How to profit from a composite flock: Ben Harrison at Balmullin

Get the insights on boosting productivity and profits from one of Victoria’s most switched-on prime lamb producers.

Ben Harrison, farm manager at Balmullin at Molka. Pictures: Yuri Kouzmin

Managing more than 4000 ewes across a prime lamb operation is no small feat for any farm manager, especially one in their early 30s.

But Ben Harrison has his eyes set firmly on the future — the next five years in particular — with a goal of improving the productivity and functionality of Balmullin, the Ball family’s prime lamb operation based at Molka in Victoria.

The Balmullin aggregation is made up of three grazing and farming properties: Balmullin, Berridale, and Boxwood Park. The Balls have owned the properties for about five years, with Ben working for the family from the beginning.

“Then as the farms grew, they created a management position here.”

Ben oversees the management of the 4500 ewes lambing producing about 5600 lambs and 60 Poll Dorset and Cloven Hills composite rams, across a combined 1500ha.

The flock is predominantly a traditional first-cross flock, with ewes joined to White Suffolks and Poll Dorset rams.

All first cross ewes are joined to Poll Dorset rams, with moderate birthweight and higher weaning and post weaning weights.

This allows access to both sucker and store markets.

The first-cross ewes lamb in April and May with the composite ewes lambing down in July and August.

In the five years since Ben has taken the reins as farm manager at Balmullin he’s honed in on a goal; to gradually move the entire flock over to a composite, self-replacing flock, ultimately producing a balanced animal producing the most meat in the most sustainable way. Ben said simply buying lambs throughout the year was proving inconsistent when it came to finishing stock.

“We worked out we’d have to be buying about 1000 a year … we’ve been buying about 1500 a year, about 500 here, and another 500 there,” Ben said. “So we’re trying to consolidate that, and tighten up our breeding strategies.”

Ben Harrison, is focused on spending the next five years transitioning his first cross flock to a composite, self-replacing flock.

STABLE GROUND
Last year provided Balmullin with a long spring after a decent winter, which put the property in a stable condition heading into summer.

Annual rainfall across the properties is somewhere in the vicinity of 500mm-600mm, with Balmullin recording 513mm by November last year.

“Last year is the first year I’ve been here where we didn’t have a 30C October day. It was the longest spring I’ve seen,” Ben said.

“The previous spring, it got hot early, and that’s what gets us here. Last year was a good one. Weather and frost-wise, it was the best I’ve ever seen,” Ben said.

“It was a slow start, we didn’t get a break until early May. But by then we had all our cereal in.

“Then we had a wet and cold winter. It didn’t get hellishly cold. That wet winter really set us up.”

Soil type across the enterprise is a grey clay loam, which is “very hungry”.

“It cracks, but it’s not like a cracking clay. And when it’s wet, it just goes to soupy concrete. When it’s good, it’s good. But when it’s bad …”

Fodder crops, cereal crops, and irrigated lucerne are used to finish lambs for even growth and consistency throughout the flock.

About 150ha of cereal crops is sown each year for grazing, with another 150ha of permanent pastures.

“We sow grazing cereals, purely for grazing, and use them for winter feed,” Ben said.

Lambing this season was reasonable, according to Ben, with ewes producing 132 per cent of lambs across the flock.

ACCURATE DATA
Ben said the move from first cross to composites would yield “better lambing percentages” with a quicker turn-off.

“And there’s a lot more accurate data around composite sheep than I find around first-cross ewes. It’s tough to get that for first cross. You can ask what rams they are using, but composites have a lot of accurate data.”

The transition across from first cross to composite stock will take place over the next five years, Ben said.

“We’re working on doing this over about five years. Next year, we’ll join 1200. By year five we’ll hopefully be close to our capacity,” he said.

“But we’re still unsure of what our full capacity is, we’re still building pastures, and have only been cropping for about five years.”

He said one of the driving forces behind moving towards a composite flock is the timing of lambing: “It’s very hard to get a composite ewe to lamb before January.”

Changing over to a composite flock will suit the availability of feed at Balmullin better, Ben said, working in line with his goal of sustainably producing meat from an efficient animal.

“Our optimal feed time is September through to November. Our first cross ewes are lambing early, and hitting some good early markets,” Ben said.

“This year, we sold about 3500 store lambs, and we hit that perfect window where people were paying up to $180 for lambs.

“As we’re moving out of that first cross set up, we might as well try to chase early lamb prices while we can.”

Lambs are sold predominantly though Auctions Plus.

Flock expansion will come with time, as Ben slowly works on moving the flock over from first cross to composite.

But it’s an important step in improving the flock and production of the farm.

MORE MEAT GOAL
Producing more kilograms of meat per hectare, without degrading the land, is key for Ben in the coming years.

“We’re doing this by putting in laneways now, we’re doing up paddocks smaller to rotation graze,” Ben said.

“We’re also using a biological fertiliser for the soil, it’s alive gypsum with a bio fertiliser in it.

“The major focus at the moment is that transition of the flock.

“But we’re also looking to increase shelter protection to improve the survivability of the lambs. That’s to be done via revegetation.”

A new laneway through the middle of the property — east to west — will also assist with providing shelter.

“The prevailing wind here is a south-south westerly. The southern aspect and the western aspect will give good winter protection, and good shade in the summer.”

Looking ahead, Ben said key traits he wanted to focus on heading into the transition away from first cross was fertility, a moderate adult weight, fat, and good post-weaning weights.

“The fat is an interesting one. Composites can struggle a little,” Ben said.

“But flavour is also a real deriving force now in all meat production. The consumer is the one who knows their chops … they want to know what it tastes like, and that the animal has been looked after.”

“So we are chasing that cleaner, more sustainable animal.”