The significance of reaching 100 years was not lost on the current principal of a Tasmanian stud, who says he is merely a "caretaker" of the operation.
In opening the stud's recent on-property ram and ewe sale, Fairbank stud principal Chris Badcock said he was "immensely proud" of the Hagley, Tas, stud hitting the century mark, but said most of the work had been done by his grandfather and father since the farm was purchased in 1903 and stud established in 1922.
"If you look around, I guess there aren't many studs out there of any breed that have reached the 100-year milestone," he said.
"Certainly not on the same property and still with the same family, so I guess from that point of view I am really proud of what my grandfather has done and my father has done, and we have a new generation coming on after me too."
But Mr Badcock said what made him most proud was how the stud had remained commercially relevant over so many years.
The stud was originally established as a Southdown operation, before introducing Poll Dorsets in 1969 and White Suffolks in 1984.
At their recent sale, they offered Southdown rams and ewes, Charollais/terminal composite-cross rams, Southdown/terminal composite-cross rams, White Suffolk rams and Poll Dorset rams.
"There's been significant change within the industry over the last 100 years so our business has had to adapt over time," Mr Badcock said.
"Mostly to do with the type of sheep the industry is seeking.
"If you go back to the early 19th century, it was all about getting a big frame in your sheep, then in the 1920s and 1930s, with a lot of English imports, they needed them a bit smaller so they could fit more in the refrigerated containers going to England.
"Then through the 1970s, they wanted them a bit longer because of the New Zealand influence, so they started to really stretch them out, and this eventually became the modern Southdown that you see today."
He said the market was "tough" for Southdowns about 30 years ago, but thanks to increased demand for trade lambs over the years, things eventually began to turn around.
He attributed adapting to the times as a huge part of the stud's century-long success.
"You can't just do the same thing year after year and expect the same success," he said.
Mr Badcock said another way they had adapted over the years was incorporating Australian Sheep Breeding Values into the operation to provide up-to-date and accurate data to their clients.
"We've got over 20,000 animals in Lambplan, which means there's over 80,000 units of information that's been accumulated," he said.
"I'm quite proud of the accuracy of our ASBVs."
He said they maintained a Southdown base of about 150-180 ewes and aimed to produce easy-lambing, high-growth lambs with superior shape ideal for the domestic trade market.
In addition, the stud maintains a base of about 250-300 Poll Dorset ewes, as well as about 150-180 White Suffolk ewes.
Farming 30 kilometres north-west of Launceston, Tas, has proved successful for many years, according to Mr Badcock, but this year had presented its challenges.
"We've had 180 millimetres of rain since the start of October," he said.
"It's been very wet and cold which has made it difficult.
"I think our rams presented really well this year considering they've been underwater for the best part of the last six weeks."
And he said a lot of his local and interstate clients were in the same boat.
"We're certainly early in the Tasmanian ram selling season but a lot of people are concerned with how the season will go," he said.
He said in the past 100 years, the stud had sold genetics to every state in Australia, as well as to New Zealand.
At this year's sale, there was particular interest from Victoria and NSW, as well as widespread buying from Tasmania.
He said in celebration of their 100th year, they decided to offer their entire drop of rams, rather than retaining a handful like they normally would.
"There were probably three or four rams that we would have liked to have kept, but we decided to offer them all up this year given it's a special occasion," he said.
And that sacrifice paid off, with the stud setting a new Australian record price for the sale of a Southdown sheep at the sale.
Joely Mitchell
Joely started her career at Stock & Land as a cadet journalist in 2016. She is now the editor of the paper.
Joely started her career at Stock & Land as a cadet journalist in 2016. She is now the editor of the paper.
