Farm Weekly

Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself

Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself
Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself

Story Sponsored by JW Manchester and Co.

IF the Australian lamb industry is going to continue to prosper into the future it's going to need to do one thing above all else: breed highly productive animals which produce high cutting yields of consistently tasty meat.

That's what Kingsvale Supreme stud owner Tony Manchester believes anyway. And he should know, his lambs are a highly sort after commodity. Some have even labelled them "the best they've ever tasted".

He's spent the last 25 years working on his bloodlines and, through careful genetic selection and continual trials and studies, he has managed to breed poll dorsets that are high in muscle, growth, marbling and fat. As a result, they're amongst the best in the nation in eating quality.

At last year's on property sale, 76 of the rams he sold were ranked in the highest five per cent for both muscle and fat, according to figures from Sheep Genetics Australia, and some of them were in the top five per cent for growth, which is almost unheard of.

Tony Manchester and his son John.
Tony Manchester and his son John.

That's why he's urging all commercial breeders selling into the lamb market to come along to his 23rd Annual On Property Sale on October 10 and see his animals for themselves. He'll be letting go of 60 poll dorset rams and says they're great for anybody looking to increase profitability.

In fact, he's so confident of his product that he'll continue his two decade long tradition of putting on a big lunch for everybody who attends, so they can literally taste the difference. His family lunch has become the stuff of legend too, with many of his friends, neighbours and colleagues often showing up just to tuck in.

"We put on a full meal for everybody who attends. We really go to a lot of effort with it. And, what's been happening over the years is, some people come out here for the feed and then leave before the sale," he laughed, adding that it is a testament to what he's worked so hard to achieve.

"I have letters here from butcher's shops telling me they are the best lambs they've ever had. I also gave some people a leg of lamb about a month ago to try and a few days later they texted me to tell me it was the best lamb they'd ever tasted."

Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself
Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself

These instances aren't rare for Tony Manchester. In fact, he was even recently tracked down at a field day by a retired processor because they'd been told by a butcher shop in Cooma that he produced the best lambs money could buy.

"I began working on this project 25 years ago and my goal was to produce a high performance ram that is high in fat, muscle and eating quality. I believe now we're headed in the right direction with all three of those attributes. Growth is really coming along too, as well as number of lambs weaned and keeping a low birth," he explained.

"We've had trials and our rams have out performed anything else. I'm not one to toot my own horn. I'm the first one that wants to know how my rams are really doing. And, that's why I've been running trials for more than 15 years. I've also been working with butcher shops and processors this whole time too," he continued.

"I'm aiming at the premium lamb market. It's very hard to put muscle and eating quality together because normally, the more muscle you've got, the lower the eating quality. But what we've done is get the muscle and eating quality together, so by the time they go to the abiottre, they're yielding well and they're eating well.

Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself
Kingsvale Supremes have the 'best tasting lamb' in Australia... try it for yourself

"(Eating quality is so important too) because if you're going out and paying $30 or $40 for a meal, you want it to be good, don't you? And, you're going to enjoy it so much more if it is."

Mr Manchester has always aimed to make both the processors and the retailers as much money as possible. However, with the global paddock to plate industry now worth tens of billions of dollars and consumers increasingly opting for boutique brands of ethically sourced meats, his genetics could help independent producers too.

The Kingsvale Supreme Rams 23rd Annual On Property Sale will take place on October 10 at the "Roseville" Shearing Shed, 1482 Back Creek Road, Kingsvale.

It will see the sale of 60 poll dorsets as well as 40 of their best corriedale rams and some corriedale stud ewes.

For more information call Tony Manchester on 0428 844 231; John Manchester on 0409 329 335 or Kingsvale Supremes (02) 6384 4231 or email them on tmanch@bigpond.com

Story Sponsored by JW Manchester and Co.