HAMPSHIRE Downs' reputation is so great in the US, they are often referred to as "The Kings".
That's according to 17-year-old Brad Johnson, who visited the US earlier this year, along with his cousin Sam.
The teenagers are young farming enthusiasts, and were invited to stay at The Poe Hampshire Downs Stud in Indianapolis, as well as a Southdown stud in Kentucky, in January.
The cousins worked on the farms for about a month and were able to learn some key differences between Australian and American sheep stud operations.
"They lamb their sheep down in sheds, and they don't have many paddocks for the sheep to graze," Brad said, adding they grew corn and hay as feed.
The Poe Hampshire Downs Stud took its sheep to shows too, but this was an aspect of the business the boys did not get to see on their trip.
"The operation sold its lambs at six weeks-old to commercial breeders. The top ones make about $1000 for ewe lambs," Brad said.
Brad said the Hampshire Down operation also marketed its wethers online.
"It was interesting to see," Brad said. "And the Hampshire Downs were the biggest breed there … they called them the kings."
Another big difference was flock management, with the owners checking on their sheep several times a night, including 10pm, 12am, 3am and 5am.
"It was very different over there, but the temperature was extreme… the coldest day was minus 32 degrees Celsius," he said.
Back in Australia, Brad has managed his own Southdown stud on the family farm at Eurack, near Cressy, since he was 10-years-old.
His parents, Jeff and Raelene Johnson, run the Johno's Hampshire Down and Border Leicester studs, while Sam's parents Neil and Melanie run the other half of the family business at Keith, South Australia, which also encompasses a Border Leicester and Poll Dorset stud.
It's a juggling act at Eurack with so many different breeds, but Brad's father Jeff enjoys the challenge.
He's been running the Victorian arm of the family operation for about 10 years.
"I've always enjoyed breeding sheep, so that was a big part of why we decided to buy the farm," Jeff said.
With the Johnson family already running Border Leicester and Poll Dorset sheep, Jeff said the expansion into Hampshire Downs happened naturally.
"I'm also a livestock buyer at MC Herd in Geelong, and through my job I could see the Hampshires had very good lambs," he said. "So I talked my brother into it."
The Johnsons have always enjoyed taking their sheep to shows such as the Australian Sheep & Wool Show (ASWS) in Bendigo, Hamilton Sheepvention, Adelaide Royal, and Geelong Royal.
But they also realise how important it is to have a commercial focus.
"We like to think we are commercially-focused, and the people who buy our sheep get value out of them," he said.
"It's about finding a balance."
Jeff is also involved with Superborders, which rank Border Leicester rams according to Lambplan figures.
"It's all about getting more out of Lambplan, in terms of milk, lamb and meat," he said.
"It gives us a benchmark, but it gives our clients more information too."
But while Lambplan was a valuable tool, he added it was important to be a studmaster too.
"You might have the highest-indexed sheep, but it might be no good in other areas," he said.
In terms of management, the Hampshire Downs lamb down in May, while the Border Leicesters and Southdowns lamb down in July.
The Hampshire Downs are weaned at four months-of-age, and Jeff said they had been achieving a weaned lambing percentage of about 130 per cent.
Jeff said he aimed to stay true to type when it came to the Hampshire Downs, which are a heritage breed.
"I select for good feet, shoulders and legs," he said. "They should still have wool on their head, and broadness in their muzzle."
While the popularity of the breed was different to that of the US, Jeff said he had built up a dedicated client base.
"Plenty of people in Tasmania like the Hampshires, and a lot of schools have them too," he said.
"They are a great teaching breed."
In terms of Brad's Southdown stud, Jeff said he had taught him to run it like a business.
"He likes the sheep, but it's about making money too. He wants to buy a car," he said.
But it wasn't all serious business in the sheep operation.
"We have a bit of fun too," he said.
"We like to give our rams names. One is Mohammed Ali, and another looked like The Hulk, so that was what we called him."
This year the Johnson family will be taking a team of sheep to Bendigo.
"We think it's important to get involved in showing. We might not win a lot of ribbons, but we enjoy the challenge…and people get to see what we are doing," he said.
