Young sheep producer Lucy Fenton boosts lamb numbers on Vasey Farms

A 27-year-old Marcus Oldham graduate is helping her family’s Western District sheep enterprise make gains in lambs on the ground. Here’s how.

Typing data into a spreadsheet doesn’t sound like the most enjoyable on-farm job.

But for Western District sheep producer Lucy Fenton, it’s one of the most rewarding.

“The priority is having the information to make calculated and informed decisions,” says the 27-year-old.

Lucy’s records show her family has made great gains in lambs on the ground, with the most dramatic increase thanks to some recent changes – “maybe the good season has a bit to do with it, too,” she adds.

She works with her parents, Bronnie and Paddy, and partner Will Howse, running a self-replacing Merino flock and first-cross ewes across 1877ha at Vasey and Glenisla, west of the Grampians.

Lucy Fenton and her family run Vasey Farm at Vasey, in western Victoria. Pictures: Nicole Cleary

Lucy and Will work across both properties, but live on Lowanna, the family’s 789ha at Glenisla, where they lamb down 3000 first-cross ewes on a grazeable 620ha.

There, they are making adjustments to joining and lambing, following Paradoo Prime’s Precision Lambing framework, which encourages short strategic joinings, reduced mob sizes and dedicated lambing paddocks.

“The best results seen are clearly from the decrease in mob sizes,” said Lucy, who returned to the family farm four years ago after studying at Marcus Oldham College.

“After completion of our first-round lamb marking, we have increased our overall survival by 10 per cent, which is proving that these changes are paying off.

“The second round are currently lambing, and we are reusing all the same paddocks from the first round. This has gone very well from what I can see, with 90 per cent of ewes lambed by 155 days since rams went in, which is great because the sooner those lambs are on the ground, the sooner they will get to their sale weight.

“I’ve never seen so many new lambs at once, it’s like we had used AI.

“I’m excited to see how their marking goes, and to have all the data to record. I love putting it all into the spreadsheet at the end of the day.”

Lucy checking on the flock.

The family prioritises using paddocks with the best feed and shelter for lambing, while creating a feed wedge to move ewes on to when they hit peak lactation.

The impressive results in Lowanna’s first-cross flock – which are Merinos joined with Coopworth rams, and have a split joining to lamb in June and July – have prompted the Fentons to consider the split-joining approach with their Merinos on Vasey Farm next season.

Already this year they have planned to split up best performing paddocks with temporary electric fencing to decrease the twin lambing groups.

Bronnie and Paddy have been decreasing paddock sizes, fencing according to land class and improving pastures for better management for the past 30 years. The family averaged about 120 per cent at Merino lamb marking over the past three years, but Lucy said there was plenty of room to increase foetus survival in the Merinos.

“We believe it will be an absolute game-changer for the Merinos,” Lucy said.

Marcus Oldham graduate Lucy is focusing on increasing the percentage of foetuses that survive to lamb marking in their Merino and first-cross flocks.

On 1088ha at Vasey, they lamb 1900 ewes in June and July, 2900 Merinos in August, then up to 1000 first-cross ewe lambs.

“We didn’t join (ewe lambs) this year though because they were under too much pressure with the wet spring,” Lucy said.

The family also received a massive 160mm of rain in June, which has made decision-making a challenge this year. On the upside, high ground temperatures and a full soil moisture profile in May created the “perfect scenario” for pasture to establish.

To future-proof the operation – and cope with whatever the weather throws at them – Lucy and Will are focused on continually improving their management.

Marcus Oldham graduate Will has experience across other farms, and is looking forward to implementing new ideas in the enterprise.

Bronnie and Paddy are excited to have him take the reins of soil and pasture management, so they can reach livestock management goals as a team.

“And as far as managing the sheep, the top priorities are nutrition and genetics,” Lucy said.