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Behind the Story of
Stormy Lodge
Stormy Lodge is set in rolling red loam and quartz farmland in southern New South Wales about 40 kilometres north of Wagga Wagga. It is prime cropping country and while many others have removed sheep and with them the fences we have gone the other way and invested in our sheep operation. We have a passion for our sheep and believe as earlier generations did that they greatly compliment cropping.
Owned by Peter and Karen O’Connell and Gary Shea, the Stormy Lodge stud at Marrar in the Riverina is dedicated to breeding from the best of the best White Suffolks from around the country. We can do this because of the artificial insemination program which we run in collaboration with Dr Allan Gunn and his team at Charles Sturt University. About 70-80% of ewes go into the AI program. In breeding this way we can source genetics from across the country but also we can use different rams every year to ensure we maintain genetic diversity and the vigor this brings.
Joining plan and why?
At Stormy Lodge we have observed with interest ‘’Optimising ewe lamb joining outcomes’, a project designed to support producers to navigate management practices to successfully join ewe lambs. The project funded by MLA is being delivered by independent consultants, Sally Martin and Lucinda Eddy (SheepMetriX) and Laura Broughton (Productive Livestock Systems). We see this as a means to increase ewe numbers more rapidly and to assist in the selection of earlier maturing ewes. We have completed a first season of joining ewe lambs with modified management practices and are excited by the outcome.
Weaning process
Lambs are weaned at approximately 10 weeks after the beginning of lambing. All ewes are given the opportunity to be in prime condition for the following joining. Lambs are drenched and vaccinated. Additionally all lamb weights are measured and individually recorded so they can be entered into LAMBPLAN.
Post weaning weights can include early post weaning (4-7 months), post weaning (6 -10 months), yearling (10-13 months). Measuring these weights allow us to select for post weaning weight gain and identify for ram buyers differences between individuals for weight gain during the time period that is most important if producing prime lambs.
