WHEN you hear the name Charolais your mind immediately gets taken to a cattle breed that's made a name for itself in Queensland.
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However, a select group of sheep breeders are out to prove that cattle aren't the only livestock to hail from the historic French region.
Spelled Charollais to reflect the fact the breed is from a slightly more northern part of the French region than their bovine counterparts, the sheep are known for their meat yield, maternal traits and high fertility.
It was these traits that first attracted Toowoomba grazier Gary Cooley to the breed about four years ago.
After many years of producing stud and commercial cattle and sheep at Glen Innes in the NSW Northern Tablelands region, Mr Cooley made the change after settling on the family's Gowrie-Little Plains property on the outskirts of Toowoomba.
"What I really love about them is that the ewes regularly have multiple lambs and with high-yielding carcases," Mr Cooley said.
"At the moment, the female herd is onto its sixth lambing in four years and our lambing percentage has averaged from 150 per cent to 220pc.
"Our maidens average about 150pc without touching them and all of them are at 12 months of age, which I think would probably put our overall average somewhere around 185pc."
Having achieved plenty of success over the years in beef carcase competitions, including at the Ekka, Mr Cooley said he was looking to replicate those traits with lamb.
"The big thing for me was carcase traits because that is my background and has always been something I've enjoyed," he said.
"When I first bought some Charollais sheep from a mate of mine, Doug Mitchell, [Rene stud, Wagga Wagga] the breed was just starting to build some momentum here in Australia.
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"Those were first-cross sheep that I've since been able to cross back to make them purebred, which is how I think a lot of people started in the breed.
"It's certainly interesting to see how far the breed has come in Australia and where it could get to next."
Despite initially being focused on the commercial aspects of the breed, Mr Cooley's passion for it began to grow and in turn he started his own stud called Myee, which is an Indigenous phrase for tasty food.
The eating quality of Mr Cooley's lamb caught the attention of one of Brisbane's oldest pubs, The Ship Inn at Southbank.
Known for its paddock-to-plate mantra, the venue purchases Mr Cooley's rams from the paddock, before finishing them in its own feedlot for about 60 days.
"The meat yield of the Charollais sheep makes them perfect for that kind of operation," Mr Cooley said.
"If anything, 60 days might almost be a bit too long, just given how good their growth rate is. However, as well as yield, their eating quality is also outstanding and it makes me pretty proud that a place like The Ship Inn is happy to serve our lamb."
Evidence of the breed's momentum in Australia was recently made clear with the formation of the Australian Charollais Sheep Association.
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As well as being a long-time friend of Mr Cooley's, Doug Mitchell is also the president of the association and he said it was pleasing to see how far the breed has come since first reaching Australian shores in 2005.
"The breed was first picked up in the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s and quickly became one of the most popular breeds in that country," Mr Mitchell said.
"From there, after many years of struggle, the genetics were brought into the country by Dr Ian McDougal and it has really caught on ever since. There are now studs in just about every state in the country and the growth we are seeing in Queensland is quite promising.
"To have someone with Gary's experience, knowledge and passion helping to fly the flag means there's no telling where the breed may end up."
While it remains early days for the breed in Queensland the hard work being put in is helping to ensure that like their bovine counterparts, one day the Charollais sheep breed will make a name for itself.
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Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
