Pooginook stud: Long-running Riverina operation still innovating

Pooginook — nearing a century old — deserves its legendary status as the home of some of Australia’s best Merinos. See why they still have huge influence in the industry.

The legendary Pooginook from above. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Shearing has been in full swing at Pooginook for 12 days, and with just two days to go, everything is running like a well-oiled machine.

While the shed itself is full, there aren’t the swags of jackaroos in the yards one might remember from years gone past.

The widely known property, which sits northwest of Jerilderie in NSW, now has just four permanent staff, with new technology and infrastructure allowing them to work smarter, not harder.

Still, the hustle and bustle is much as you’d expect on a nearly 20,000-hectare property – one of the most renowned in the Riverina.

Manager John Sutherland is far from harried however, counting restocker ewes on to a truck and checking in with staff on another task, before a quick walk-through of the shed.

It’s likely not even a particularly busy day at Pooginook – one of the largest Merino ram breeding operations in the nation.

Home of Pooginook Merino stud for close to a century, the property was purchased by the Macquarie Group-funded Paraway Pastoral Company in 2007.

It was the first purchase of the then newly founded Paraway, and the company now owns 27 pastoral properties across the country, covering about 4.4 million hectares.

Authentico: Pooginook manager John Sutherland with his famed operation’s product. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Why did they select Pooginook as the founding farm of their pastoral empire? Because the operation is a stalwart of its region, and the Australian Merino industry. It runs 6000 Merino and Poll Merino stud ewes and produces more than 3500 rams each year.

The stud was established in 1937 by the Taylor family and has long since been at the forefront of Merino breeding, adopting innovative practices earlier than most.

The Taylor family owned and operated Pooginook for many decades before handing the reins to Paraway some 14 years ago.

David Taylor, Pooginook’s stud and property manager since 1979, remained on as stud Adviser and then classer until 2018.

This meant the steady hand of the past helped guide Pooginook rapidly into the 21st century, without losing the management and sheep type long hailed successful for the property.

Love at first sight. Ethical practice is at the forefront of Pooginook’s process. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

A history of innovation has seen Pooginook take part in many Merino industry firsts over the years.

Air flow micron testing was introduced in 1973 – the first time non-visual wool assessment was used – while artificial insemination programs also began at Pooginook in the ’70s.

Body and fleece weighing became the norm in the early 1980s, followed by adoption of holistic resource management principles and sire evaluations in the ’90s.

But it has been the past two decades in which Pooginook has stepped up the pace.

Six-monthly shearing, electronic identification and the use of Australian Sheep Breeding Values have all become part of the program in that time.

John with Pooginook’s shearers and classers at work during October shearing. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Classing and weighing boxes, auto-drafters and sheep handlers are now all in use, as are software systems such as Agriwebb and Stock Book.

But it was the introduction of DNA testing that has been the game changer for Pooginook, and the nation’s Merino flock.

“Using science and technology to breed a more robust, more efficient sheep that will take on the challenges of climate change and enterprise commodity prices – I think that’s really important to keep that vision in your mind,” Sutherland says.

The operation spends up to $250,000 a year on data collection and analysis, making it Australia’s largest investor in sheep DNA genomics.

Sutherland says without a doubt, DNA technology has been the biggest advancement in the industry and at Pooginook in his era.

“We are now able to take DNA samples quickly and efficiently, and have accurate data back within four weeks,” Sutherland says.

“We take it at lamb marking and it means by the time we get around to weaning, we’ve got all the data on the lambs and that’s revolutionised the ability to predict how sheep are going to breed.

“Obviously you have to maintain all your visual skills, there’s no question about that – you can get trapped falling in love with numbers and they’re just another tool.

“But they are a great predictive tool to help you make a good decision.”

Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

There’s no doubt in his mind that animal ethics is now the most important issue at hand for the livestock industry, and Pooginook has been on the front foot there as well.

It became a non-mulesing flock in 2020, but the strategy was put in place long before then.

For Sutherland, moving to a flock with no breech modification was at the top of the priority list, and has allowed Pooginook to become Responsible Wool Standards accredited.

“It’s very obvious to me that the (wool) customers want non-mulesed, and they’ve made a decision many, many years ago, that was where they wanted to go,” he says.

“Obviously there’s challenges and learnings as we go along, but it’s working.

“We’ve taken our time to make sure we’ve kept our wool production, and our growth rates in our flock as we come along.”

The property occupies nearly 20,000 hectares of Riverina land. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Located where irrigated farming turns to more pastoral grazing, Pooginook’s scale and commercial focus makes for unique seedstock production.

Sutherland had been running Pooginook-blood ewes on his own property for nearly three decades before taking the opportunity to join Paraway, so he was no stranger to their type of sheep.

“Pooginook is one of the properties that has played a really important role in breeding a modern profitable Merino – it is well known for high-quality heavy-cutting sheep,” he says.

The predominantly native pastures on Pooginook allows sheep breeding to be the centre of attention all year round – which is one of the secrets to success, according to Sutherland.

“All I think about all day, every day, is breeding rams,” he says, laughing.

But this single-minded focus is no joke for Pooginook, or for the Merino flock, with an estimated 250,000 ewes joined to their rams each year.

While there are less workers currently at Pooginook, innovative practices have helped them cope with the workload. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Sutherland and his team closely follow five key breeding pillars – ewe efficiency, fast early growth, plain breeches, carcass and elite wools.

“It is clear now in the marketplace the sort of sheep the industry wants,” he says.

“We are selling 1000 to 1300 rams a year, internally and externally, and that has a large influence … the sheer size of the ram sales we have means we are exerting a fair influence across the Merino industry.”

And that industry hasn’t had a more buoyant outlook than now – at least in his working life.

Returns for fibre, restocker sheep, mutton and lamb are all well in the red, and two good seasons hasn’t hurt either.

“That is the great thing about the Merino now is that we have four very strong avenues of revenue,” Sutherland says.

“The ram prices and the type of sheep in the saleyards is a sign of confidence in the industry … Merinos are highly versatile and very profitable, and still remain key to many restockers.”

Poginook’s four-legged staff hassle some of the 6000 Merino and Poll Merino stud ewes that occupy the property. Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

Having held one of their most successful ram sales to date this year, in September selling 300 rams for an average of $3367, and the end of shearing in sight with paddocks full of grass and content sheep, one might think it was time to relax.

But Pooginook didn’t become the powerhouse it is today by resting on its laurels.

And Sutherland has his eye firmly on what is still to be done.

“We have got a great story, there is no doubt about that,” he says, “but they (customers) are demanding traceability, animal ethics, carbon footprint, and we have to think about how we are going to evolve the business to not only report it, but walk the walk as they say. We need to keep on evolving as time goes on or we get left out.”

Picture: Annabel Lugsdin

He believes a big hurdle for the industry is the delivery of effective training and education to producers, so they can keep evolving.

“Sheep are now an enormous capital base, you can’t afford to not get production out of them and you certainly can’t afford for them to die – it has to change things in the industry,” he says.

“I’m looking for a more inclusive future, using technology and best practice, and being smart about how we use our resource.”