The recent visit, by the Victorian Premier, his entourage and journalists to an Ararat sheep property was an eye-opener for some members of Daniel Andrew’s entourage – and property owner Don Rowe.
Mr Andrews, Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford, Labor staffers and Melbourne reporters converged on Don, and wife Goldie’s property for a State election announcement on agricultural policies.
Mr Rowe said he was a little surprised by some of the questions, asked during the visit.
“We had some fairly newborn lambs on the hill, and one of the young women asked what they ate,” Mr Rowe said.
“Another asked what the wool was used for – it’s a different world, for them.
“I assumed they had been out and about. If they had never left the city, you would understand those questions being asked.”
Self-replacing flock
The Rowes live on the sedimentary hills, just west of Maroona, “with a magnificent view of the Grampians.
“We run a self-replacing Merino flock with older ewes mated to Suffolk rams,” Mr Rowe said.
“We were never entirely cropping but did use cereals to prepare paddocks for sowing down pasture, to a phalaris/clover mix. Merinos have always been our main enterprise.”
He said Merino lambs, on the 250hectare property, Sidlaw, are kept, if the season is good.
“With current wool prices keeping wether lambs is worth considering.”
Mr Rowe said he ran 900 ewes and 400 weaners.
“I would have 150 wethers to sell and have still got lambs from last year,” he said.
Prime lambs were sold over the hooks.
Mr Rowe said he called on Elder’s Ararat’s Craig Potter, to help him select Merino rams, mainly using Pooginook bloodlines for wool. White Suffolks came from Gary Hill, Pomonal’s, stud and were used for the prime lambs.
“I’ve been on Poogninook, and they are looking really good,” Mr Rowe said.
“You initially look at the wool, if you pick the right sheep, they will give medium micron wool and offspring with good confirmation.
“I usually get six kilograms for 20-20.5 micron wool – you can cut more, but it’s not worth pushing them, particularly if you can get a good lamb, and good wool, that will do me,” he said.
Lifetime ewe management
He said the Lifetime Ewe Management course had been a boon for production.
“We have got better at managing nutrition, wool strength has improved a lot, over the years,” he said.
“It made me concentrate on lambing percentages, and I have got them up from 80 per cent to 100 pc, over two years, mainly through scanning for twins, working on mob sizes, using containment areas and monitoring nutrition, while feeding the twin lambers.
“Looking for wool strength is the other key.”
But Mr Rowe said one of his biggest concerns was climate change, and he had already altered his production practices to work around it.
He said that was particularly relevant with the prime lamb production.
“We tried to lamb in spring, but the seasons have been cutting out, so we’ve been bringing them back to late June or early July,” Mr Rowe said.
“One thing I have done is planted more lucerne, to prepare for summer rains, which we are supposedly going to get with climate change.
“If the lucerne is firing away, the lambs get bigger, and I get more money.”
He said water was an issue, although he had bores on the property.
Feeders were used for lambs and pregnant ewes, which were offered barley and hay.
“I use containment areas, most summers, particularly at the end, as you don’t want to bare the hills out, you want to keep some cover,” he said.
Climate change
There had also been an extensive tree planting program, as the Rowes were aiming to have a carbon positive enterprise.
“We would have at least 12pc of the farm under trees now, it was zero pc when I got here,” he said.
“The trees provide habitat and mitigate against the extremes of weather, they provide shelter for the sheep, and it looks good as well, seeing different birds and animals around.
“The last audit showed we had a carbon deficit, but since then we have planted a lot more trees, so I am hoping we are carbon positive by now.
“It would be good if there were incentives to monitor carbon usage on farms.”
Farming was a lifetime dream, achieved upon retirement, 12 years ago.
“Both Goldie and I were teachers, but always wanted to be farmers,” Mr Rowe said.
“I grew up on a farm at Cootamundra, NSW, we always had sheep at home, and when I was on holidays, I used to do sheep work.”