GRAHAM Armore, "Marelma", Gundagai, has worked a livestock farming enterprise all of his life.
Throughout his pastoralist career, and those three generations before him, he has witnessed the highs and lows that come with life on the land.
However, in January this year, he and wife Debbie, and their four children, copped about as solid a blow as you can get when they were totally burnt out by bushfire.
The family's entire 450 hectares fell prey to the natural disaster, losing all fences and 136 breeding Merino ewes.
Fortunately, no buildings or structures were destroyed and no human lives were lost.
But, as Mr Armore said, this may have been the turning point to steer him in a different direction - a direction that has turned his enterprise into a more profitable one.
Mr Armore made a transition to the Australian Whites breed, the relatively new self-replacing sheep that he believes ticks all the boxes.
"We sold the remaining Merinos after the fire in January," he said.
"Now we are replacing them with Aussie White first-cross ewes and are looking at going pure Aussie Whites in the near future."
At present, Mr Armore runs 850 breeding ewes with plans to increase that to full carrying capacity of 1100 head.
Last year was the first year they had first-cross ewes and second-cross lambs on the ground from Aussie Whites.
Before introducing Aussie Whites Mr Armore said they were running Merino ewes and Dorset lambs.
"We were dissatisfied with buying Merino ewes because we weren't producing at a top notch level," he said.
"You need to be cutting seven and a half to eight kilograms of wool to be profitable and we were only managing about six.
"We were also turning the lambs off as light trade lambs so we went looking for a breed we could self-replace."
Originally, Mr Armore purchased four Aussie White rams from the breed's foundation flock.
He then purchased another two stud rams at Tattykeel's on-property ram sale to average $3200
Mr Armore purchased 290 seven-month-old first-cross ewes and joined them with the Aussie White rams straight away.
The ewes lambed at 12 months old.
"When the lambs were just one month old, we re-joined the ewes," he said.
"We managed to get 53 per cent back in lamb in the first five-and-a-half weeks.
"The ewes have now lambed for the second time, and this means they have had their second lamb by the time they are 18 months old."
Mr Armore said it has been an unbelievable turnaround for them considering what they went through at the start of the year.
"The mothers have unbelievable mothering traits and the lambing percentage is on the increase," he said.
"Four weeks ago lambs were marked at a 110pc lambing rate.
"They (Australian Whites) are hardy, have a terrific doing ability and growth rate with an impressive carcase weight."
Mr Armore said he believed the ewes had the capacity to produce three lambs in two years.
Originally a fine-wool business, in the last 20 years the Armores have progressed from Merinos to first-cross and are now heading for a full-blood Australian Whites enterprise.
"We have transgressed from a non-profitable business to a self-replacing profitable business," Mr Armore said.
"It is very exciting; we are getting up to 25 per cent more lambs on the ground and I can conservatively say $30 more per lamb when we sell them.
"Not long ago we had some of the first-cross lambs killed and they dressed 27kg at five months of age."
