Easy care, fast growing Aussie Whites at Mendooran

Mr Sullivan currently has about 600 Aussie White ewes, down from 1200 due to drought, but that reduction in numbers has paid off, as Mr Sullivan hasn't had to hand feed his sheep.

He bought the property in 2016 and with it, the flock of Aussie Whites, which his father Ian had been breeding for a few years.

Mr Sullivan uses genetics from Molong stud The Cliffs, owned by Phil and Judy Thompson.

"I really like Phil's shedding selection," he said.

"He's gone down that track really well, and with the way he sells his rams, he doesn't shear or clip them so you can see what that are.

"He's also selecting for the black feet and he's getting some good robust rams - the type of sheep I want."

Mr Sullivan has been lambing once a year in winter, but he's looking to switch to three lambings every two years to increase profitability, as well as manage the ewes more effectively.

Lambing percentages are currently around 140 per cent.

"The trouble that we have with Aussie Whites is the ewes can get too fat in between lambs, so the plan is to get more lambs out of the them to keep the weight off," he said.

"The aim is to time the joinings so I don't have any summer lambs and can still sell from autumn to spring, when there's a peak in the market."

Lambs are grown on lucerne and sold through the Dubbo saleyards at 10 to 11 months of age.

Lucerne is rotated with barley and wheat crops, and the ewes are on improved pastures of lucerne with sub clovers, Bambatsi and digit grass.

"I try to get them on the rising plane of nutrition prior to joining, which is not always easy when it's dry, but they're generally pretty good," Mr Sullivan said.

"They handle the dry well. They're easy care, robust sheep.

"They also seem to handle worms well.

"In the time I've been here the ewes have been drenched once a year and lambs get drenched twice.

"They just don't seem to need any other inputs."