SUPERBORDER members are being urged to move with the times - and get on social media.
Craig Bradley - who is the president of SuperBorder Association - said the group recognised the power of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, and that embracing new ways of promoting the breed was one of the keys to future success.
At the annual SuperBorder conference held recently at Albury, NSW, he cautioned members not to be afraid of social media.
"Basically we want our members to be prepared, and use this technology to promote their studs and the breed - Superborders and Border Leicesters," Mr Bradley said.
The group is getting ready to launch a Facebook page next month.
"We want to take the next step now…and we've decided that Facebook is the best option for us," he said. "It's a cheap and powerful way to get our message out there."
While some of the group's older members were hesitant, Mr Bradley said the conference discussion had helped to allay their fears about social media.
"I guess there was perception that young kids use it as a chat site, but we now know that it's much more than that…and we can really target our audience."
Mr Bradley said an increasing number of ram buyers were of a younger generation, and the SuperBorder group needed to reach them.
The goal is to keep clients up to date with what the group is doing in terms of their relationship with Sheep CRC, and they are also keen to promote shows and sales.
"Another big thing for us is to spread the word about first-cross ewe sales," he said. "There have been some great prices achieved over the past 12 months."
He said one of the biggest challenges for the group was to maintain the Border Leicester's reputation as the premium maternal sire in the industry.
"We have been under pressure. But the first-cross ewe - the Border Leicester-Merino cross - is still the best prime lamb mother," he said.
"Our challenge now is really looking at how we maintain that reputation."
He said a large part of that would come down to promotion - and being able to spread the good word on Facebook.
"That's the goal. We need to keep telling people about her fertility, her ability to rear lambs and her ability to get back into lamb," Mr Bradley said.
"And with the way wool prices are going, the wool from the first-cross ewe is worthwhile now. We are miles in front."
He said the first-cross wether was also in demand on the export market, providing versatility to the producer's bottom-line.
The group also set some ambitious LambPlan targets at the conference, in terms of where they want the breed to be in the next 10 years.
"We want to set the benchmark and really be the leaders in the industry," he said.
Another exciting development on the horizon for the Superborders is the official release of the 'Ram Select' app. Sheep CRC will unveil the app in the next couple of months.
"It's going to provide a great opportunity for the upcoming ram selling season," he added.
"We want to get behind it, because it's a tool for flock ram buyers to select rams with the traits they need."
Mr Bradley expected the app was going to make the use of Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) much easier.
The group also went on a bus trip to visit and learn from several innovative businesses.
One of these was Noel and Rod Frohling's farm at Burrumbuttock, NSW, who run a Border Leicester, Poll Dorset, and White Suffolk stud.
Wes Kember, who is a member of the SuperBorder group, said the trip opened up many of the member's minds to new ways of doing things.
"They were a mixed farming enterprise, and they grew grazing wheat," Mr Kember said.
"We were able to learn the crop allowed the Frohlings to run a higher stocking rate because of that crop.
"It was also a great way to have a look at other people's sheep and see what they are up to."
