Tradition and modernism blend at Gleneith

With the sixth generation already showing an interest in the stud sheep, the future of the Gleneith stud is in good hands.

Wes Kember is the fourth generation, and with his father Will, son Nathan and grandson Jackson, the connection between the Kember family and the Border Leicester breed seems assured.

"My grandfather Fred senior started the stud for his own use and a few local sales, but when my father [Fred jnr] took over in 1949, he pushed the stud along its way," Will Kember said.

Tradition is high on the Kember families agenda, but embracing technology has pushed their sheep forward and they were amongst the early adopters of Lambplan with fat and muscle scanning when it first became available with Alan Luff who was doing the original scanning in the late 1980s

"When I took over the management, we drifted away from concentrating on the showing and became more involved in the performance recording especially for production traits," Wes Kember said.

"The reason we pursued that course was because we felt there was more value for our clients in the increased production of the progeny from our rams."

That was during the mid-nineties, when there were many stud breeders questioning the traditional genetic programs and Wes Kember thought breeding his Border Leicester's and focusing on measurable traits was the way to the future.

"We then became a founding member of the $uperBorder$ group in 1999, when the inaugural meeting was held in Echuca," he said.

"We were a like-minded group of seed stock breeders who valued the genetic evaluation provided by Lambplan."

Being involved with the SuperBorders group led the Kember family to participate in numerous AI programs within that group and then they also used semen from other leading Border Leicester studs.

"Another advantage of AI is that it gave us a linkage with other flocks which helps to enhance our figures and strengthens our own genetic base," Wes Kember said.

"We are collecting as much data as is relevant like birthweight and post weaning weight which then allows you to chart the growth of the animal through its life."

Mr Kember said the ambition is to breed sheep which are early maturing, and as many as you can and then sell to best advantage..

"Our aim is to have our clients breed first-cross ewes which can be joined as lambs," he said.

Fifth generation Nathan Kember is excited about the ongoing potential of the $uperBorder$ to lift the production of prime lambs across the entire industry.

"As members of $uperBorder$, we are calculating traits like weaning rates and milking ability which you cannot see just by looking at the animal," he said.

"It is a leading maternal breed and those measurable traits are very important if it is to continue being prominent as a sire of dams for the prime lamb industry."

Nathan Kember understands the importance of those traits because of the families focus on the commercial aspects of lamb production at Gleneith Park.

"We are using those measurable traits in our commercial sheep operation where Hay-district bred Merino ewes are joined and the tops of the 1000 first-cross ewes are sold at Narrandera and Yass first-cross ewe sales and the balance are joined to Poll Dorsets," he said..

"We have often topped the sale at Narrandera which is one of the leading sales of first-cross ewes," he said.

Last year, at the 18^th annual Gleneith ram sale an Australian record price for the Border Leicester breed of $32,500 was paid by David and Carol Jackson, and their son Ross and his wife Lydia, partners in Jackson Farming, Moyston, Victoria.

The triplet-born son of Gleneith 358-17, one of the leading sires at Gleneith was backed by a Border Leicester Cross Index (BLX) of 142.4.

Ross Jackson said the ram had grown out and in his first joining to 95 stud ewes, he already has over 100 on the ground.

"They are still lambing, but we are really excited by his high fertility," Mr Jackson said. "It proves the value of buying a ram with really good figures, and with great conformation."