Young sheep breeders from throughout Australia have had the opportunity to question successful Clare Valley business owners about the way they work.
Many different ideas were thrown around and talked about at a Australian Wool Innovation Breeding Leadership presentation held at the Sevenhill Hotel on Thursday night.
Mike Christophersen from Sevenhill Cellars, Steve Sanders from Sanders H Hardware, Paul Longbottom from Sevenhill Hotel and Michele Lally from Savannah Farm gave the participants an insight into their operations and how they got to where they are today.
Mr Christophersen talked about the history of Sevenhill Cellars before adding that it was important to sit down and write a plan, a business plan with a focus and goal.
“Writing a plan is a really, really good thing to do. It can be hardwork but, there’s a lot of good things that come out of discussing and sitting down and writing a plan,” Mr Christopersen said.
He told the audience the importance of quantifying what exactly you are doing.
“Once you have a plan you have got something to monitor your progress against.”
Sanders H Hardware and HR Sanders’ representative Steve Sanders gave an enthusiastic speech and talked about becoming part of the family business.
From the fodder shop it once was, to expanding the business into two portfolios and adding on many different aspects, Mr Sanders said it was important for the young breeders to know their industry and be a part of it.
Mr Sanders said if he saw an opportunity he would go for it.
“There has been no strategy, I just fly by the seat of my pants,” Mr Sanders said.
But, Mr Sanders said it was vital to build a good team around you and your business.
He is also a true believer in keeping things local and being a part of your community – he encouraged all the young breeders to get involved at a local level and give back to the community who purchases from you.
“Be true to yourself and whatever your occupation is,” he said.
Sevenhill Hotel publican Paul Longbottom spoke about the importance of innovation and backing yourself.
“You have to be innovative and doing new things. It’s good to have someoone to bounce ideas off who is outside of the industry,” Mr Longbottom said.
Through his innovative thinking, Mr Longbottom has put Sevenill Hotel on the map and has tapped into the local community – through sponsorship and being part of clubs.
“We have to keep being innovative and thinking a few months ahead.”
Michele Lally, Savannah Farm, said after several discussions with participants after the formalities, it was refreshing to hear stories and comments that looked at soil health and related it directly to production levels and profit margins of sheep.
“It was good to meet so many young and upcoming sheep farmers and industry members here in Clare,” she said.
Michele spoke about Savannah Farm’s production system philosophy which suggests Sheep, and livestock in general as a really important part of ensuring fertility is put back into the soil through planned holistic grazing type systems.
“AWI should be congratulated for offering such a program for young people to create long term national peer connections, and assist them with some out of the box thinking and new marketing opportunities for their products.”
Breeding Leadership is a week-long course which has helped progress the careers of about 150 young people within the wool industry.
It aims to arm young woolgrowers, studmasters, woolclassers, wool agents, students and business people with the skills and tools to become better leaders.
The course was held at Clare in South Australia, and the group also toured two wool focussed businesses: Michell Wool and Anlaby Station, gaining valuable insights into their vision and business strategies.
Samantha Neumann from Elders, Adelaide, said the week provided her with “a toolkit to go away from this week and help drive the industry forward. It was an opportunity to develop a network with enthusiastic people with a passion for the wool industry”.