For Doug Wright, fertility and growth are factors he considers most important for his Merino flock, with wool cut the third in his selection criteria.
Mr Wright is joining up to 1400 Merino ewes on his property “Claremont”, near Cowra, and has been following the SRS concepts since 2010.
“I had been running wethers as wool cutters, but was having trouble getting the type I wanted so I decided to breed my own sheep,” he said. “I saw a line of ewes at a Narromine sheep sale, which I liked, and by chance they were bred along SRS principles.”
Mr Wright purchased the ewes which were scanned in-lamb, and his flock is now bred to SRS genetics.
“Their fertility is outstanding, as is the survivability of the lambs,” he said.
“We are marking 120 to130 per cent from our older ewes, and because of that we are able to retain a greater number of the better type of our younger ewes, which puts extreme classing pressure on the older ewes.”
The second trait Mr Wright places pressure on his the growth and carcass of his sheep.
“I choose rams with good eye muscle, high fat and growth rates, with staple length,” he said. “I concentrate on conformation and body structure, then I look at the wool density, length and strength.”
Since breeding his own flock, Mr Wright said he has not mulesed.
“My philosophy is if a sheep needs mulesing, it is a cull,” he said.
Mr Wright shears each eight months, cutting average of 4kg with 80+mm length, but expects to move to a six-month shearing soon, because the staple length and density is increasing.
“We are also getting yields of 76-77 per cent, and with the high tensile strength, the wool is ideal for the current demand for soft, lightweight fabric which is comfortable against the skin,” he said.
“I see these are the sheep for the future, the wool is soft and tests finer than it looks, and the carcass is meeting trade demand.”
Mr Wright said Merino producers could benefit by using SRS to increasing sustainability for their flock.
“Fertility is improved and after a couple of generations the need to mules is eliminated,” he said.
