner O.M. Rayner I.G. Marwedel C.T. Merriman W.B. Merriman T.J. Moxham G.J. Privett P.S. Vickery G. Wells R.W. Wells OAM
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 NSW PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE WELCOME TO THE 2023–2024 NSW SMBA TOP SIRE As usual, seasonal conditions have greatly influenced our industry. Some areas of the Eastern seaboard have experienced terrific seasonal conditions while other members have faced unprecedented challenges, battling some of the worst flood events in some areas for over 100 years. Our thoughts go out to our members who were affected by these weather events and we wish you a fast recovery for both infrastructure and livestock numbers. Sheep and cattle markets have experienced significant falls compared to the historical highs we were experiencing this time last year. Our wool market has taken a hit, influenced partly by China which is still recovering from COVID and lacking some confidence. We’ve been told a major market recovery is not expected until late 2023 through to 2024. Nevertheless, India may be the shining light as their wool consumption is predicted to rise over the next few years with some analysts forecasting 15% of the clip which would give China a shake-up. In a recent trip to China however, John Roberts and Scott Carmody noted large mills upgrading their plants and expanding their warehousing capacity and creating mill space for an extra 300,000 bales. This should give us a positive outlook – and am hoping we will see China using even more of our wool for their own branded garments in the future. It is interesting to note that Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) is now reporting the Western Market Indicator (WMI) which provides a better picture for Merino wool producers, as this indicator uses approximately 98% Merino wool, compared to the Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) which is made up of 21% crossbred wool. Traceability and integrity of certifying our Australian wool clip is a topic of much discussion. Although market leaders as wool producers we are falling behind on traceability and integrity schemes. We need to be self-declaring the positives of our sheep farming and wool growing industries and selling ourselves, particularly in light of the Higg Index which is not an accurate representation of our product. Biosecurity is the buzzword of the moment, especially after the Federal Budget. It looks like we may all be paying another 10% in levies for biosecurity protection in Australia which, on top of the mandatory eID tag rollout by 2025, is putting a lot of pressure on sheep producers who are also experiencing lower sheep and wool prices of late. Surely this government can see that biosecurity in this country should be paid for by all Australians that eat our food and wear the clothes made from our great fibre? It’s been a pleasure to be traveling the state to attend field days, sales, shows and other industry events. It is always good to talk to members and receive new ideas, feedback and thoughts as well as their appreciation of the work our office and Association does. NSW SMBA continues to pave a strong pathway for young people in our industry, with our support of scholarships and contributions to fantastic initiatives in our industry. Some of the programs we have supported in the past year include the Hay Inc Alumni Scholarship, RAS Foundation Scholarship and research at Charles Sturt University Scholarships. Another fantastic project backed by NSW SMBA Trust was the Rotary Youth in Agriculture program, which has given regional students an insight into many branches of our industry. You can read more about this program in this issue of Top Sire. – 3 –
Our sponsorship also extends to a number of flock ewe competitions across the state and shows, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show, Merino Sheep Young Judges State Final, Dubbo Show Society Prime Lamb Hoof and Hook competition and the Holbrook Sheep and Wool Fair. Our congratulations must go to the Lette family of Conrayn, Berridale, who had a very successful Sydney Royal Show, winning March Shorn Pair, Stonehaven Cup, The Tom Culley Award and Supreme Merino Exhibit. That’s a show the family will remember for a long time. I must also extend congratulations to Malcolm Cox and family, Bocoble, Eumungerie, for their Supreme Merino Ram win as well as all other NSW SMBA members who exhibited and put on a fantastic display of our breed. New South Wales maiden flock ewe competitions continue to showcase the strength of the commercial industry with some terrific flocks on display across the regions. Despite some recent comments about the relevance of these events in today’s modern industry, we will continue to support these competitions as they provide an excellent forum for commercial breeders to further their knowledge. The “old school” methods of benchmarking these flocks may not be to everyone’s taste, but perhaps we could look to improve these events by adding objective measurements as part of our judging process. Competitors would surely benefit from extra data about their flocks and it would complement the subjective observations that are already part of our events. We should work to enhance and improve these competitions so our commercial producers can reap the benefits. I encourage all members to read through the Flock Ewe Competition section, where you’ll find stories, photos and results of these fantastic days. It is with great sadness that we have lost several members of the Merino community. Sean Ballinger of Waverley Downs, Delungra, Don Phillips of Yarrawonga, stud sheep classer John Williams and, recently, stud sheep classer Paul Kelly of Egelabra, Warren. “Kel” will leave a huge hole in our industry – a great bloke and a great