WHEN an opportunity came along to buy one of Australia’s longest-running Prime SAMM studs, Campbell Lawrie jumped at it.
Lawral Park stud, Ungarra, has been one of the breed’s driving force in recent years but the purchase of the Jeancourt stud, Naracoorte, takes them to the nation's equal largest stud flock.
“It was a golden opportunity to diversify our genetics and get some new families no-one else has,” Mr Lawrie said.
“We are getting enquiry from the South East, western Vic and Tas and the Jeancourt sheep are bred for these high rainfall areas with good white wool ,” he said.
On New Years Day Mr Lawrie secured 435 ewes plus 27 young rams and two stud sires, growing the Lawral Park stud flock to more than 1100 ewes.
The 2010 to 2016 drop Jeancourt ewes have gone ahead in leaps and bounds at their new home.
Around 15 of the young rams will be included in Lawral Park’s on-property sale on Monday August 7.
Lawral Park has built a strong client base across Australia in the past 17 years but the Jeancourt stud began three years earlier.
Stud principals Megan and Bill Heddle made a large investment buying top Prime SAMM ewes in South Africa as embryo transfer donors until biosecurity changes prevented the importation of South African genetics into Australia. Wool quality has always been a strong focus and in the past four years Jeancourt’s ewe flock has tested 19.2 micron. Jeancourt is the third dispersing stud Lawral Park has secured, also buying the Ramco stud, Darlington Point, NSW in 2010 and local Eyre Peninsula stud Pineview in 2013.
“When the sheep have come up we have gone for it,” Mr Lawrie said.
“It gets us away from growing legumes in our cropping enterprise and I love the challenge of breeding good sheep.”
In 2016 Lawral Park’s 13th annual on-property sale achieved a total clearance with a new stud record price of $7500 and record $1629 average.
This year Lawral Park will have around 180 rams for sale at auction and private selection at Ungarra and its NSW ram depot at Temora.
Next year numbers will grow further to between 300 and 400.
The plan is to add a South East base to meet demand from their high rainfall clients. “Our aim is to breed a big framed meat sheep with good feet and good white wool and ensure we have a product that people want,” he said.
“Our focus is still our commercial clients but it is great to see studs are coming to us more to buy their rams and hopefully will even more so in the future.”
