SRS Merino genetics lift profitability for Tarcutta sheep producer and wool grower

"I believe the best sheep are generally at your doorstep," Mr Graham said.

"We were pleased to be able to buy these rams which have been environmentally influenced in their selection for 45 years.

"That's a lot of natural selection."

And that 'natural selection' is rewarding the Graham family on Bembooka, Tarcutta, where they are lambing 4200 Merino ewes joined to Blyth Merinos-bred rams.

"The Blyth Merino suits our program for non-mulesed sheep as they have a good clean breech area," Mr Graham said.

"The sheep are in the top ten percent for eye muscle area and fat, and that is a great benefit for us.

"Not only is it shown in our high fertility, but also in lamb survival and sales of Merino wether lambs."

Mr Graham said he is not focused on having the biggest sheep, but the best which will suit his country, which is steep in parts, and can be very wet on the lower ground.

"During the past three years, our spring lambing, with plenty of good pasture and feral control, we have averaged 138 percent at lamb marking from ewes scanned 96pc pregnant," he said.

"That is a credit to the genetics and the flock management."

The flock management program is now set where the ewes are joined in March with the rams taken out in April when the entire flock is shorn.

"We lamb in August, and the lambs are weaned in October onto grazing crops such as Forage Rape and Lucerne," Mr Graham said.

"The sheep are suited to eight months shearing which we had been doing in the past, as they grow plenty of staple length.

"But at the moment we have gone back to 12 months shearing due to the difficulty of sourcing labour."

At Bembooka, Mr Graham is assisted by his son Sam and Mac Davis who is the property manager, along with Elders, Wagga Wagga, wool manager Tim McMeekin.

Mr McMeekin classes the hogget ewes annually, and also advises Mr Graham on the preparation and marketing of his wool clip, along with ram selection.

He said the SRS type sheep which have been bred at Blyth Merinos for 45 years are easy care, non-mulesed and growing a clean white fleece which is demand from the processors.

"Having a bright and well crimped wool with good handle and the right nourishment keeps the moisture and the dust out," Mr McMeekin said.

Mr Graham said having the non-mulesed status on our flock has enabled us to be proactive participants in consumer driven world recognised assurance programs such as RWS and Authentico.

"This has rewarded us with significant premiums by acknowledging and certifying the high standard of animal welfare, social and environmental practices we have employed on our farm," he said.

On Bembooka, the production of wool is still every bit as important as getting lambs on the ground and during the June 2022 series of wool sales, the line of 14 bales of AAAM measuring 18 micron and 99.3 pc comfort factor, yielding 73.1 pc sold for 1850c/kg greasy.

"These sheep tick all the boxes," Mr Graham said.

"Their ease of management, high conception and lambing rates and the production of heavy cutting bright crimpy wools, which is the market's choice.

"I also like the ability to sell our wether lambs at the high end of the market.

"This year was tougher to finish the wether lambs than others but we still got them to 23.2kg dressed weight

"I had shorn $58 off them in April, and in the spring sold them for $198 including an $11 skin."

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