At Narrogin, in Western Australia’s Great Southern region, woolgrower Dawson Bradford’s health scare in 2002 was enough to convince him if he was going to stay in the sheep game, things would have to change.
And with wool production et al comprising about 25 per cent of the family business, the workload of shearing, crutching, dagging, fly strike, lice control, worming and mustering, was clearly one area which could be solved — by eliminating it.
A transition made so much easier by Dawson’s preference for the meat production side of the business, alongside the family’s other diverse interests, including grain and export hay production, piggery, stud sheep, prime lambs and commercial sheep sales.
Hillcroft Farms was home to one of the highest performing Poll Dorset flocks in Australia and New Zealand for profitable prime lamb production until it was dispersed in 2014.
The change within the Hillcroft Farms flock started in 2005, with the selection and development of a new composite wool shedding breed to become known as UltraWhite, drawn mostly from Poll Dorsets and White Dorpers, to create a wool shedding composite sheep that was easy-care, hardy and a good doer.
It seemed an ideal opportunity to develop a breed that not only suited the pastoral area, as the Dorper does so well, but also performs at better levels in the medium to higher rainfall areas where the Poll Dorset is at its best.
It needed to be an adaptable sheep which could perform well across a wide and diverse range of climate and conditions.
It had to be hardy and yet able to perform at the highest level for growth when conditions were right for peak production.
The high-milking ability of the Dorset and the strong maternal instinct of both breeds needed to be preserved.
Good fecundity along with the ability to breed year-round was a non-negotiable trait for the new breed.
Sufficient fat in the ewes for good maternal function and survival in harsher conditions was most necessary.
Good muscling, lean meat yield and eating quality were also traits that were to be a prerequisite of the new breed, to meet the needs of not only the producer and processor, but also the needs of markets and consumers around the world.
A stabilised flock of nearly 10,000 stud and commercial UltraWhite ewes is now the only sheep bred on Hillcroft Farms for ram sales and prime lamb production.
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