sheep man, he will be missed by many all over Australia. We’d also like to extend our condolences to family and friends of Jen Armstrong, wife of past President Lou and mother of current board member, Henry, Clyde McKenzie, long term wool broker and friend of many around the Riverina as well as my good friend Luke Fitzgerald, who many members would have known as a wool broker at Dubbo. Our community has lost a group of individuals who were passionate about the Merino in all its forms and we pass our condolences on to all the respective family members. I would like to congratulate Cam Munro, Garry Cox and Anthony Frost on being elected onto our Council to fill casual vacancies. I am sure they will be valuable directors of the NSW SMBA for many years to come. I would sincerely like to thank our Executive Officer, Megan Giannini, who is not only a gigantic help to me and the Executive, but to everyone who picks up the phone for assistance. In closing, I’d like to wish all members further success with their Merino endeavours and I hope the wool market predictions for later in the year come to the fore. I look forward to catching up with you all at various events throughout the year. Best regards, Hamish McLaren, President – 4 – Nerstane Merino Stud Woolbrook NSW Semen is available from our leading sires throughout the year. For further information or photos visit nerstane.com.au Nerstane Merino Stud John 0429 775 922 Hamish 0429 772 778 Jock 0429 775 891
Whichever way you look at it!! We and the World’s Wool Trade DO NOT want this type of contaminating fibre So contact your caring wool marketer Mark Bazeley - Riverina Wool Nicholas Drive MOAMA NSW 2731 Ph: 03 5482 2965 Mobile: 0417 599686
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 NEW MEMBERS NEW MEMBERS In the past year there have been seven studs registered with the NSW Stud Merino Breeders’ Association. Contact details for these studs are contained in the NSW Merino Stud Directory 2023–2024 in the back pages of this publication. Bindaree Poll F. No. 6017 – Rocky Plain This stud was registered in September 2022 by Lawrence and Melissa Clifford with the purchase of 1 ram from Lach River F. No. 1491, 21 ewes from Rogara Poll F. No. 1317 and 21 ewes from Roseville Park Poll F. No. 1288. Dunbogan Poll F. No. 6013 – Elong Elong This stud was founded by Nigel and Emma Roberts in December 2020 and registered in August 2022 with the purchase of 120 doses of semen, 55 ram lambs and 55 ewe lambs from Roseville Park Poll F. No. 1288. East Loddon Poll F. No. 6014 – Wanganella This stud was founded in December 2020 and registered in August 2022, trading as East Loddon Pastoral, with the purchase of 100 doses of semen from Karbullah Poll F. No. 1365 and the transfer of 1033 ewes and 520 ewe lambs being their own entire flock East Loddon F. No. 4158. Glenbrook Poll F. No. 6019 – Armidale This stud was founded in April 2023 and registered in June the same year by Clive and Natasha Pearson with the purchase of 80 doses of semen from Rockbank F. No. 1521 and the transfer of 60 ewes from their own Glenbrook F. No. 4341. Hollow Mount Poll F. No. 6015 – Bigga This stud was registered in August 2022 with the purchase of 12 rams, 253 ewes and 231 2022 drop lambs purchased from Castlebrook Poll F. No. 1611. Maroombah Poll F. No. 6019 – Avisford This stud was founded in February 2022 and registered in December the same year by Peter James Colley with the purchase of 1 ram from Nerstane F. No. 1433 and the transfer of 100 ewes from Maroombah F. No. 4998. Turee Vale Poll F. No. 6018 – Coolah This stud was registered in November 2022 by Edward and Victoria Martin trading as Tureevale Partnership by the purchase of 100 doses from Wallaloo Park Poll F. No. PV1332, 100 doses of semen from Baderloo Poll F. No. PS1270 and 240 ewes upgraded from their own commercial flock via inspection. – 6 –
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP Delwick Poll F. No. 1233 – Gollan This stud was founded in February 1996 by Stewart Mark and Judith Ann Kayess by the purchase of 3 rams and 50 ewes from Barrackville Poll F. No. 1129 and 150 ewes from Barrackville F. No. 3407. Registration lapsed in 2006, however in November 2007 registration was resumed and the stud was moved from Whitton to Narrandera with the stud name changing from Woorak Poll to Uroley Poll. In February 2023, the stud was transferred to J.A. and N.N. Cox with the purchase of 100 stud ewes being the entire remaining stud flock and the purchase of 1 ram from Wongara Poll F. No. 1529. In February 2023, the stud name was also changed to Delwick Poll. Kambah Poll F. No. 1540 – Jugiong This stud was founded in February 2014 and registered in August 2015 by Glen and Wendy Oxford, trading as G.A. Oxford, by the purchase of 3 rams and 100 ewes from Centre Plus Poll Merino F. No. 1250. In December 2022, 100% of the stud was purchased by Dean and Amanda Bourlet. Kilphysic F. No. 2645 – Gunnedah This stud was founded in December 1960 by the Kilphysic Pastoral Co. with the purchase of 164 in-lamb ewes from Raby F. No. 197. In July 1974, the Kilphysic Pastoral Co. was taken over by N.S. Swain and his wife, Mrs. K.P. Swain. In December 1988, the stud was taken over by Mr. N.S. Swain as sole owner. In February 2023, the stud was taken over by Ben and Mandy Swain, trading as B.C. and A.J. Swain. – 7 – Stops Lame Lambs (Erysipelas arthritis) Protects your Wool Cut Protects Meat Quality More Lambs to Sell Easy to use & Convenient ERYSIPELAS ARTHRITIS 5 CLOSTRIDIAL DISEASES CHEESY GLAND (CLA) BOOSTED WITH VITAMIN B12 ALL IN A 1ML DOSE THE NEW GOLD STANDARD OF SHEEP VACCINES Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd. ABN 94 156 476 425. Level 6, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138. © 2023 Zoetis Inc. All rights reserved. May 2023. ZL1704.
