VERSATILITY of the Merino breed shone out among the nine Merino flocks displayed during the Cumnock and District Merino flock ewe field day last Thursday.
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Fifty breeders and industry affiliates took the opportunity of attending the competition, the second conducted by the Cumnock Show Society - the first being two years ago.
Boomey Park, owned by Peter and Odette Morley and managed for the past 17 years by Angus Shannon, was awarded first prize.
Judges Stuart Murdoch and Drew Chapman both remarked on how versatile the "modern" Merino is today.
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Stud classer, Mr Murdoch classes Haddon Rig, Roseville Park and Dunbogan studs said the Merino had changed dramatically in the past 10 years.
"They have jumped forward incredibly," he said. "Back in the late 1990s, we were penning four-tooth sale rams singularly, but now those pens don't fit two-tooth rams.
"How good is the industry going?"
Mr Chapman, immediate past-president of the NSW Stud Merino Sheep Breeders Association and Hinesville studmaster, Delegate, said the breed's versatility has offered so many options.
"There are heaps of ways you can make profitable money out of Merinos - wethers either marketed as lambs as well as woolcutters, with shearing, you can harvest any time of the year," he said.
"And, if you need some cash at any time, you can find a way of getting a quid from your Merinos."
They were assisted with judging by two associates from the Yeoval district, Sidney Tremain who is heading south to one of Parraway Pastoral Company's operations, and Daniel Pumpa, who is currently managing a Yeoval district property.
Boomey Park, the flock which was runner-up in 2021 showed significant improvement to gain the first prize. The flock currently joins 4000 ewes of Darriwell blood and is classed by Michael Elmes and has a fleece line at 20 microns with hoggets' wool measuring an average of 19.8 microns. Displayed were 1270 maiden ewes after a 30 per cent cull.
The manager, Angus Shannon said the flock had been on Darriwell's blood for 11 years and is shorn on a 12-month basis. Lambing is in June/July, and shearing is held in December.
Mr Chapman said the ewes displayed were in "beautiful order".
"They no doubt will join up extremely well as they are in ideal condition," he said. "I'm impressed with your type. They are feminine young ewes with beautiful face cover and good skin and bone. They are a big mob, but their feet and back ends are pretty bang-on and well-classed."
Stuart Murdoch agreed and said he was impressed as soon as he walked into the yards.
"With 30 per cent classing out, you can see a very small tail," he said. "They are very soft under the hand with very good tips, have good cutting ability, very plain and very shearable."
The Gumble district between Manildra and Cumnock provided the runner-up flock.
This was the Greydene flock owned by Phil and Anne Salters, which had been virtually a closed flock for 40 years. However, Mr Salters said that while no ewes had been introduced since his father's day, outside rams had.
"We were Roseville Park blood for 30-plus years, and Allan Clarke has classed here for a similar amount of time," he said.
Every ewe in the flock is classed annually, and culls are shifted off the property as a straight Merino flock with no crossbreeds as a secondary income. The maiden ewes displayed were August/September 2021 drop with fleece line micron measurements averaging 18.2. The hogget wool average is 17.1 microns.
Scott Gibson's Riverside flock, Baldry, rose in awards from encouragement in 2021 to third place this year. His property is split by the Little River, and Mr Gibson said this was the first time in three years he had had sheep on his homestead side of the river.
"There's been a lot of water on them, and neighbours walked them around to this side for me as I couldn't get across.
The flock has been on Lachlan blood for some years following years of Gullendah blood and is classed by Tom Kirk.
Mr Chapman said the display showed well-nourished ewes that obviously handled the rain well.
The encouragement award this year was presented to a first-time exhibitor Matthew Phillipson, Ballot Box, Yeoval, whose flock has been of Westray blood since the mid-to-late 1960s.
A long-time shearer, Mr Phillipson, said he loved his big wool-cutting Merinos with adult ewes producing 120 to 130 per cent lambing to ewes joined.
