Topaz’s Kerry Kelly is breeding sheep on her family farm – in a break with tradition for Far North Queensland.

The Kelly family branched into sheep farming six years ago, buying five Australian White ewes and a ram, and they’ve since built the herd up to 30 breeding ewes which roam the paddocks alongside cattle.

The ‘wagyu of the sheep world’

Marketed as “the wagyu of the sheep world”, Australian Whites were developed from four breeds of sheep to be a self-replacing, low maintenance breed that’s adaptable to both cold and hot climates and has meat known for the low melting point of its fat.

Nowhere has their adaptability to rain been quite so well tested as in Topaz.

“Because of the amount of rain and wet ground here we need to keep a good eye of their feet, and to clip their hooves twice a year,’’ Ms Kelly said. “We also need to be careful about worms, so we have six sheep paddocks and we rotate our sheep around them.”

She said there had been interest from others since her Australian whites became the first sheep to be exhibited at the Malanda Show last year. She brought sheep to the show again on the weekend, including newly-born twins.

“I sell to abattoirs and individuals for eating and breeding. Most of our ewes are due to lamb in the next month or so. It’ll be 12 weeks before I wean them. In September or October, we’ll have lambs for sale again.

“There are quite a few other farms with small flocks – from Ravenshoe to Julatten and Eacham. “You’ve got to put some effort in to make it work up here but it’s worth it.”

Focusing on the land beneath the hooves

To increase and improve her flock, Kerry’s current focus is the land beneath their hooves. Hers is one of 10 farming families – ranging from graziers and cane growers to tropical fruit farmers – in the latest ‘Digging Deeper’ soil health program run by Terrain NRM as a free mentoring program.

Funded by the Australian Government, it includes a soil test, workshops on soil science and soil test interpretation, farm visits by the group and one-on-one farm management guidance over a six-month period.