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 CALENDAR UPDATES 2023 MERINO CALENDAR UPDATES EVENT NEW DATE PREVIOUS DATE CONTACT DETAILS OLD COBRAN POLL Mullengandra, on-property sale Monday 4 September 2023 Thursday 7 September 2023 Matthew Martin 0427 345 227 | mmmrmartin705@gmail.com OVERLAND Bogan Gate, private sales commence Wednesday 6 September 2023 – Tony Magill 0428 641 115 | tamagill@outlook.com.au EASTERN RIVERINA MERINO MULTI-VENDOR SALE Culcairn Showground Thursday 7 September 2023 – Valley Vista Poll James Pitson | 0488 938 945 Meadow View Poll Simon Bahr | 0428 293 701 Hurlstone Park Poll Ryan Donovan | 0427 311 578 EAST LODDON Wanganella, on-property sale Thursday 7 September 2023 Monday 4 September 2023 Marcus Hooke 0431 172 754 KAMBAH POLL Harden Showground, ram sale Thursday 14 September 2023 – Dean Bourlet 0429 866 258 | kambahpollmerinos@icloud.com THE YANKO Jerilderie, on-property sale Thursday 28 September 2023 Thursday 21 September 2023 Hugh Cameron 0427 561 142 | theyanko.com The 2023 Merino Calendar is proudly sponsored by 2024 Elders Merino Calendar – Entries close Friday 15 September 2023 – 8 –
ww Poll Boonoke 200780 ‘Bill’ Sire: WR160546 Dam: PB130023 2022 Testing: FD 20.2, SD 3.0, CV 14.9, CF 99.8, EMD 51.5, Fat 9.0 SG ID: 6000012020200780 Merino Breeding Blending Genetic Depth, Practical Experience, Commercial Focus and Contemporary Measurement Tools. On Property Auction Wednesday 13 September 2023 Private selections by appointment from 14 September Justin Campbell General Manager 0427 262 956 Angus Munro Breeding Manager 0437 929 195 Tom Lilburne Stud Manager 0488 601 603 austfood.com.au Instagram: wanganella.pollboonoke PRODUCTIVE • BALANCED • MEASURED WANGANELLA POLL BOONOKE Est 1861 • Horn Flock 83 • SG ID Prefix 500083 Est 1934 • Poll Flock 1 • SG ID Prefix 600001
– 10 –
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 INDUSTRY NEWS HOUSEBOUND, ROSS WRITES A TRIBUTE TO HIS FAMILY For a man who has devoted his life to the Merino breed, it’s ironic that the title of his memoir is “It’s not all about sheep!!”. Ross Wells of Willandra stud, Jerilderie, was all but house bound following a shoulder operation in 2020 when his wife Irene encouraged him to pass the time by writing down his life story. “I’m very lucky because I can remember things from when I was two years old and remember it vividly,” Ross said. “I grew up on a farm but I didn’t have a lot of interest in sheep. My father was absolutely tied to sheep and I learnt a lot from him.” Initially, Ross said he found it difficult to write about himself but says the book is not only a memoir of his life, but also a tribute to his family. True to its name, the book follows Ross’ journey of joy and grief in his early years, his family life and through challenges known to many, including droughts, floods and the wool industry crash of the 1990s. The book was officially launched at Willandra’s on-property ram sale in September last year where Ross announced all proceeds from book sales would be donated to Cystic Fibrosis. The limited edition, no. 1 copy of the book, auctioned at the ram sale, was snapped up by Geoff and Dianne Peters, “Ballatherie”, Hillston, for $3400. Ross said it took only two months for almost all the 390 books published to be snapped up, raising a total of $18,000 for Cystic Fibrosis. “I’ve had so many lovely comments on the book from sheep people, childhood friends and others in my age group who can relate to many of the events of my childhood.” Photo caption– Ross Wells at the 2022 Rabobank National Merino Sheep Show and Sale, Dubbo, with his recently published book “It’s not all about sheep!!”. – 11 –
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 INDUSTRY NEWS THE GENETIC LAG The difference between breeding your own rams and a buying commercial ram team when it comes to genetics. When purchasing rams, commercial wool producers have two options: 1. Select a team of rams directly from a registered Merino stud as replacement rams. 2. Buy a high indexing ram (either through semen or purchase) which is used in a multiplier flock to breed your own replacement rams. Understanding which scenario will work for you is complex and can greatly impact on factors such as genetic lag. There is no doubt there will be a greater genetic lag in utilising a commercial ram breeding flock (option 2 above) when compared to buying rams directly from a registered stud. The ability of the producer to minimise this genetic lag will depend on the annual turnover, primarily of the producer’s ram team, the value and measured merit of the ram team and, finally, the quality of his commercial ewe base. If we think about the breeding pyramid of your flock, by incorporating a ram breeding flock (Figure 1 below; left pyramid) you are effectively adding an additional level to the pyramid, as compared to purchasing rams directly from a registered Merino Stud (Figure 1 below; right pyramid). The more levels you add to the pyramid, the longer it takes for any new genetics to filter down, resulting in greater genetic lag in your commercial flock. The genetic lag for a commercial ram breeding flock scenario can be up to seven years, however there are ways to reduce this lag to as little as three years. For example, producing a greater percentage of new rams via this model and having a higher turnover will result in a reduced genetic lag. However, breeding more replacement rams requires either a greater number of ewes to produce the rams (which will result in additional artificial insemination costs) or more highly valued rams to be used in the ram breeding flock. Either way, it results in greater costs and, essentially, it’s about optimising these two factors. Utilising a commercial ram breeding flock will however put greater responsibility on the commercial producer to select an appropriate ram for the ram breeding flock as its effect has greater magnification throughout the commercial flock. It also results in greater work for the producer to produce and complete the appropriate measurements to identify the better rams in the new ram crop and prepare them for potential joining in the following year. It may also result in the producer using rams that they would normally not use, due to low selection numbers available. FIGURE 1: INTEGRATION OF NEW GENETICS INTO COMMERCIAL FLOCKS COMMERCIAL FLOCK COMMERCIAL FLOCK RAM BREEDING FLOCK PURCHASED RAMS / SEMEN PURCHASED RAMS / SEMEN New genetics need to move down through the pyramid New genetics have direct influence on flock, eliminating genetic lag – 12 –
