Tim Jorgensen’s details how he maximises his sheep breeding

Wimmera producer Tim Jorgensen outlines the secrets to his success ahead of this year’s spring prime ram sales. See the dates.

Striving to produce high performance sheep can get complex and expensive with the pools of data and bloodlines now available to farmers.

But Tim Jorgensen has navigated a path through the minefield by keeping his breeding program simple and focusing on the fundamentals.

He said staying true to the breeding basics of physical structure, conformation, nutrition and condition as well as quality bloodlines was key to driving up production.

Tim runs Mertex White Suffolk and Texel studs at Antwerp in the Wimmera alongside his parents Basil and Heather on the family’s livestock and broadacre cropping property.

The business used to encompass 80 per cent cropping of predominantly wheat, barley and beans, and 20 per cent sheep but the balance has shifted to 50:50 in the last 10 years in line with Tim’s passion for sheep breeding.

He manages 400 White Suffolk stud ewes and 200 Texel stud ewes that are tried and tested against the family’s 4000 commercial ewe flock.

While the Jorgensens began the Texel stud in 1996, Tim’s White Suffolk stud kicked off in 2012 and it seems there is merit in his savvy but simple breeding philosophy after his team of sheep scooped the pool in the White Suffolk and interbreed judging at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo in July and at Hamilton’s Sheepvention.

Tim Jorgensen at his Mertex Texels and White Suffolk Stud in Antwerp, Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary

THE RIGHT TOOLS

The show circuit and on property sales were not only an opportunity to display and market stock but to assess the rams and consistency within other studs, Tim said.

“The show circuit isn’t for all but it’s a great way to compare where your stock are within the breed and industry,” he said.

Seeing stock in the flesh was essential because while Mertex was Lambplan recorded, the data was used as a minimal tool in breeding selections.

“I prefer my breeding selections to be from the animals’ own physical attributes, structural correctness, data and raw figures as well as looking for strong family lines to breed consistent quality stock,” Tim said.

Stud sires and semen have been bought from Wingamin and Detpa Grove, Wattle Park, Sunnybanks and Induro. The stud was founded on six ewes from the Detpa Grove Mated Ewe Sale in 2011, followed up by ewes from Bundara Downs and Gemini as well as ewes from dispersals at Burwood, Tapton and Wheetelande.

“Buying from stud dispersals allows you to buy in your mind the top genetics from the stud’s flock to go with your breeding objectives,” Tim said.

“I now have a good line of ewes I am happy with to keep progressing the stud forward, keeping a couple of stud sires of my own from each drop and using the pick of the ram lambs to fast track genetic gain. But it’s always good to splash in some new genetics whether it be a ram, semen or ewes from another stud.

“Stud sires purchased or used via AI programs have been selected on structural correctness, carcass attributes, breed type, growth and the individual animals scan data. In the beginning, only one to two sires were used each year to bring the stud into an even line of sheep.”

Together with two AI programs a year in January and November, Tim has an embryo transfer program in January to fast track the stud’s breeding from their elite ewes

EXTRA MEAT MORE PROFIT

The Mertex stud is run on the Jorgensens 1013ha home property at Antwerp while the commercial sheep flock is on 1215ha at their Miga Lake and Charam properties near Edenhope.

“We use all our own rams in our commercial flock. If something is not performing we definitely go looking for something to bring change to that,” Tim said.

“Our rams are bred to breed lambs with high yielding carcasses and growth along with structural correctness, breed type and easy lambing. As prime lamb producers ourselves we know what puts dollars in your pocket. Extra meat means extra profit.”

Lambing percentages are 150 to 160 per cent in the commercial flock and about 170 per cent in the stud.

“This year it’s probably even higher than that. We’ve had quite a few sets of triplets, good season and early breaks the ewes were on a real high when they were joined,” Tim said.

Tim is shearing Ram 564 who was Reserve Senior champion, leading ram in the Supreme interbreed group of ram and two ewes and also Supreme pen of three rams. Picture: Nicole Cleary

“So we don’t need to improve on that too much more but maybe tweak the commercials up to 160 to 170 per cent. One of our breeding objectives is that they are good quality mothers.”

The commercial flock is joined in December for May-June lambing, the stud stock is joined earlier in November to get lambs on the ground before the commercial lambing begins to allow for tagging and weighing, and joined again in January for June-July lambing, followed by the ewe lambs in August.

About 6000 lambs are turned off each year with most sold over-the-hooks at Geelong or Colac from four months old and averaging 26-28kg dressed weight. There are 600 ewe replacements kept each year from which the Jorgensens breed their own composite ewes.

MARKET RELEVANCE

Running the large commercial flock has enabled Tim to keep producing a quality stud stock product that remains relevant and performs on point with current markets.

“You are producing rams for commercial producers so you need to make sure they are going to perform in those conditions,” Tim said.

The family has regularly entered carcass competitions in the past with good success and last year Tim participated in a meat eating quality trial with some of his rams testing for intramuscular and sheer force. The aim is for high IMF and negative sheer force.

“Some of the abattoirs are now paying premiums for IMF.

“It’s a good tool to combine with and complement your other breeding objectives to come out with a better animal.”

The Mertex on property ram sale will be held on September 22 with an offering of 110 White Suffolk rams, 12 Texel rams and 40 White Suffolk-Texel rams.