Risk pays off for Henty family

“We had been running Merino ewes for a long time, but it got to the point where we had to look for a more profitable enterprise,” Rod James said, who runs the Western Victorian farm with his wife Ann and son Ian.

And after carefully weighing up their options, the family decided to join the last of their Merino flock to a Border Leicester ram in the mid 90s.

Today the family runs 1500 Border Leicester-Merino (BLM) ewes, which are purchased at 18 months of age.

And along the winding path to profitability, the James have also made a conscious move in 1998 towards White Suffolks, which Rod says produces a fast growing, well-muscled lamb.

The family BLM ewes are joined in January to White Suffolk rams to produce a second-cross lamb.

The James are among a throng of producers making the rapid switch to the Australian terminal breed, which is renowned for its adaptability to mixed farming areas and higher rainfall districts.

The family’s first White Suffolk rams were originally bought in from the Waratah stud at Branxholme. However in 2007 Ian James and his wife Sarah decided to try their luck in the breeding game by establishing their own stud, Iona White Suffolks.

“White Suffolks have great lambing ease and we thought it would be a good idea to start breeding our own rams to use on the farm,” Ian said.

The decision saw the young couple invest in 50 ewes from the prominent Waratah, Depta Grove and Anden studs.

Since 2008, the James have been using their own ram lambs, which are joined at seven months and then sold privately to commercial breeders at 18 months of age.

In an effort to further develop their Iona bloodlines, Ian has completed an AI program using Lambplan and industry-leading genetics.

“The rams from these studs had good growth figures and muscle,” he said, adding selection is based on moderate birth weights, moderate fat measurements and good muscling.

“I’m really happy with the progeny, which are all on Lambplan.”

So far, Ian and his wife have used “word of mouth” marketing for their rams with successful results.

“It’s great because using our rams is cost effective and it means we don’t have older rams on the property,” he said.

The main objective for the stud side of the business was to produce a smaller lamb at birth with excellent growth rates, which in turn assists the commercial end of their operation.

“We want a lamb that is easy to finish,” Ian said.

Out in the paddock, the James admit the decision to move into prime lamb production and breed their own White Suffolk rams is now paying dividends.

“This type of operation really suits this area and we are happy with the way we are going at the moment,” Rod said.

The recent deluge of rain has helped keep the pasture remain green right across their farm, which encompasses Red Gum country through to heavy soiled land.

Alongside the ewes and lambs, the James run 600 Angus cows, which provide the family with an additional income.

Ewes are joined in January for a June lambing, which the James say helps to finish the lambs come spring.

“We try to sell in November to avoid any grass seed problems,” Rod said.

The ewes with their lambs are run on improved pastures, while weaning is carried out in October.

Lambing percentages are solid, with the James revealing 138 per cent of lambs were marked this year.

All first draft lambs are sold over-the-hooks at five months of age and are targeted towards the light export market.

The lighter lambs - which are not ready to turn off in November - are shorn and either put onto summer crops or if the market allows put into an on-farm feedlot.

“We’ve got an opportunity feedlot on the farm. If the grain price is right, we’ll use that to finish off the lambs,” Rod said.

The lambs are otherwise put out onto crops such as turnips, rape or millet to fatten.

And after more than a decade producing prime lambs, the James are now reaping the rewards with an extraordinarily strong market hitting new highs every week.

“We are very happy with the market at the moment,” Ian said.

“We sold our first draft of suckers for $100 last season, while the lambs off the rape crop made $138.”

And with the national ewe supply shortage reaching a climax, the James admit the dire situation could make it increasingly tricky to buy in replacements ewes in the near future.

“I can see the difficulty of sourcing ewes, so if we need to we may look at breeding our own,” Rod said.