HOW DO YOU REDUCE GENETIC LAG IN YOUR SHEEP FLOCK? Genetic improvement in the Australian sheep flock occurs as a result of selective breeding practices in specialist ram-breeding flocks. Traditionally, in Merino and Poll Merino breeds, genetic improvement has been in the hands of a relatively few elite rambreeding flocks, known as parent studs. There are generally considered to be one or two layers of ram breeding interposed between the elite ram-breeding flocks and the commercial producer. These flocks are multiplier flocks, which are also called daughter studs, if they are linked exclusively to one parent stud, or general studs, if they acquire rams from multiple parent or daughter studs because they acquire rams (or semen from rams) which are considered to be of high genetic merit from a parent stud, mate those rams to selected ewes and offer the ram progeny for sale to commercial producers. This multiplication step dilutes some of the genetic superiority of the elite sires at the parent stud level as each cross is diluted down to the commercial flock level, therefore reducing the level of genetic gain and increasing genetic lag. Each year, if improvement is occurring in the elite flocks, it is expected that the average merit of the rams sold to other flocks is better than the previous year. In this way, improved genetic material passes down in a hierarchical fashion from the rambreeding flocks to the commercial flocks. As demonstrated in the Breeding Pyramid on the next page (Figure 2), rams and their genetic material move from the elite flocks at the apex of the pyramid downwards to commercial flocks, either directly or through multiplier flocks (daughter studs). With the advent sire evaluation programs, ASBV’s and the development of AI programs using frozen semen, increasingly the elite flocks are open to introductions of rams from other elite flocks with the ability to increase individual traits much more rapidly through the system. – 13 – Proud to Support the Merino Breeders Association 100% Australian Owned www.schutebell.com.au sbbl@schutebell.com SCHUTE BELL Schute Bell Badgery Lumby Professional & Personalised Wool Brokers Livestock Marketing Stock & Station Agents Rural Property Marketing Real Estate Agents Finance Providers Insurance Agents Merchandise Providers Clearing Sales Flock and clip preparation advice Tailoring selling methods to suit producer needs auction, private, reclassing & rehandle facilities Assistance in risk management Interest free shearing advance Weekly wool market reports Local and overseas market information Sheep classing and ram selection service Personalised livestock marketing and sales Stud stock sales and advice We offer a variety of services with convenient Wool Store locations across Eastern Australia. Yennora Head Office Ph 02 9892 0700 Fax 02 98920721 Wool Office Ph 02 9892 0712 Armidale Ph 02 6771 4080 Bourke Ph 02 6872 2766 Brewarrina Ph 02 6839 2020 Brisbane QLD Ph 07 3275 1277 Cooma Ph 02 6452 4994 Fairfield Ph 02 9892 0800 Goulburn Ph 02 4822 4200 Guyra Ph 02 6779 1888 Inverell Ph 02 6722 1888 Narromine Ph 02 6889 2956
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 INDUSTRY NEWS HOW DO YOU REDUCE GENETIC LAG IN YOUR SHEEP FLOCK? The time lag separating the genetic merit of the two flocks is termed the improvement lag. In the case of commercial flocks that have sourced their rams from the same supplier for a long period, the improvement lag is the amount of genetic improvement in the ram-breeding flock which occurs in the number of years taken for two generation lengths of the commercial flock. The generation length in a commercial flock is defined as the average age of the parents when the lambs are born, typically three to four years. Thus, the genetic merit of a commercial flock usually equals that of the ram-breeding flock six to eight years previously. If the commercial breeder purchases rams from a registered parent stud or multiplier flock there is an additional improvement lag placed between the parent stud and the commercial producer’s flock. As the generation interval in the multiplier flock is likely to be of similar magnitude to that in the commercial flock, an additional six to eight years is interposed between the parent stud and the commercial producer, leading to an improvement lag which could be as great as 16 years. BUYING RAMS OF HIGHER THAN AVERAGE GRADE Most of the discussion up to this point has assumed that a commercial producer is purchasing flock rams which are close to the average in genetic merit of their age group in the ram breeding flock. These rams are usually sold at moderate prices which meet the expectations of most commercial flock owners. A commercial producer could, however, choose to purchase one or more rams from a higher grade and be prepared to pay more to access animals of a higher-than-average genetic merit. Assuming that the commercial producer intends to use the ram simply as a flock ram, it is relatively straightforward to compare the extra cost of an above-average ram to the likely increased productivity of his progeny. A ram in the second decile of an index-ranked group of young rams is likely to be around one standard deviation (SD) above average and to pass on to his progeny a 0.5 SD advantage, compared to an average-grade ram. Furthermore, the ewe progeny of the superior ram will pass on one half of their superiority to the next generation of progeny born in the flock. The genetic influence of the superior ram flows through the flock for a number of generations, gradually being diluted by each generation of ram introductions. The impact diminishes over time such that, after 20 years, less than 2% of the genetic superiority from that single ram introduction remains in the flock. PRODUCING HOMEBRED RAMS WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL FLOCK Some commercial flock owners, rather than buying flock rams, breed their own rams by selecting some of their best ewes and mating them to a high-merit ram, either through natural mating or with purchased frozen semen. The high-merit ram used as the sire of the flock rams is almost always produced in a dedicated ram-breeding flock and not home-bred in the commercial flock. Despite the fact that this procedure introduces an additional improvement lag while the flock rams are produced, the access to rams of high-merit can make this option financially attractive. By