KEEPING things simple is how Matt and Tracy Parker and their daughters Jessica, 14, and Emma, 11, approach most aspects of their commercial Merino, cattle and cropping operation Dinjarrah, Langkoop, Vic.
That approach showed them the advantages of Suffolks.
At the forefront of the operation is their Merino flock, with 4000 self-replacing ewes the centrepiece of the property located 40 kilometres south-east of Naracoorte.
But it was a simple and practical cross-breeding trial about 13 years ago that has continued to produce success with Suffolk-Merino lambs for the Parkers.
Mrs Parker started her own Suffolk stud, Tresma, as a hobby, with local and return clients buying about 30 rams a year.
Tresma maintains about 100 stud Suffolk ewes and breeds rams to sell but also to use in the Dinjarrah operations for commercial lambs.
“It was an interest back then and she had a few rams that we started to use over our seconds Merino ewes to see how it would go,” Mr Parker said.
“We really liked the resulting cross, with fewer lambing issues and lambs that hit the ground and grew. That is how it came about that we started producing Suffolk-Merino lambs commercially.
“They have clean points. They are hardy, fast-growing and low birthweight lambs.’’
Mrs Parker’s aim with the Suffolk stud rams is to breed structurally-correct, long-bodied, good growth rams with lambing ease. She is able to cull stud Suffolk ewes to a commercial Suffolk flock of about 200 ewes to achieve desired traits in the stud.
“I can see first-hand the progeny of Suffolk flock rams in our Merinos to ensure Suffolk flock rams breed a good commercial prime lamb that meets grid specifications,’’ Mrs Parker said.
The Merino ewe seconds are joined to the Tresma Suffolk rams in December at a rate of one ram to every 50 ewes, with a view to lambing in early to mid-May.
“We aim to have lambs dropping on May 10. Hopefully by then we have had a break to the season and we don’t have to hand feed as much,” Mr Parker said.
“Our lambing percentage is pretty strong, we get good results that we are happy with.’’
In a good season, the Suffolk-Merino lambs are sold at an age of five to six months direct to processors, mainly for the supermarket trade.
He said there was no real science to the way Dinjarrah was turning out the good stock, it was simply about keeping up good food and nutrition.
“In the Suffolk rams, we’re looking for length, muscle and lambing ease, and we are happy with the consistent results we have got from this part of our farming operation,” he said.
“Across our operations, we tend to keep everything simple – keep an eye on stocking rates, know what works and be willing to change if needed.’’
Bryan Littlely
Started with Fairfax (Rural Press) as a compositor in 1992 at the Victor Harbor Times and progressed to journalism as a cadet and then on to editor at The Barossa & Light Herald. After 8 years with Rural Press, joined News Corp as a journalist at The Advertiser. I held various senior positions at The Advertiser including Regional Editor, Motoring Editor, Chief Of Staff and Investigations Editor. My time with News Corp also included an 18 month secondment to the Northern Territory as Editor at the Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs. After a year working as assistant director of media with the Fair Work Ombudsman and a year at the helm of a public relations firm, I have returned to my farming background and home community on the Fleurieu Peninsula. I am co-founder of missing persons foundation, Leave A Light On Inc, and am also on the board of Indigenous foundation Around The Campfire. Local sport and community activities, horse racing and learning what I can about farming are my key interests outside of journalism.
Started with Fairfax (Rural Press) as a compositor in 1992 at the Victor Harbor Times and progressed to journalism as a cadet and then on to editor at The Barossa & Light Herald. After 8 years with Rural Press, joined News Corp as a journalist at The Advertiser. I held various senior positions at The Advertiser including Regional Editor, Motoring Editor, Chief Of Staff and Investigations Editor. My time with News Corp also included an 18 month secondment to the Northern Territory as Editor at the Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs. After a year working as assistant director of media with the Fair Work Ombudsman and a year at the helm of a public relations firm, I have returned to my farming background and home community on the Fleurieu Peninsula. I am co-founder of missing persons foundation, Leave A Light On Inc, and am also on the board of Indigenous foundation Around The Campfire. Local sport and community activities, horse racing and learning what I can about farming are my key interests outside of journalism.
