Allan and Carol Phillips transported three daughters and 2000 sheep from the Western District in Victoria to a farm south-west of Launceston, Tasmania, almost 21 years ago, and despite a few hiccups along the way, they believe it was one of the best decisions they have ever made.
And it was a desire to produce the highest quality wool possible that inspired their trip across the Bass Strait.
They said while they enjoyed farming at Tatyoon, their wool often struggled to meet the tensile strength they required.
“We decided we’d like to have a real go at growing superfine wool, and Tasmania had the reputation for it,” Mr Phillips said.
And their property at Deddington is particularly suited to growing that type of wool, but not much else, they said.
But one of the challenges of farming on their new property was that they needed to run at a relatively low stocking rate.
“So for us to make the most money out of it, we’ve got to get a premium for the wool we grow,” he said.
There have been positives to the low stocking rate.
“It’s a reasonably low cost operation, with not a lot of inputs required,” he said.
“If we get the stocking rate right, we can balance the health of the country with the wool quality, and that’s the way we’ve done it for a number of years.”
And it’s that dedication to get the numbers right, and even classing their own wool, that’s meant they don’t have any regrets about the move two decades later.
“The first couple of years were hard, but then we had some very good seasons in the early 2000s, so that made things work,” he said.
Now running 3500 sheep, the family just completed shearing on their ‘Glen Stuart’ property.
“We shear the ewes in July and August, and the wethers in September and October, and we’ve just shorn some stud hoggets and two year-old ewes,” he said.
“The ewe wool has been very good, with good tensile strength.”
The season hasn’t been as favourable this year.
“We had a semi reasonable spring last year, but it’s been pretty tight since and we were supplementary feeding going into winter to get them in reasonable condition to get through it,” he said.
“But we’re certainly not as bad as some other parts of the country.”
Ever since they moved to Tasmania, they have joined ewes in April for a September lambing.
“We need to take advantage of that little spring flush for the ewes to carry lambs through,” he said.
Cold and wet conditions can often make lambing difficult, but they have been lucky with the amount of shelter on the property.
“There’s lots of it,” he said.
“And generally speaking, the weather has started to improve by mid-September, and that’s when the grass starts to grow.”
And they said asking questions is the best way to suit their product to the market.
“We’ve always had a good relationship with buyers, and in recent years we’ve been getting a lot more feedback on what they want,” he said.
“And that’s really important because when you make a change in your flock, it’s going to be four or five years before you see the effects of that change in your wool clip, so if you get it wrong, it’s going to take a long time to get it back again.”
Recent feedback received has indicated that the market is looking for more Saxon-typed wool.
“That type of wool has dropped across the supply chain, so we’re getting feedback that if we can grow that wool, there’ll be greater demand for it.”