using a similar approach to that described above for evaluating the purchase of a superior ram for use directly in the flock, it can be shown that breeding flock rams from one purchased superior sire can justify the additional expense of around $10,000 for a ram FIGURE 2: THE BREEDING PYRAMID COMMERCIAL FLOCKS purchase flock rams from elite flocks and multiplier flocks. They do not produce breeding rams themselves. The ewes used in commercial flocks are either home-bred or purchased from other commercial flocks. They are sired by flock rams. MULTIPLIER FLOCK (DAUGHTER STUDS) use rams of high merit as sires and product and sell rams to other multiplier flocks and commercial flocks. They use rams bred in their own flocks or rams bred in elite flocks. ELITE STUDS (parent studs) use rams of very high merit as sires and produce and sell rams to other elite flocks, multiplier flocks and commercial flocks. They use rams bred in their own flocks or rams breed in other elite flocks. – 14 –
that is 1 SD above average or over $15,000 for one which is 2 SD above average. Potential drawbacks of this approach include the need to have a flock exceeding 2500 ewes to justify the purchase of one superior ram (because of the number of home-bred flock rams which are necessary to justify the purchase) as well as the uncertainty that results from using rams bred on the commercial breeders’ farms with breeding values of low to moderate accuracy. Because of this scenario, rams will be selected for use that would not normally be used in a stud system. THE BENEFITS OF SHORTENING GENETIC LAG GREATER LEVELS OF GENETIC GAIN The greater the difference between the genetic value of the ram sale team and the ram used in the ram breeding flock will dictate the difference in genetic improvement between the two scenarios. It’s important to note here, if you have a genetic lag of five to seven years you need to look at the genetic average of your ram team in five to seven years’ time. For simplicity, Figure 3 on the next page demonstrates the increase in profitability of having an improvement in two index points between different ram teams. As you can see even a small increase in two index points across your commercial flock can result in significant increases in returns. The economic benefits of reducing genetic lag from seven down to three years are massive compared to saving a few dollars by trying to breed rams yourself. There are huge opportunities and economic returns for commercial sheep breeders to see greater genetic gain from buying high quality, high indexing rams directly from a registered Merino Stud, especially when you can see the cumulative benefits over 10 years as demonstrated above. Source: K.A. Abbott, J. Granleese, James Preston, Matthew Coddington – 15 –
FIGURE 3: CUMULATIVE NET PRESENT VALUE OF INCREASING RAM TEAM 2 INDEX POINTS PER YEAR Cumulative Net Present Value $300,000 $350,000 $400,000 $450,000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 0 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 Number of Merinos Bred per Year Number of Years KEY: 10,000 Merinos breed per year 5000 3000 2000 1000 500 Source: Granleese (2022) – 16 – WEST PLAINS POLL MERINOS Drew and Laura Chapman 306 Rocky Range Road, Delegate NSW P 02 6458 8129 M 0428 823 533 E laura.chapman1@bigpond.com Website: hinesvillewestplains.com Rams available by Private Selection WEST PLAINS POLL MERINOS Drew and Laura Chapman 306 Rocky Range Road, Delegate NSW P 02 6458 8129 M 0428 823 533 E laura.chapman1@bigpond.com Website: hinesvillewestplains.com Rams available by Private Selection Drew and Laura Chapman 306 Rocky Range Road, Delegate NSW P 02 6458 8129 M 0428 823 533 E laura.chapman1@bigpond.com Website: hinesvillewestplains.com Rams available by Private Selection Drew and Laura Chapman 306 Rocky Range Road, Delegate NSW P 02 6458 8129 M 0428 823 533 E laura.chapman1@bigpond.com Website: hinesvillewestplains.com Rams available by Private Selection
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 INDUSTRY NEWS TRIALS HELP INDUSTRY INVESTIGATE PROFITABILITY Wether trials have played an integral role in the genetic benchmarking of Merinos for decades, giving breeders a chance to learn about the strengths and weaknesses within their flocks. Wagga Wagga based consultant, Craig Wilson, has been running trials for 20 years and has seen more than 12,000 sheep benchmarked since starting. Craig’s business, Craig Wilson and Associates, now coordinates the largest evaluation of commercial Merino genetics in Australia. He said they were a good way to measure progress over time and an opportunity to compare the relative merits of Merino genetics away from the influences of nutrition and management variables. “Without the capacity to run sheep under the same management and nutrition, it’s impossible to compare what’s good and what’s bad in terms of commercial performance,” Craig said. The Australian Merino Production Trial (AMPT) is one such trial run by Craig’s business. The most recent AMPT started in April 2021 when teams of 30 wethers from each entrant were inducted and shorn to a standardised wool length. Post-shearing, teams were split in half with one sub-team of 15 wethers run in Wagga Wagga and the other team trucked to Condobolin. “We really wanted to understand if the ranking of how the teams performed changed under the two different environments,” Craig explained. At the April 2023 shearing, an average wool value of $85.55/hd was recorded for wethers at the Condobolin site and $74.62/hd for those at the Wagga Wagga site. An overall lifetime value was given to each team of wethers, taking into account the mutton value and wool value across four shearing events. What is often interesting about trials, Craig said, is the spread in values between top and bottom performing teams. In the most recent results summary, the top performing team averaged $516.15/hd in terms of lifetime value, while the lowest averaged $409.66/ hd. “The biggest benefit of superior Merino genetics is that in most cases they don’t change your cost of production but have a huge impact on net profitability, year after year teams have double the profit potential per DSE than other teams,” Craig said. 1500 Merino wether lambs were delivered for another trial which started in May this year, with 32 bloodlines represented from across New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Craig said wethers at Condobolin have been inducted into Fletcher International Exports “Kiargathur Station” feedlot. “We plan to feed the lambs for 12 weeks then measure all carcass traits. The lambs at Wagga Wagga will be run for two years with the main focus being collecting data on wool production and value. The meat side of the trial reflects the growing interest in the Merino breed to produce high quality lamb and will also allow entrants to calculate the capacity of their genetics to gain weight in a truly commercial environment.” “Genetics offer the greatest opportunity to make significant differences to net profitability in sheep operations,” Craig said. “Wether trials are a great way to measure genetic progress over time – a lot of entrants have used the data to make changes, then come back after a few years to see how the relative merits of their sheep have changed.” – 17 –
