Be a Leader Sheep

This week we were at Barcaldine for the Westech Field days. It was a great event where we enjoyed many conversations with some lovely and genuine people.

However, some of the conversations also dismayed me about the state of the merino industry. I'm going to coin a new catch-phase.

Be a Leader Sheep.

We have all experienced mobs in gateways where no sheep step up to be the leader. They just circle round and round, following the sheep in front, nobody daring to look outside. Lots of movement, even running around, but ultimately going nowhere.

This is the picture that sprang to mind after talking to many farmers and other seedstock producers. Perhaps through no fault of their own, they circle round and round, not looking outside the box, staying in their safe, comfortable place, validating each other's opinions.

Here's a sample of some of these statements:

Nearly everyone we talked to had grown up with sheep, but the vast majority run only cattle now. They say:

Watching the crowds at Westech, it was obvious to us what is happening. Beside us were a few other merino breeders and across from us were a group of dorper seedstock producers.

Most of the folk spending time at the traditionally minded studs looked to be in their 50s, 60s or even 70s and 80s. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people at the dorper studs were young, in their 20s and 30s. In other words, the next generation of farmers!

They have become fed up with the amount of time, chemicals and feed required to keep their traditional merinos alive. Not realising that there are better adapted merinos out there, they jump ship to cattle, goats or dorpers.

The traditionally minded merino stud breeders need to look outside their circling mob and realise that, without change, the next generation of woolgrowers will cease to exist.

Back to our analogy.

For that frustrating mob of sheep in the gateway to stop circling and reach the fresh grass through the gate, one of the sheep must dare to be different. They must stop and look outside to see the potential elsewhere. They must leave the mob and DO something different.

Thankfully, we also spoke to producers who are being a Leader Sheep, many of them clients of ours.

They are getting over 100% lambing in Central Qld, they are not mulesing, they are growing out profitable twins, they are growing fine wool, they are working well with their shearers, and they are happy with their sheep while still continually improving!

I just got off the phone with another client in NSW. He spent decades wishing there was something different out there but being told there wasn't. He was told that his 65-70% marking rates for maiden ewes was normal and had all but given up on anything better.

He finally happened across a Leader Sheep, saw the potential, and switched to our rams. The first drop of lambs are now 2 years old and showing tremendous potential.

That change was from a SINGLE cross!

We need more Leader Sheep! If you are one, share this with someone who needs to know there is something outside the confines of their circling.

We realised that as seedstock producers, we need to take some responsibility for the merino industry thriving into the future. In addition to breeding modern merino rams, we need to step up and support producers to become Leader Sheep.

One way we will do that is by providing you with resources. Starting next month, we will post an article on the first Friday of each month with information that is helpful on your Leader Sheep journey. It will also be emailed out, so sign up at the bottom of the page to have it delivered straight to you.

Become a Leader Sheep and enjoy that fresh paddock of grass!