VASEY producers Andrew and Angela Lyons say their fine wool Merino business is booming as they prepare to shear twice a year.
Almost three years since starting their prime lamb, Merino and Hereford operation, trading under Wilkah Herefords, the family farm has trialled three different Merino bloodlines, coupled with a rigorous culling program to target Merino qualities including superior fibre type.
With a background as a woolclasser, Angela Lyons said she was conscious of potential bloodlines that would quickly define their Merino flock to be big framed, plainer bodied, with a good fat score and consistent fertility levels, which after numerous trials was found with Southrose Merinos, Tintinara, SA, crossed with One Oak bloodlines.
"We liked Southrose because their progeny was more of an even line so we could reduce our 30 per cent culling rate we had with other lines that weren't meeting the traits to 5pc," she said.
"We now have good framed, plainer body ewes with good wool cuts, skin type and improved fertility, which we need the better fertility to keep producing."
About 350 Merinos were initially culled from the flock, and had a terminal White Suffolk ram put over them for prime lambs.
The new business was initially getting 50-60pc fertility rates, although with scanning and the recent change of bloodlines, this figure has improved and aims to be 90-100pc over the next four years.
While Mrs Lyons grew up on a prime lamb operation and Mr Lyons on a beef farm, they said after starting their new venture, independent of Olwyn and David Lyons, at Melville Park, Vasey, it had been an exciting learning experience.
I didn't know much about running crossbred sheep until 2.5 years ago, we were doing some lamb marking at another property and started asking questions," Mr Lyons said.
"We are not frightened to ask questions about things, looking at their breeding, seeing how we can get around the challenge – it is just what you need to do."
Rams are put out in December before ewes are scanned in March.
The terminal rams are put back over their whole flock and what is scanned dry during the March scanning is put in lamb to the terminal and rescanned in May. Those still dry after the 12-week program are culled.
"Before we scan, we get our Arcadian wool rep to class the ewes out on wool and structure, anything not good in wool or structure is put in the cull mobs because we know what we are after," Mrs Lyons said.
She said their various productions complemented each other and allowed the family to tap into four different meat and wool markets.
"You need to join enough ewes for a self-replacing flock but have enough prime lambs on the ground to keep the bank manager happy," Mr Lyons said.
Their young fine wool operation is run on 530 hectares and consists of 1500 Merino ewes which produce 400 prime lambs annually out of the cull ewes.
"We shear three times before they are two years old. Once they are two they are getting shorn once a year but we are looking at increasing that," Mrs Lyons said.
"Some of our ewes and wethers are getting wool up to 100mm plus – it is not always good to have the longest wool.
"The way the market is at the moment, buyers are going for 60-70mm and offering a better price."
At the last shearing, Wilkah recorded on average seven to eight kilograms on mature sheep with 12-month growth and 4.5kg on weaners with nine-month growth – with the Southrose-One Oak Merinos recording close to 16 micron.
While Mrs Lyons said it would be a "trial and error" cutting their ewes twice a year, as it could set their wool growth back, they hoped it would not affect the health or stress their sheep and also help the business' bottom line by tapping in to the improved market price at the lower length.
"The rams we have been buying, targeting those traits, are starting to come through the flock, so we think in the next year we will be shearing twice a year," she said.
"It will be extra income coming during the summer months."
