THE SOUTHERN
Part of the Farmer Group Rural Newspapers Covering Victoria Published since 1986
JULY, 2017
SHEEP & WOOL SHOW PAGES 11-14
ANGUS BREED FEATURE
www.nemedia.com.au
HYDROPONICS & GREENHOUSES
PAGES 18-20
PAGES 22-23
At Avington Merino, they’re growing luxury fibre with integrity, passion and ethics.
GIVE FLEECE A CHANCE: Avington Merino Stud principle Noel Henderson and farm managers Nathan and Kirstie Anderson believe international markets want Australia to stop mulesing.
It’s war and fleece
WHEN Noel Henderson and his wife Lyndsay founded Avington Merino in 1996 they wanted nothing less than an elite ultrafine wool stud, produced at the highest possible standards. More than 20 years later, it seems they have achieved all that and more. Avington is the result of the Hendersons passion and commitment to using ethical farming practices to produce top quality merino wool and educate, train and innovate the industry.
BY JARRAH LOH
jloh@ nemedia.com.au
But it was through a different industry that Mr Henderson found his innovation and drive. “I grew up in Melbourne and had a long career in the construction industry,” he told The Southern Farmer. The construction company he worked for, Multiplex (most famed for the building of Syd-
Trust only Bondioli & Pavesi and Bima for
ney Olympic Park for the 2000 Olympics), was chaired by Australian businessman John Roberts, who also owned the West Australian sheep operation The Grange. “My wife came from a farming background,” said Mr Henderson. “Then I started getting interested when I saw John’s stud.” The Hendersons bought their property in Sidonia – on the granite soils of the Macedon Ranges, 98km northeast of Melbourne. And with some help from
The Grange, as well as local studs Beverley and Glenara, they started stocking it with Merinos. And so, the stud was born on 450 acres with 500 merinos. After establishing themselves as a super-fine producer, Mr Henderson got his wish when by chance he was offered an ultra-fine stud that was being dispersed in Armadale, NSW. “We always wanted to be a ultra-fine producer, and that dispersal formed the basis of our ultra-fine flock.”
g ting the farmin Proudly suppor nce 1950 community si
“The complete agricultural driveline solution”
Now, after two decades of farming and four decades of marriage the Hendersons oversee 7000 acres and run up to 20,000 sheep. Avington sell the majority of their wool through the auction system, but some is beginning to be exported to Japan. Lately, they have been looking to expand their exports to Italy and Europe. “I have recently been in Italy, looking to export directly,” said Mr Henderson. “That is now our focus.” During the recent trip, Mr
Henderson was confronted with a question he is all too familiar with. “All the processors asked when Australian growers were going to stop mulesing,” he said. “It is still a hot topic there.” Mulesing is the cutting of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech of a sheep to prevent flystrike, as the wool around the buttocks can retain faeces and urine, which attracts flies and can lead to flystrike.
Continued page 3
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