Three ambitious young farmers who are pushing production boundaries have been announced as finalists for the Marcus Oldham's Flock Leader award.
Judges were inspired by the production nous and commercial achievements of Henry Goode, Kingston, SA, Georgia White, Coolah, NSW, and Hamish Ellis, Harow, Vic, shortlisting the three sheep produces for tje Marcus Oldham's Flock Leader award.
Henry Goode, Kingston, SA
FASHION is the focus for Henry Goode, who is excited about closing the gap between consumers and woolgrowers.
The 29-year-old farms with his dad Deane and family across two properties in Kingston, SA, and Simpson, where they run 7000 Merino adult ewes across 3400 hectares.
His passion for productivity and commitment to customers awarded him finalist in the Marcus Oldham Flock Leader award.
The Goodes expect to shear 23,000 this spring, including lambs.
One of the earliest adopters of non-mulesed sheep nearly two decades ago, the family also moved to a split shearing in 2015, which Henry said had a spectacular impact on the flock's productivity and animal health benefits.
"Breeding a modern Merino is my passion - that are easy-care, productive, fertile and have beautiful wool," he said.
READ MORE:
The six-monthly shearing has lifted production by 15 per cent while a focus on fertility has seen lambing rates soar by nearly 20pc in recent years.
"Shearing has eliminated tender wool so we are always producing a high value and quality clip every six months," he said.
"We shear just prior to lambing in winter so, while it is hard to measure exactly, we think the ewes seek more shelter and are not carrying the heavy, wet fleece through winter so their general doing ability is a lot better."
The Goodes join ewe lambs at eight months of age, which he said generated an income sooner and fast-tracked the flock's genetic gain.
They joined 3000 this year, with 2000 scanning in lamb at 89pc potential fetuses.
Last year the flock recorded lambing rates of 117pc, with lamb survival at nearly 90pc thanks to the mentoring advice of Jason Trompf's Lambs Alive practices.
The majority of the Goodes' clip is contracted to NZ Merino and sold to ethically-renowned brands like Allbirds, Smartwool and Icebreaker.
With their Responsible Wool Standard and ZQ Merino accreditation, Mr Goode said the family were achieving a 30pc premium on the current auction prices.
"To be this connected to our consumers is a really exciting future for the wool industry," he said.
"I think more and more the consumer wants to know where their food and fibre is coming from, how it is produced, so we are proudly able to tell that story, which is a really satisfying position to be in.
"As the gap between the consumer and the farmer continues to narrow, the entire industry needs to be focused on telling the good wool stories."
Georgia White, Coolah, NSW
Improving production and profitability is the passion of Marcus Oldham Flock Leader finalist Georgia White.
The 25-year-old is livestock manager at the family's 1822-hectare property Talbragar, Coolah, NSW, managing the genetic selection and management of its Merino flock and Angus herd.
"We have been doing a lot of research with the help of Jason Trompf into reproductive trials and collecting data from our 4000 Merino ewes," Ms White said.
Scanning now averages 170 per cent, with the flock based on Cassilis Park bloodlines.
"The survival of the lambs has also increased to where we now have 80pc plus average in the twin-lambing ewes and lambs from maiden ewes," she said.
She said hitting high fertility targets was achieved by having ewes in the right condition, and led to scanning of 144pc in 2020 of maidens joined to Merinos.
Last year, maidens with heavy wrinkles were joined to Border Leicester rams while plainer-bodied maidens were joined to Merino rams and scanned at 164pc.
"I am working towards easy-to-manage livestock that don't get flyblown and can produce 1.5 lambs every year - I want to be known for someone who puts effort into their livestock," she said.
"That's what I love about the industry, you can set your own management style whether that is wind it down, or crank it right up.
"You get out of it what you put in."
But a major focus on her career is lifting the productivity of the entire industry, beyond her farmgate.
The graduate of Marcus Oldham Agricultural College, Waurn Ponds, is using platforms like NSW Farmers sheepmeat committee and Sheep Connect to influence research to lift the performance of the national flock.
"I am really passionate about sheep and all things animal production and I want to inspire other young people to get more serious and proactive about their livestock," Ms White said.
"I have friends who now have their own microscope to do their own worm egg counts and we often discuss lambing tactics at the pub to boost everyone up.
"I want to keep pushing the boundaries with research and trials to benefit the whole industry, specifically with fertility to move things forward."
Hamish Ellis, Harrow
Hamish Ellis has an ambitious goal to double his composite ewe flock within two years.
The 29-year-old farms at Pine Hills, Harrow and will use Paradoo Precision Lambing techniques to achieve this target, while retaining high-performing ewes back into the self-replacing flock.
This method follows a staggered joining, where teaser males are used before ewes are joined for 14 days before rams are removed for 20 days and reintroduced for another five week joining to form the second group.
"It allows me to manage the nutritional requirements with seasonal conditions," Mr Ellis said.
"I lamb down twins at eight to 10 ewes a hectare, with mob sizes about 70, which keeps mortality under 2pc and lamb survival between 85-90pc."
Mr Ellis returned to the family property that had been leased for fifteen years, growing his ewe flock from 1700 in 2017 to 6300 this year.
He runs 1416 hectares and has a goal to double this grazing area and flock size by December 2024.
Mr Ellis credits this ambitious growth to the support of his supportive family, as well as mentoring by former employers, Tim and Georgie Leeming, Paradoo Prime, Harrow.
"The Leemings showed me the best way to build stock numbers quickly using composite ewes, and then being able to join ewes lambs," he said.
The Marcus Oldham graduate combined his academic knowledge with his on-the-ground business to establish one of the highest performing in the west Wimmera prime lamb businesses ranked on Agriculture Victoria's Farm Monitor project.
"Growth has been a challenge from a cash flow perspective because I've been retaining most stock," he said.
"The aim of the game will be to take back the whole farm, which is partly leased, next December so I will need to keep the majority for a while.
"If you're lucky enough to get this opportunity then you're better to aggressively build numbers as it pays off down the track."
Mr Ellis is passionate about lifting the productivity of the prime lamb industry through lamb survival and sharing the Paradoo Prime Lambing methods.
"It gives you more out of what you already have," he said.
"Land is the rarest commodity on earth so it is important to get every little bit out of it you can."