POLL DORSET genetics over well-bred first-cross ewes are producing valuable sucker lambs for Dean and Kellie Howard.
The Howards, along with Kellie's mother Charmaine and brother Matt Halloran, will lamb down about 5500 ewes this year.
The family operation is run on 1740 hectares over three properties - Mount Lofty, Tufnell Park and Terlinga - in the Wantabadgery area in the NSW Riverina.
The self-replacing Merino flock, based on bloodlines from the Dawson family's Winyar stud, is run at Mount Lofty, with the first-cross ewes run at Tufnell Park, and 1000 composite ewes are at Terlinga, which was purchased in 2020.
All first-cross ewes are bred on property with Retallack and North South Border Leicester genetics, and the progeny is joined to Springwaters Poll Dorset rams for the second-cross production.
A consistent type, with moderate size, is the focus when selecting Border Leicester rams, and the family has had strong lambing percentages, with this year's first-cross marking at just under 120 per cent.
"It's been a good season, but I also did the lifetime ewe management course a couple of years ago and we've been tracking condition scores at crucial times like pre-joining and during joining, and we've spent more time on pre-lambing plans in terms of the paddocks they're in, and managing twins and singles," Mr Howard said.
Scanning rates have also been increasing each year with the Poll Dorset cross with almost 150pc lambs marked this year (about 10pc more than last year), and about 60pc multiples.
The Howards have been impressed by the Springwaters genetics, which have been used for five years.
"With the Poll Dorset rams, we're looking for good shape, trying to get the balance between length and shape so they finish quickly and grow out to a good lamb," Mr Howard said.
"That's the type of ram we were chasing with their shape, and the consistency through the Springwaters rams means all of our lambs are very even, getting them off in big chunks at a time.
"We've had good results since the first drop."
This year they joined 1500 two- to six-year-old ewes, along with 450 ewe lambs for the first time.
"We made that decision, because the maiden first-cross ewes were running around for a while, not doing a lot for us.
"They scanned well and they finished lambing last week. I think it's been positive, but now it's a matter of getting them back in sync for the next joining."
All first-cross ewes are being retained as the family is building numbers following the purchase of more country.
First-cross wethers have been finished to heavy weights this year, and sold direct to JBS at Melbourne for $200 a head.
"Depending on the season, they might go at the end of spring, but we can carry them through if we have the feed," Mr Howard said.
"They don't get the run of the place because we look after the young ewes and the second-cross lambs, but they'll go onto the better feed once we've cleared a lot of our second-cross lambs."
The first lot of second-cross lambs are turned off as suckers, from 12 to 14 weeks, and the most recent lambs dressed at 21.5 kilograms.
"Generally it's around 14 weeks but last year was an exceptional season.
"I think it was the combination of a milder winter, and the genetics really came through in that season."
Mr Howard scans for early and late lambs, and twins and singles, with the early singles on fodder crops or improved pastures, including oats, canola and ryecorn.
"They've got the best chance at being turned off as suckers and there's generally about 300 in that mob, but a few of the best twins will make up that first load," he said.
Many of the lambs are killed for Coles, through Gundagai Meat Processors, which has launched the first lamb grid which offers premiums for lean meat yield and intramuscular fat.
"We're hoping to meet that grid and get some feedback on our lambs," Mr Howard said.
"We also have a few other options nearby at Junee and Cowra. We're weighing our lambs every month so we know where the next couple of groups are up to, so when a good contract comes up we can jump on it."
The next on-farm project for the family is to use an automatic drafter and electronic identification (EID) tags which can help them assess each flock.
"We're putting EIDs in different fat lambs - composite to composite, composite to Poll Dorset and the first-cross to the Poll Dorset - to track their weight gain and measure the differences in each flock.
We're putting EIDs in different fat lambs - composite to composite, composite to Poll Dorset and the first-cross to the Poll Dorset - to track their weight gain and measure the differences in each flock. The scanning rates have been exceptional, but we'll be weighing up the value of the extra lambs and wool cuts, to see how the different lambs, and the production systems, compare.
- Dean Howard, Wantabadgery
"The composites came with Terlinga, but now that we've got them, we want to see what they can do.
"The scanning rates have been exceptional, but we'll be weighing up the value of the extra lambs and wool cuts, to see how the different lambs, and the production systems, compare."