WHITE, well nourished and heavy fleeces growing on large bodied sheep are proudly the outcome of decades of breeding at Stockton.
Allan Stewart established Stockton Merino Stud, Bairnsdale in 1972, with a Merryville base of 20 ewes and a ram.
He started with a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve and has stuck with it. That vision is shared by his son, Jason, and is of growing interest to his grandchildren.
Last year, Mr Stewart shore an 18 month-old ram's fleece which measured 18.2 micron and cut 11.3kg.
"I wanted to develop a sheep that did well in our area," he said.
"We've put a lot of money, time and effort into breeding.
"Balancing the need to grow pure white, well nourished heavy fleeces with flies in the summer can be a challenge sometimes."
He said remaining focused on their breeding objectives had paid dividends.
"We produce easy-care early maturing animals with large, plain bodies and free growing fleeces with a deep crimp," Mr Stewart said. "Last year we got a bit too much length in the fleece – it was 110mm long – but we had an exceptionally good season last year."
An artificial insemination and embryo transfer program has been used both within the flock and for other people to access the Stockton genetics.
It seems the proof of Mr Stewart's breeding is in the progeny. He has sold rams and genetics to farms as far afield as Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Adelong and Henty, NSW, the Southern Tablelands, Waubra and Mortlake in Victoria and locally in Gippsland.
Being a closed stud, his genetics are particularly of interest to other wool growers with closed flocks.
"We closed the flock about 25 years ago," Mr Stewart said.
His focus on producing an animal that doesn't need mulesing is also of interest to others.
