THE highly regarded Blue Hills Merino stud and commercial flock will be dispersed on-property on Wednesday, March 4, with about 7000 sheep to go under the hammer.
Three generations of the Thring family have run the 7000-hectare Telopea Downs property, situated between Bordertown and Kaniva, Vic, developing it into a blue-ribbon property.
Over the past 40 years Jim Thring's father Jock, then Jim, and now son Sam have focused on breeding medium wool ewes with a large frame, high wool cut and fertility in the 425-millimetre rainfall area.
However, the recent marketing of the property has led to a golden opportunity for other sheep breeders to buy these top genetics.
The sale, to be conducted by Spence Dix & Co, will feature 1300 to 1400 top-quality stud Merino and Poll Merino ewes, and 5000 commercial ewes all mated to terminal sires and due to lamb in April-May.
It will also feature about 230 ram lambs including some impressive progeny of Moorundie Park PB34 which the stud bought at the 2013 Royal Adelaide Show ram sale at $30,000.
In recent years the stud has been on the rise with a ram from Blue Hills placed second in the highly contested Fibre Meat Plus Class at the 2013 Royal Adelaide Show, from 52 entries.
In 2008 the stud exhibited the grand champion autumn-shorn ram at the RAS.
Many highlights have also come from the commercial flock, which has an outstanding reputation.
For nearly 25 years Blue Hills was involved in the huge Telopea Downs-Senior off-shears circuit sale where 20,000-25,000 sheep were offered on-property jointly with Senior Park, Kangaringa, and Glengyle.
In the 2004 off-shears sale a draft of 1.5-year-old Blue Hills' Merino ewes set an Australasian record of $184. More recently surplus ewes have been keenly sought in the Keith off-shears sale or privately.
"There is a lot of pride in being able to produce good commercial sheep with a lot of wool, fertility and meat traits," Jim said.
The stud and commercial flock consistently cut 7.5 kilograms to 8kg of 20.5-micron wool.
Maximising the number of lambs on the ground has been a key focus, the flock's lambing averaging between 112 per cent and 117pc for the past six years. Individuals mobs joined to Merinos have achieved up to 140pc.
Sam says that rather than chasing fads they have preferred to stick to breeding profitable commercially orientated sheep.
"We have always focused on breeding sheep for our commercial flock which we are happy are making money for us and will then hopefully make money for our clients," he said.
One of his personal highlights in the 14 years he has been home on the farm has been to grow the stud's sales of 17 rams in the first year to more than 200 a year, to pastoral areas and into north western Vic.
The family says it is an emotional decision but the property is being sold for "succession planning" reasons.
Sam and his wife Jane are moving to a property at Coonawarra where they will continue to run Blue Hills' beef cattle herd.
"We will probably shed a tear when we drive down the driveway for the last time - all our married life has been in this home," Jim said.
Catherine Miller
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