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 MERINOS ON FARM CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT THE FOCUS AT FERNDALE Continual improvement has been a major focus at “Ferndale”, near Bathurst, where Andrew and Stuart Kelly farm with their father Cliff. Trading as Kilbourne Pastoral, the Kelly family have been breeding Merinos for many years with a focus on improving the productivity and profitability of their flock. They currently run 15,000 Merinos, joining 7500 ewes in a self-replacing flock, while a portion of surplus ewes are joined to White Suffolk rams for prime lamb production. Since 2021, “Ferndale” has been host to a Merino sire evaluation trial – the first to be run in the Central Tablelands region. As part of the trial, about 900 of the Kellys three-year-old ewes were artificially inseminated by 16 different Merino sires in April for a September lambing. It was the first experience with artificial insemination for the Kelly family, who said they may take it on board on a smaller scale for their own breeding program. The Kellys commented, “The entire trial has been interesting to see how different genetics would react with our current ewe base, in our climate and under our management.” The trial has been a valuable experience for the Kellys who have adopted some of the management techniques in their own operation. “A tight joining period of 33 days is carried out and we are aiming to reduce that by a couple of days each year to improve the in-built fertility of the flock,” the Kellys said. In their commercial flock, ewes joined to White Suffolk sires and 15% of the ewes joined to Merino sires lamb in April, with the balance joined in late April to start lambing mid-September. This helps to spread the risk with weather conditions and pasture usage and offers better utilisation of rams. “With our twin-bearing ewes, we aim to lamb them down in mob sizes of 80 to 100 head. Last year we started splitting paddocks up with temporary electric fencing which worked well,” they said. “We had 53 different assigned paddocks for lambing, which was partly driven by the sire evaluation trial flock where the twin-bearing ewes were lambing in mobs of 40 and the triplets in mobs of 14 to 16 ewes.” The Kellys believe it has had a positive effect on the lamb survival and weaning rates in their flock, recording 170% marking rate in twin-bearing ewes and a lamb survival rate of 86%. Ensuring there was feed available at foot during lambing and that ewes were in appropriate body condition prior to lambing were also said to be contributing factors to improved marking and survival rates. “There’s always room for improvement, however some of these things can be harder to control than others and we have to make the best with what conditions we are dealt with,” the Kellys remarked. 1– – 18 –
The Kellys may shift their spring lambing back by two weeks in coming years as they make a transition from an annual September shearing to six-monthly shearing. “We are currently shortening our shearing period and gradually moving to six-monthly over a three-year period,” they said. “Our staple length at 12 months was beginning to get almost too long.” They are also hoping to keep ewes in better body condition – a benefit they saw from trial. “The ability to keep them in a higher condition score could reap benefits for us in less inputs, higher stocking rates and, importantly, more twin-bearing ewes.” Another change implemented at “Ferndale” as part of the sire evaluation trial has been the introduction of electronic identification tags (eIDs), which have offered significant benefits for their operation. “Being involved in the trial has been a steep learning curve for us, particularly around using eID tags and data collection which we are repeating in our own flock.” They have eID tagged the last three drops of ewe lambs and plan to continue tagging each year, recording a range of reproductive and performance information. “The trial has certainly assisted our knowledge on what data to collect and how to use it to benefit our flock,” they said. “We are now in our second year of fleece testing and weighing all our maiden ewes as they come through to assist our classing process. We built on our basic knowledge of eIDs and can now better use them to their full potential, from recording birth types and other traits through to the boxing of different management groups with the ability to draft them separately later for lambing for example.” The Kellys said the ability to record this information had changed the way they classed the flock, “Being able to record all of this information has helped to push us to use more objective measurements to help our subjective classing.” In recent years, the Kelly family have increased their selection pressure on carcass traits, including positive fat and eye muscle. With assistance from Dubbo sheep consultant Andy McLeod, who has been instrumental in the development of the flock, they have focused their efforts on breeding an easy-care, structurally sound sheep with a good constitution and bright, white quality wool. – 19 –
