Agriculture
19 August, 2024
Kedleston Park: Rams driving high yields
KEDLESTON PARK FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22 Inspection: From 10AM on day of sale Auction: 1PM Offering: 40 rams 1727 Echuca Serpentine Road, Calivil HIGH lambing percentages and top meat and wool yields are the focus in John Humbert’s selection of 60...
KEDLESTON PARK
FRIDAY AUGUST 23
Inspection: From 10AM on day of sale
Auction: 1PM
Offering: 40 rams
1727 Echuca Serpentine Road, Calivil
HIGH lambing percentages and top meat and wool yields are the focus in John Humbert’s selection of 60 Merino rams going under the hammer at Kedleston Park this month.
The stud benchmarks its genetics at major shows. But as John says: “Profitability for our clients is of the utmost importance”.
The Humbert family first took up a land selection in the Calivil and Prairie area more than 150 years ago and John’s drive breeding rams that deliver grower profits continues to shine.
At last month’s Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo, Kedleston Park had a top four finish in the all-purpose competition. That success in a class with more than 60 entries from top studs across Australia again secured the Loddon Valley’s reputation for all-purpose rams. “The Loddon Valley had three of the top four rams, once again highlighting the exceptionally high standard of sheep we breed,” John said.
He is the fourth generation farming in the district and breeds robust, quick maturing, large framed, fertile sheep with high genetic fat and muscle which produce high yielding carcasses at his Kedleston Park Poll Merino Stud. “The wool grown is a soft, white, deep, crimping, long, stapled, lustrous, medium wool suited to any environment,” says John.
“At Kedleston Park we are using artificial insemination, embryo transfer and genotyping - all used to produce top performing rams and ewes to keep our clients’ flocks highly profitable.”
John and wife Rosemary founded their stud in 1996 after being state winners of the Victorian Flock of the Year and registered the stud in 2005.
“Ewes were brought from Roseville Park as well as a very influential ram from Tara Park, both being of Purple Mandulay blood,” said studmaster John.
“A poll stud was registered in 2006 with two poll rams and a selection of Kedleston Park ewes. There have been further ewes purchased from Moorundie and rams from Moorundie and Banavie and Lachlan Merinos.
John said his breeding objectives had an emphasis on the growth rate with many top young rams reaching up to 100kg body weight by 12 months of age and ewe lambs having a sufficient body weight by eight to 10 months of age to be joined.
And the aim for staple length was growing up to 12mm a month enabling sheep to be shorn every six months, says John.
Kedleston Park continues to exhibit its faith in showcasing rams, ewes and fleeces - the Calivil stud has taken out the Loddon Valley Field Day’s coveted pen of three rams on six occasions.
And there was repeat success too in the Australian fleece competition at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show winning the performance class fleece for a second year and the Victorian championship as well.
The fleece scored 96.7 from the judges, beating more than 200 other fleeces for the top points at the show.