Koondrook family turns Dorper sheep stud into thriving success

THE success of the Hewitt family's Dorper enterprise shows it is no pie-in-the-sky plan.

Dave Hewitt's Dorper pies

THE success of the Hewitt family's Dorper enterprise shows it is no pie-in-the-sky plan.

 In just three years, the family has launched into a commercial flock, a stud flock, selling meat and now marketing Dorper pies and meat.

It's been a whirlwind few years but Dave Hewitt insists they have made, in his words, baby steps, with each decision made with careful consideration.

But with a huge amount of hard work they are already seeing the dividends.

Most recently, their sheep made a big impression in the Dorper world at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo.

They were only one point off being the most successful exhibitor in their first outing at the show.

That is a feat Dave is still coming to terms with.

"It's unbelievable, but our beginner's luck is a lot to do with a lot of hard work we have put into our sheep," he said.

"We are not ones to sit back and let things happen, but we do think carefully about what we do and how we invest in this business.

"It's baby steps that we are taking and we are gradually building up.

"You have to be in it to win it, but also be careful and sensible about decisions and not over-capitalise."

Dave, his brother, Nick, and mother, Jenny, started the Olsen Park Dorper stud three years ago at Koondrook.

A firewood-cutting enterprise is the main business run by the family, but they had what they regarded as a hobby farm of 100ha.

Dave concedes that after growing up on a farm, he always hoped to have more involvement away from woodcutting and in to farming.

They looked at White Dorpers and Dorpers, but settled on the traditional black-faced Dorpers for a number of reasons.

"It's the quality of the genetics that we liked in the Dorpers, and the fact they are so tough," he said.

"We are aiming to sell rams into western NSW and the pastoral areas and they need sheep with a tough constitution.

"There are no pigmentation problems with Dorpers, no cancers and how tough they are won us over."

Initially, the Hewitts had commercial stock, but made the next step buying ewes and flushing them of their embryos to produce a raft of high-quality offspring.

Dave said they wanted to start showing their sheep to get the stud's name known.

"We have a goal of selling a lot of rams," he said.

However, they will not take their eye off their commercial sheep and take an active role in marketing the end product.

The Hewitts have been smart about their vertical integration - outsourcing their off-farm activities.

Lambs are custom killed at Gunbower abattoirs, and the carcasses butchered at Cohuna.

Dave said they liked to kill the lambs at 18-20kg carcass weight, or at about three to six months of age. The primal cuts are sold at farmers markets, with specialist high-value cuts going to restaurants such as the Boardwalk in Bendigo.

"We are aiming to get the lambs off even quicker, and hope to be able to get to the desired carcass weight in three to four months," Dave said.

"And we are happy with the custom kill and taking the lambs to somewhere to be cut up.

"You think about starting up your own boning room but it's just not worth it at this stage."

Any lambs slower to mature are targeted for the Hewitt's pie-making business, which came about almost by accident. With some cuts left over, someone suggested they made the meat into pies.

They approached the Red Gum bakery in Leitchville, which now makes Dorper pies to order.

One thing the Hewitts won't outsource is going to the farmers markets. Dave said customers appreciated, and were prepared to pay more, when talking to the people who actually grew the product.

"We really didn't think it would go so well," he said.

The Hewitts hope to buy more land and run the commercial flock on one farm and their commercial sheep on another.

And they are banking on more and more people realising that Dorper meat can be marketed and sold as such.

"The quality of Dorper meat is so good that it sells itself."