In previous years, the Kellys have used a combination of visual assessment and Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBV) when assessing potential sires. “We are now combining Andy’s visual selection while chasing specific ASBVs, including +20 for yearling clean fleece weight and +8 for yearling staple length, to get to six-monthly shearing and we look at the breech wrinkle score, which goes hand in hand with the other traits,” they said. “We also want to see more fat and muscle in our sheep for a range of reasons including to improve lamb survival, their do-ability as weaners and finishing ability as lambs and hoggets and for ewes to be able to get back in lamb.” Ewes that scan dry or fail to rear a lamb are culled from the self-replacing flock and added to the prime lamb flock, where they get one more chance to produce a lamb. “Classing focuses heavily on body and fleece structure,” they said. Not wanting to compromise wool quality or cut, the Kellys said they are careful to select better rams for fat and muscle traits that also had high clean fleece weight and low fibre diameter. “The flock currently averages 18.2 micron, regardless of seasons, which can be attributed to being pretty consistent in the type of rams we buy.” For the past three years, their flock’s fleece weight has averaged between 5.7 to 6.2kgs per head on a 12-month basis. “Years of focus on wool quality has meant we have also had little fly strike problems in our grown sheep over the past wet years.” Photo captions. 1– Merino ewes on display at “Ferndale”, during the 2022 Bathurst Merino Association Maiden Ewe Competition. 2– Cliff Kelly, sheep classer Andy McLeod, judges Michael Corkhill and Hamish McLaren with Andrew and Stuart Kelly at “Ferndale” during last year’s Bathurst Merino Association Maiden Ewe Competition where the Kelly family’s 2020 drop ewes won the 2022 competition. 3– “Ferndale” ewes during judging at the 2022 Bathurst Merino Association Maiden Ewe Competition. 2– 3– – 20 – Demondrille Merino Stud – Enquiries always welcome – Andrew Mob: 0428 314 687 | Patrick Mob: 0427 202 339 Stud Adviser – Rick Power: 0437 131 925 | Email: dmerino@bigpond.net.au www.demondrille.com.au Grand Champion Fine/Medium Wool Ram at Sydney Royal Show 2023 Semen available Reserve Grand Champion Fine Wool Poll Merino Ewe On-Property ram sale | 120 Merino and Poll merino rams Flock rams are available now
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 MERINOS ON FARM WOOL GIVES INVERELL BUSINESS A BOOST A side hustle, started during the previous drought, has turned into a fruitful retail business with an expanding export market for Inverell local Julie Bird. Julie and her family moved from southern New South Wales to Inverell in 2017 and were starting to build numbers in their Merino flock when crippling drought hit the area. Like many farming families during that time, Julie looked to diversify the family’s Merino operation and secure another income stream. “It was a property that needed a bit of work so the timing wasn’t great,” Julie said. “We started reducing our numbers and looked at what value-adding options we could employ.” A passionate wool grower with a background in agricultural research and development, she began to capitalise on research conducted by University of Sydney and CSIRO about Merino wool clothing and the effects it has on sleep. “There’s a misconception that wool clothing is scratchy or itchy,” Julie said. “I was aware of the research into how Merino wool can help with sleep and I was having trouble sourcing adult Merino pyjamas, so I started to look into that gap in the market.” Julie said she taught herself about design and manufacturing processes before going on to design her own range of sleepwear. Her business, Sleepy Merino, was initially established in 2019 as an online retail store and has grown to include a bricks and mortar store in the Inverell township. Sleepy Merino clothing is made from 18 to 19 micron wool, sourced from Australian wool growers. The fabric is made in Victoria and the garments are manufactured at Glen Innes, New South Wales. “It’s a very regional product, which is really important to me and also a good selling point with customers,” she said. As the customer base for her business expands, Julie plans to continue to expand her range of products, which now includes clothing for both men and women. “We sell as many mens products as we do ladies,” Julie said. The Sleepy Merino range has been particularly popular with customers from the USA, Canada and Scandinavia. “Export orders are growing – they’re now larger than Australian orders,” Julie said. “A lot of overseas customers wear Merino wool as activewear. They are very aware of the positive properties of it and how it’s great against the skin.” “It’s important to correct the misconception that wool clothing is just scratchy jumpers and cardigans – which is simply not correct for genuine wool products. We’ve got a lot of positives in our industry and it’s important that we promote that.” Photo caption– Sleepy Merino stocks a range of clothing, socks and slippers for men and women. – 21 –
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 MERINOS ON FARM PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF Artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) are both key components of the breeding program for Glen and Margot Rubie, who run Lachlan Merinos at Forbes with sons Mitch and Campbell. The success of the Rubie family’s breeding program was under threat as major flood waters spread across the Forbes district in November last year. With all roads into their property closed and the biggest flood in 70 years heading their way, the Rubie’s pressed ahead, aided by Rozie and David Kennett of Genstock Reproductive Technology. As flood waters spread, the Rubie’s looked to alternative methods to transport Genstock vets to their farm. “We got approval to use the local Rural Fire Brigade truck,” he said. “We loaded the truck with two vets and all their equipment and drove back one night, through 0.8m of water in some places, so we could continue with our AI program.” Six days later, the Rubie’s were scheduled for embryo harvesting and transfers for their elite stud ewes. “The water was way too deep to even think about driving at that point,” Glen said. There were many helicopters in the district due to flood rescue efforts which inspired Glen. “We didn’t want to take any resources away from the SES so we chartered one privately,” Glenn said. “They flew the vets out from Forbes one afternoon and took them back the next day, adding a significant cost to the program.” Glen said calling off the program was not an option. Glen said, “It resulted in one of the most successful programs to date with one ewe giving 28 embryos. We’ve even decided to call one of next year’s sires Chopper.” – 22 –
– 23 – Pre-Sale Inspection Day FRIDAY 15th SEPTEMBER 2023 On Property Ram Sale MONDAY 25th SEPTEMBER ‘Springfield’ 1679 Stockinbingal Road Cootamundra, NSW Mal Peake | 0408 426 103 www.bogomerinos.com.au
