IMPROVED LAMBING AND WOOL

The climate in Tasmania is perfect for sheep. Our sheep can graze 365 days a year on lush, green pastures. The cooler weather, compared to mainland Australia, allows our lambs to mature slowly resulting in flavourful meat.

INTEGRATED PRODUCTION

In 2003, our Tasmanian sheep herd started with just 800 sheep. Today, we have about 25,000 ewes producing 33,000 lambs annually.

While many farmers specialise in either sheep or crops, we believe in the benefits of having both, and our sheep production is fully integrated within the cropping system. This allows us to sustainably increase productivity on our existing land.

We utilise co-products from one production to support the next, such as crop residues as feed for our sheep and animal manure as fertiliser for new crops. In integrated systems, livestock also play a key role in energy and nutrient cycling, while rotations of crops with forage legumes improve soil fertility and reduce soil erosion.

In 2018/19, we increased our production of fodder crops of chicory and clover. This is a double win - a respite for our soils while providing quality feed for our lambs.

IMPROVED LAMBING

We have a continued focus on increasing our lambing percentage and keeping the body condition score of our ewes high to help increase productivity.

Ewes and lambs, Tasmania. Photographer: Alice Mabin

In 2018/19, we increased our production of healthy lambs by 8% compared to last year.

BETTER QUALITY WOOL

Through genetic selection, we are also working to produce a finer quality wool.

Wool quality is based on the fineness of fibres, which is measured in microns. The highest quality wool is about 17 microns. Today, our sheep produce wool at 32 microns. By introducing the new genetics we should be able to reduce it to 29 microns over the next years. This can be done while maintaining the quality of the meat.

We foresee an increased interest in wool as a natural and sustainable product with multiple uses. Besides being fully biodegradable, wool is also durable, temperature regulating, odour repellent and an overall environmentally friendly product.