LODDON graziers have explored containment methods at a field day hosted by Willera Merinos.
The day was presented in conjunction with stock agents Mc-Kean McGregor.
Stud manager Simon Coutts said: “We don’t consider ourselves trail blazers by any stretch but the containment was an opportunity to share some insight into our thinking and why the two systems we use work really well within our overall sheep system,
“Every year we have a target number for our sheep enterprise in terms of wool, lambs on the ground, surplus sales and kill stock, and every single year we try to position ourselves so that that comes to fruition. 
“Droughts, floods or commodity prices do not rule our decision making, we must as a business be in as much control at any one time as possible.
“This year our backs were against the wall on all fronts geographically, all three properties were under the pump and in the past we could pull a relief valve and roll the trucks through but we couldn’t this year 
The basic but effective pens here were put up in haste to counter that and give us as much room as possible for pregnant stock with this years drop in mind. 
“Simple but effective and built to suit the different feeding styles we’ve used in the past, built strong and on well drained soil (other than a few trough issues of late) with a cambered feed pad for the mixer and the obvious tweeks like ringlock upside down and proper feedlot troughs with fast fill, fast replenishing water and the site was perfect with shade and the locality to the yards.”
He said that happened fast, the next step was giving a list of feed tests for on-hand fodder for live weight and a target weight gain.  “A few small things like adding water to the mix and utilising the machinery we have and its serving the purpose perfectly the stock are hitting the target on point and more importantly the impacts of a tight season were mitigated for the next generation and their mothers,” he said.
“When we got these pens operational we had just on 4000 in them with the Sangus pens full at 2000, we shall see what the benefits of doing this come back like when this year’s lambs go through the cradles.
“What we’ve learnt from years of finishing and containment feeding is that we can be as physically prepared as possible, tick all the boxes with imprinting lambs, have the resources and the staff to make it happen and tick all the boxes with animal husbandry and induction,  but the overriding driver of the success of us making it all work is the genetic package we now have.”
Simon said some of those points were not limited to Merinos and goes for all breeds.   
“But for us as Merino breeders with a large scale commercial enterprise is that we can multiple out the genetic gain impact from the top, year on year on a large scale.  
“Ultimately it comes down to how efficient our sheep are in terms of converting grass, grain or hay into wool, meat and lambs,  the key word and selection criteria for us as seed stock producers is balance.
We simply give our animals every possible chance to express their genetic potential, because we believe and are proving that this package rewards you if we are willing to invest in it.  
“We’ve based every breeding decision we’ve made around creating a multi-dimensional animal that compliments our way of farming. 
“Because the day we hone our focus in on one aspect of a sheep we lose a massive portion of our income, but if we possess balance we can pull one reign harder than the other,” Simon told farmers at the containment day.