THE last Drysdale stud in Australia paraded its sheep at Bendigo today.
Wendy Beer, Beersheba, Moorngag, near Benalla, took two entries to the Australian Sheep & Wool Show - one ram and one ewe.
The judge John Cocks, Narrawong, awarded her sheep the champion broad-ribbons.
While Ms Beer's stud is flock 255, Mr Cock's own Drysdale stud, Glenoban, was flock 9.
He commended Beersheba for going to the effort of preparing its sheep for the iconic event, but said it was a pity there weren't more studs for comparison.
"They are really great specimens," Mr Cocks said.
"And they have magnificent fleece, but it's very sad this is the last Drysdale stud in the country."
The price of the sheep's fleece had reduced in value, which he said had contributed to other studs abandoning the breed.
"They also have to be shorn three times a year, so the management is quite demanding," he added.
Ms Beer runs 50 ewes and sells her wool to a boutique carpet factory in Melbourne at $4 per kilogram.
She said it would become increasingly challenging to continue breeding due to the difficulty to sourcing outside genetics.
"I need to import semen, but it's a long and laborious process."