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 MERINOS ON FARM IT’S ALL ABOUT WOOL AT EUROPAMBELA Regeneration has been at the forefront of operations for many years for Europambela Grazing Company. In recent years, more than 2000 trees have been planted across the operations’ two properties “Europambela” and “Glen Oak”, both near Walcha in the Northern Tablelands district of New South Wales. Waterways have also been fenced off which has had positive effects on water quality as well as stock welfare and grazing systems across the 3800 hectare operation. Manager Tony Overton said they used the land strategically to benefit both livestock and the environment. “We’ve done a lot of work fencing off creeks that run through the property and turning them into open woodland which is ideal for lambing down and also improves the water quality,” he said. Europambela Grazing Company, which has been in the same family since 1861, is home to 20,000 Merinos, with a focus on producing a traditional sheep with ultrafine and superfine wool. “Our goal is to produce really fine wool in big numbers,” Tony said. In the early 2000s, Tony said they had worked to decrease the micron of the Europambela flock to meet the market at that time. Since then, the focus has been on maintaining the micron and increasing fleece cut. Tony said Europambela Grazing Company wool supplied the European market to be used to manufacture high-value fabrics for the fashion sector. “We moved from 17.1 micron down to 14.9 micron for ewes and 14.1 micron in the hoggets – we’ve really focused on chasing an 80s quality style wool and producing really fine wool in big numbers.” They have been breeding their own rams and using a handful of carefully selected sires for artificial insemination programs after finding it difficult to source rams to suit their program. “It’s very difficult to find our type – it’s all about wool for us,” Tony said. – 24 –
About 8000 ewes are joined each year, including 500 stud ewes which are single-sire mated for use in the ram breeding program. Flock ewes are joined as one mob in May each year, using 2.3% rams to ewes while the maiden flock, which averages 2000 head each year, has 45 rams put in the paddock each joining. “We’ve found the condition scores of our ewes has gone up (by joining as one mob) and, in turn, our conception and twinning rates have gone up also,” Tony said. Scanning rates have been averaging at around 100% each year for mature ewes and 85% for maidens while the lambing rates have come back at 95% and 80% respectively. “The ewes don’t get much love but with the young sheep, we drive it into them to get as much growth as possible.” Tony said their sheep were late maturing, maxing out at about 50kgs. “We try to get them to 45kg by their first joining as a twoyear-old,” he said. “We feed them as well as we can early on and have found their lifetime production is better on many fronts.” All ewes are scanned in July, and split into mobs of singles, multiples and dry ewes. Any that are scanned dry, and any which have failed to rear a lamb at weaning, are culled from the flock. – 25 – WINNER OF PRODUCTION CLASS 2021 SYDNEY ROYAL EASTER SHOW MN3V RAY & MARGARET BARRON Ph: (02) 6454 3149 JAMES & JULIE BARRON Ph: (02) 6454 3015 M: 0411 267 818 Email: jimmyb1@bordernet.com.au www.adinamerinos.com SALE AT ‘OVERDALE’ 2120 PEAK VIEW RD, PEAK VIEW PHOTOGRAPHED BY STEPHEN BURNS. WOOL CUT 17.8KG 22ND ANNUAL RAM SALE MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER, 2022 INSPECTIONS FROM 10AM SALE COMMENCES 12PM Lunch and refreshments provided Inspections prior to sale day are welcome and invited! MN3V Grand Champion Fine/Medium Wool Ewe - Sydney Royal 2023 23RD ANNUAL RAM SALE MONDAY 16TH OCTOBER, 2023 Lunch and refreshments provided Inspections prior to sale day are welcome and invited!
TOP SIRE 2023–2024 MERINOS ON FARM Tony said shearing was scheduled for late August to September each year, just ahead of lambing. “We shear as close to lambing as we can to get that tensile strength – it’s one of the biggest discounts (in the wool) if we haven’t got it,” he said. “Traditionally, we were shearing the first week of September and lambing the first week of October which was starting to push some boundaries.” As a result, joining was pushed back a week to give more flexibility in the program. “After shearing now, the ewes are just starting to get that weight gain before lambing,” he said. “If we shear later, there are bigger variations in the weather which presents some problems.” Tony said more sheep were lost in the New England area in October due to common cold snaps. “They all go into tree lots after shearing – we can look after them a bit better this way. Most don’t realise how tough our country can be – it’s not unusual to have temperatures well below zero for 10 days in a row,” he said. “There is no protein from the first week of April to the first week of October.” Lambs are weaned in January at 12 to 14 weeks of age, which Tony said allowed them to get more condition on the ewes before starting the cycle again. Lamb tailing is done in the paddock using portable yards to save walking up to nine kilometres back to the main yards. “We are very commercial. We don’t like fluffing around and handling sheep too much if we don’t have to.” Out of the ewe lambs, Tony said 400 potential stud ewes were selected. This is narrowed down further using data collected from their first shearing and a visual assessment. Tony said they used electronic identification tags (eIDs) and RAMPOWER indexing for each animal which allowed them to compare different age groups within the flock, particularly in their ram breeding program. “We typically don’t see high indexing rams until they reach three to four-years-old, so our next step is working out which animals those are earlier in their lifetime.” Wethers lambs are retained and run on the rougher country, used as a “scapegoat” if the season changes. Tony said they ran as many as 3500 wethers, retaining them for up to three years. “They’re pretty profitable at the moment and utilising our worst country.” Wether lambs are classed and fleece tested after their first shearing, with as much as 30% of the flock culled. “We keep the better wool sheep and offload the rest, generally to some repeat buyers or on AuctionsPlus,” Tony said. “We treat the wethers as a ‘stop gap’. We aren’t breeding for meat, we are in the wool game.” – 26 –
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI3ODI1