Mid North Merino breeder Paul Thompson puts much of the success his family are enjoying with their sheep down to "backing a winning stud".
For more than 40 years Tiller & Thompson's flock has been based on Moorundie Park and, more recently, Moorundie bloodlines.
He says the close relationship they have with their ram supplier, the Davidson family, has been key to them breeding large-framed, heavy-cutting ewes, which have been in demand, as well as achieving strong wool returns.
"We have been lucky enough to be on a winning horse that is Moorundie and stayed with them and ridden their success right to the top where they are now," he said.
Tiller & Thompson has held the state record for young Merino ewes on several occasions - including $404 for their ewes at Spence Dix & Co's feature sale at Marrabel in September last year.
Recently they claimed another major accolade.
Their 77-bale Rupara clip, which was sold in March 2021, was Elders' SA Clip of the Year for the 2020-2021 financial year. It outscored 1100 other Elders clients that sold wool at auction in Melbourne that year.
It scored 91.7 points out of a possible 100, judged on clip preparation and classing, including appropriate lot sizes, wool test results and how the wool presented on the showfloor.
The six fleece lines averaged 20.5 micron with a 68.5pc yield.
Elders district wool manager for the Mid North and Yorke Peninsula, Roger Daniell, said the supreme clip was "extremely even with outstanding processing qualities", including high tensile strength and low mid point break in the staple.
"The whiteness, brightness and trueness to type characteristics, and of course being beautifully presented enabled the buyers to bid up with confidence," he said.
"When you walk into their shed, it is like looking at Mount Kosciuszko with a mountain of white wool on the table from each fleece."
Mr Thompson runs the self-replacing flock of 2200 Merino ewes with his wife Josie, along with their daughter and son-in-law, Alisha and Tyson Senior.
The breeding flock is largely run at their Burra property with sheep also run at certain times of the year on their cropping farms at Balaklava and Hoyleton.
Mr Thompson says he was fortunate when he joined the family business with his father-in-law Don Tiller, who still helps out on the farm, to learn about Merinos from one of the best - the late Russell Davidson.
For the past 20 years Russell's nephew, Moorundie stud principal Geoff Davidson, has classed Tiller & Thompson's ewe hoggets.
"We are trying to produce really commercially-orientated saleable sheep and that is what they are doing too," he said.
"Our breeding ewes are consistently producing 7.5 kilograms to 8kg of wool while having a lamb every year."
He says the lift in value for surplus sheep has really added to the profitability of running Merinos and is pleased to see repeat buyers for their 1.5-year-old ewes.
The growth and carcase in the Moorundie genetics is also ensuring their Merino wether lambs become a saleable product a lot earlier.
"We are opportunists and have gone through everything from feedlotting our wether lambs to running them on our vetch pastures," Mr Thompson said.
Last year they sold their wether lambs straight off the ewes because paddock feed was limited, due to the late break, and barley prices were high. They made $130-$140.
Aside from buying good rams at Moorundie's annual sale at Keith, Mr Thompson says they also work hard on the nutrition of their ewes.
"We really try to manage our grazing country, locking paddocks up from September until about a month before lambing," he said.
"We work out our rations carefully and feed a barley and lupin ration as a supplement."
This has helped them achieve 115 per cent lambing percentages - well above the industry average - giving them more young ewes and wether lambs to sell.
"Last year we didn't have quite so many because the break didn't come until late May and our lambing percentage was back, but we have years where we may keep and sell equal numbers of the young ewes," Mr Thompson said.
Another long-time relationship has also stood Tiller & Thompson in good stead, using Dick Irlam Shearing Contractors, Clare, for the past 25 years and Dale Barnes as their wool classer.
"He knows our sheep and knows what to expect," he said.
"We have got to a stage where our wool doesn't vary much, most of it is from about 20 to 20.5 microns."
Tiller & Thompson's main shearing is in February, which ensures the ewes only have a couple of months of wool on them during lambing in April-May.
"The decision is a little about the availability of shearers but also with only two months off-shears, we have less trouble during lambing if ewes get down," he said.
Their ewe lambs are first shorn in July so at their first February shearing only have seven months wool growth.
Mr Thompson says winning Elders Clip of the Year was "never anything they expected to win".
"It is a great acknowledgement of what we do as a business but hopefully going forward it gives those who are buying our sheep confidence that they are buying a good product," he said.
"Tyson is a passionate sheep man as well. It is great to see the next generation committed to continuing the Merino business."
ELDERS SA MONTHLY WINNERS 2020-2021
- July 2020: Nutt Pastoral Nominees Pty Ltd (Oakden Hills) via Port Augusta
- August 2020: Thistlebeds Pty Ltd (Old Kelvale), Burra
- September 2020: Mine Creek Partners (Mine Creek/KI)
- October 2020: South Gum Creek Partnership (Gum Creek/South)
- November 2020: Parish Rural (Parish Rural Pty Ltd)
- December 2020: Calana Heights (Calana/Heights)
- January 2021: New Country (Kangaroo Island ) Pty Ltd (New Country/KI)
- February 2021: The Snuggery (Snuggery), Kingston SE
- March 2021: Tiller & Thompson (Rupara), Burra
- April 2021: Thistlebeds Pty Ltd (Old Kelvale), Burra
- May 2021: Commonwealth Hill Pty Ltd (Jumbuck/Commonwealth Hill/Past), Coober Pedy
- June 2021: Coolawang Past Co (Coolawang), Mundulla West
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