Sheep, Emus, and Shorthorns

Day 5:

We headed to the Trigger Vale White Suffolk and Merino farm bright and early this morning. Andrew Bouffler was a very intelligent man that had obviously spent a lot of time educating himself on the "super" breed that he is looking to produce. He is currently crossing Merino ewes with White Suffolk rams. He puts a large amount of emphasis on the statistics of his sheep with very specific goals to ensure that they will survive even in the worst conditions. His ewes are expected to produce seven kilos of wool while still milking and maintaining their own body condition with a fat score of a four preferably.



The Bouffler family and new addition



Marston's emus during breeding

 Following this visit we went to the emu farm owned by Ian and Marilyn Marston. This was definitely a learning experience because my previous knowledge of mud was very limited. I did learn that the oil from the birds was the majority of income from the business with a $5 payment for every kilo produced and each emu providing roughly 10 kilos. The hatching process is also different from most birds because the eggs are guaranteed infertile it kept at a temperature above 40 degrees and require approximately 53 days to hatch.


A few of Spry's yearlings

Concluding our day we visited the Ardlui Shorthorn Stud ranch of the Spry family. This was an impressive place to visit because it is so closely ran. Once again the primary focus of this operation is survive in conditions that are less than optimal. Mr. Spry does very well here in Australia with a 2 year old bull having just won the Sydney Royal show and a yearling being sold for 45,000. This was a great location to see and the hospitality was much more than expected.