A Guyra producer has maintained his commitment to the Merino breed for more than 40 years because of their dual-purpose nature and suitability to the northern parts of NSW.
Greg and Kathie Tighe, “Kelso”, Guyra, operate a self-replacing Merino flock consisting of 3400 Merino ewes plus another 1600 ewe hoggets, on their 3642 hectare property.
Mr Tighe is not only committed to the Merino breed but also to his ram breeder whose genetics he has used for more than 20 years.
Mr Tighe said although he has begun breeding his own rams, genetics from Nerstane Merino stud, Walcha, remain the main bloodline influence throughout his flock.
“Nerstane originally were very objective in their measurement, which I liked - I have objectively measured ever since I can remember and Nerstane were one of the earlier studs to do that in my type of wool; which is fine/medium wool,” he said.
“Their rams are larger framed and heavier cutting sheep which is what I have been aiming for - these days I get similar returns for wool and surplus sheep sales and Nerstane blood sheep support this goal.”
The “Kelso” wool clip is of primal focus at “Kelso”, achieving a 19-micron fleece average measurement for his fine/medium wool.
Mr Tighe’s ewe flock wool cut in 2015 was 7 kilograms per head and in 2016 it was 6.6 kg/p/h, with the hogget ewes cutting 5.4kgs in 2015 and 5kgs in 2016.
Sold at auction, his fine/medium fleece averaged just under 800 cents per kilogram in 2015 and this season a 944 c/p/kg return was achieved.
“All the ewe hoggets get measured every year for micron and fleece weight, this assists with classing my ewes and then I take the very best to put in a nucleus flock to breed rams from,” Mr Tighe said.
“My main culling process is a combination of body type and wool traits,” he said.
“I like a big plain bodied sheep - my index is to continually increase fleece weight and body weight while maintaining my micron.”
Ewes are joined in late March for a mid August to late September lambing, with the last few seasons averaging 115 per cent for lambing percentages.
Lambs are weaned in December onto grass pastures, with the ewe lambs retained as replacements and the full drop of wethers sold at Mr Tighe’s on-property sale in March.
“I also sell five and half year old ewes and surplus one and a half year old ewes as well - I have had 30 sales in a row and eventually you build up a client base after doing it for so many years so they work well for me,” Mr Tighe said.
“My clients keep coming back - some want wethers as wool cutters and in recent times when wool hasn’t been as attractive, they are still big sheep so they can be fattened for lambs,” he said.
Believing the reward of the Merino breed is the unique dual purpose nature, Mr Tighe said producers marketing options are considerably lessened if only meat or wool production traits are targeted.
“A Merino can meet the wool or meat market and you can be profitable from both ewes and wethers,” he said.
With a keen interest in analysing Australian Sheep Breeding Values while selecting his rams, Mr Tighe is also involved in sire evaluations and wether trials to help the breed continue genetic progress.
“The Merino breed has not made the genetic progress it possibly could have because it has been a bit stuck in too many traditions – I get involved in the trials to push for more productivity per animal,” he said.
“The harvesting of wool has not changed or progressed like other industries such as cropping, where they have made big inroads in being more labour efficient.”