LYN Dehnert and her partner Trevor Guppy are thrilled to be showing sheep from their Lyntree Southdown stud for the first time at this year's Australian Sheep & Wool Show (ASWS).
However, Ms Dehnert is far from a novice in the showring – she has Southdown breeding and showing running through her veins.
The Dehnert family at Ballan has run the Fernhill Southdown Stud since the 1930s. Ms Dehnert's brother Graeme now manages the stud, and she has helped him prepare and show sheep at events throughout Victoria.
It was Graeme who encouraged her to start a stud, which was established in 2010.
Lyntree got a kick-start with 10 ewes in-lamb that Ms Dehnert bought at the dispersal of Cheval Southdown Stud at Tarrone, in Victoria's south-west.
The Dehnert family also purchased 52 ewes in total to expand their Southdown flocks at the dispersal of the late Geoff Baker's Southern Pastures stud, which was one of the breed's most influential.
The family had a long and close connection with the Bakers and is proud to have the bloodlines Mr Baker bred continuing in its flocks.
The Fernhill and Southern Pasture bloodlines are the most prominent in the Lyntree stud, which has grown to 24 breeding ewes.
Ms Dehnert, who is a nurse at Ballarat Health Services, said they had also undertaken an artificial insemination program to introduce New Zealand bloodlines from Willowhaugh rams bred by the Jordon family at Blenheim on the South Island.
"We have the Australian semen rights for one of their rams, which we're using for genetic diversity and improving muscle on the sheep's hindquarters," she said.
Ms Dehnert said there were now 61 Southdown studs in the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association stud book, so it was important for the remaining breeders to show their animals and continue to source outcross genetics.
In fact, Graeme said the heritage meat breed was making a comeback.
"Supermarkets go mad on Southdown crosses at the Ballarat saleyards," he said.
Ms Dehnert said that was thanks to their exceptional meat quality and growth rates.
"Pure Southdown is a sweet meat, and you can see the difference between it and crossbreds in terms of its colour, tenderness and sweetness.
"The breed is renowned for its ease of lambing so rams are good to put over maiden ewes and they are easy to turn off."
Ms Dehnert said the family had been able to selectively cull the flocks, so now the operation epitomised the hardy, efficient meat breed. One thing she keeps an eye out for is ensuring the sheep she breeds are true and correct to the breed.
Most clients of the Fernhill and Lyntree studs are commercial operators who put the Southdown rams over Merinos or crossbreds to produce prime lambs.
ASWS marks the start of a busy showing calendar for the family. Each year, the stud also takes sheep to Sheepvention, Royal Melbourne Show and Royal Geelong Show (which also doubles as Southdowns' national show), as well as local agricultural shows.
