Barwon - R Yates & Co.
Barwon is a family run sheep stud at Yerong Creek, in the mixed farming region known as the Eastern Riverina in southern New South Wales.
Barwon is situated 42 km south-west of Wagga Wagga and comprises 2200 hectares of undulating red loam to clay loam, with 560 mm average annual rainfall.
Barwon is managed by Mark & Jane Yates, and Peter & Elaine Yates.
Ram breeding objectives
Barwon Poll Dorset and Kubura White Suffolk studs provide clients with sires to produce lambs with a high growth rate and sale that are:
- Of a consistent and reliable quality
- Highly fertile
- Structurally sound
- Suited to a range of environments, from the low rainfall plains to the high rainfall tablelands.
Barwon produces rams to target a range of prime lamb markets, including feeder lambs, store lambs, heavy trade, domestic and export. Barwon also aims to develop long term relationships with clients to ensure mutual benefits for both businesses.
Barwon, the property
In addition to the sheep studs, Barwon runs a significant annual winter cropping and pasture program and a commercial flock of 1000 cross-bred ewes.
Approximately 1100 ha is sown to crop each year with up to 120 ha of improved pasture sown down each year.
The cropping program is dominated by wheat (600 ha) and canola (200 ha) for human food oil. The balance of the crop is made up of lupins (narrowleaf for stockfeed and albus for human food or stockfeed), field peas (for human food or stockfeed) and barley (for stockfeed or malt).
Up to 200 ha of the wheat crop is dual purpose or grazing (grazing with grain recovery) and is utilized to fill the feed-gap during winter. Rams are grazed on the grazing wheat from May through to mid August, depending on seasonal conditions.
Improved pastures are based on lucerne and sub clover. These species supply high quality grazing and are conserved as hay or silage providing high quality supplementary feed.
History of sheep breeding at Barwon
The Yates family has been breeding sheep at Yerong Creek since 1940, when Henry Yates began breeding Dorset Horns, a noted dual purpose sheep.
In 1965 his son Rob extended the breeding program to include Poll Dorsets.
Robs sons Peter and Mark introduced White Suffolk to Barwon in 1991.
Breeds - Poll Dorset
The Poll Dorset is a short-wool, meat producing sheep, by far the most popular of the terminal sire breeds for production of prime lamb in Australia.
The breed was developed between 1937 and 1954 by introducing the poll gene into Dorset Horn flocks from two other poll breeds. A strict program of back-crossing was used to achieve close to 100% Dorset Horn blood.
The characteristics of the breed, such as rapid growth, superior fleshing and muscular development make them ideally suited for the meat trade.
Breeds - White Suffolk
White Suffolk is an Australian breed, proven as a prime lamb terminal sire across a wide range of Australian environments. Lambs sired by White Suffolk rams are noted for their high quality, white, down-type wool. White Suffolks are ideal for the Elite lamb requirements at carcass weights of 20 kg and heavier.
Breeds - Dorset Horn
Dorset Horn is among the oldest, pure breed of sheep in England, although the first Dorset Horn Flock Book of England was not published until 1892. Three years later the first Dorset Horn sheep were imported to Australia.
The breed was enormously popular and did well in Australia. The Dorset Horns excel in fecundity and early maturity. They produce quick maturing lambs with lean carcasses and are able to remain ‘fresh’ under trying conditions.
Yerong Creek Estate Winery