FOR Wentworth, NSW, producer Greg Pollard, breeding Merinos is in his blood.
His father started the Warrananga Merino Stud and when he passed away in 1984, Mr Pollard took over as stud master.
He runs a breeding operation at Warrananga Station along with his wife Dianne and son and daughter-in-law Ben and Lee.
The stud, he said, had always been closely linked with the SA type of Merino, and in the early days chased Collinsville bloodlines.
"In those early good days, when (Merino) sheep were everywhere in the Western Division, we were selling 500 to 600 rams a year," Mr Pollard said.
The station runs about 8000 sheep, with about 1500 stud ewes and 2500 commercial ewes.
In recent years, Mr Pollard has focused on Poll Merinos. He aims to breed a dual-purpose sheep.
They sell wether lambs from October to December, through saleyards and over-hooks.
During ram selling time in October, the Pollards cultivate a market in marginal regions - similar to the region rams are bred in.
The wool clip is another benefit at Warrananga.
Mr Pollard is pleased with this year's wool clip.
The market had picked up in the past couple of years, bringing in some handy cheques.
The Pollards tend to run their property quite conservatively, as it is a marginal area.
"We work on about one sheep to 3 hectares," Mr Pollard said.
The family considers stocking rates important in managing marginal lands.
Ben said monitoring water was also key.
"If you let dams go and haven't got any water left, you can't have stock, no matter how much feed you have," he said.
To manage risks in international markets, the Pollards have diversified into cropping.
Mr Pollard said wheat has been a saviour in years when the wool market rates dipped.
"If wool was good all the time we wouldn't worry about wheat," he said.
Along with more than 70ha of pivot-irrigated crops, the Pollards have 1000ha of dryland cropping.
He said they used no-till methods "to stop our country blowing about", and this year averaged about 1.5 tonnes/ha.
Mr Pollard said inputs could prove expensive, particularly when dealing with weeds.
"Spraying is one of the dear things for us in marginal areas," he said.
"We can't skimp too much even though we're only going to grow a 1t/ha crop, although a guy further south may get 3t/ha."
Despite that, cropping comprises about one-third of the station's operations.
As a way to combat weed issues, the Pollards have introduced canola into rotations, and grew peas for the first time this year.
Canola and peas could be difficult to grow in low-rainfall areas but Ben said their main goal was to control weeds.
"We would probably just stick to wheat if we could, its a lot easier to grow," he said.
* Full report in Stock Journal, November 27, 2014 issue.