Having experienced the advantages and disadvantages of running a mixed enterprise and a complete cropping program, Westonia wool producers, the Della Bosca family, appreciate the security blanket their livestock provide.
The high risk of cropping the whole property due to the uncertainty of how reliable each season will be led Tim and his father Ross Della Bosca to re-evaluate their farm management plan after four years of 100 per cent cropping.
The stability of having a constant income and not having all their eggs in one basket meant the dual-purpose income of the meat and wool components Merinos had to offer was an insurance policy that perfectly fitted the bill.
The Della Boscas farm across their 8000-hectare property, Yerbillon Park, with the help from Tim's partner Mikaela and full-time workman Mitch Hunter.
Three generations after the Della Bosca family migrated from Italy in 1925 and during the drepression, in 1942 the farm was taken over by Ross's father Pip, when he was 17-years-old.
The farm was transformed into Yerbillon Park in 1946.
The property was named after the number five pump in Yerbillon.
The Della Bosca family chopped wood to feed the pump before they began grasshopper ploughing and shearing to expand the farm.
These days, 3000ha of the property accommodates 1700 Merino breeding ewes, 360 ewe hogget weaners and wethers - which are sold as lambs - and 40 Angus breeders and calves, based on Coonamble bloodlines.
The remaining 4000ha is dedicated to cropping.
The family manages the crop and stock by rotating them on a two-year program of cropping, and then two years dedicated to pasture and livestock grazing.
The Della Boscas brought back the Merinos, rather than an alternative breed, for their dual-purpose and versatile nature.
"Being able to market either wool or meat in a changing market gives us options," Tim said.
"Ideally, we want a Merino that has a big frame, is maternal and can cut eight to 10 kilograms of wool that is about 20-22 micron.
"Behind their aim to produce a sheep like this, is a sire battery consisting of 34 quality Poll Merino sires from the Seven Oaks South Poll Merino stud, Burracoppin, which is where the Della Bosca's have been purchasing rams for the past six years."
The family also branched out to try some new genetics last year, purchasing a few rams from the Olinda Poll Merino stud, Wyalkatchem.
A combination of visual appraisal and Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBV) are used when selecting rams, with wool quality being a priority.
"Staple length and a 20-22-micron rating is what we are after - as well as a big-framed ram that is polled and has a good depth of body," Tim said.
"We also don't want a ram with a bare head.
"But we also don't want it too woolly either."
"We can afford to go a bit out of our preferred micron rating out here, as long as the comfort factor is good," Ross said.
At the end of December, rams are put out with the ewes for a four-week period at a 2pc joining rate.
When joining, the Della Boscas like to keep their joining mobs at no more than 500 head, and - as a result - last season the 2016 and 2017-drop ewes were joined together, the 2019 and 2020-drop together, while 2018 and 2021-drop ewes were joined in their individual age groups.
Prior to having a four-week joining period, the Della Boscas would leave their rams out for six weeks but they have shortened this to reduce the difference in lamb size at mulesing.
"This has definitely improved and made the mulesing process less difficult," Tim said.
Conception rates that are recorded after pregnancy scanning in April are always positive in the years that the Della Boscas have had a chance to test, and they always see a large number of ewes pregnant with twins.
Any ewes that are dry after scanning are marked as a cull and sold to Fletcher International's Narrikup-based abattoir.
Switching their lambing from February to June has also seen a significant improvement in lamb survival due to ewes lambing on to green feed.
"Our lambing percentages used to be about the 80-85pc mark, and now it is just over 100pc," Ross said.
The animal health requirements are carried out at mulesing, about five to six weeks after the first lambs hit the ground.
"This means that the youngest lambs would be one to two-weeks-old and the oldest would be six weeks, which means they won't be too big at mulesing which helps us manage them easier," Tim said.
At mulesing, the ewes and lambs are vaccinated with GlanEry 7in1 B12, while the lambs also receive Tri-Solfen, and a fly strike prevention treatment.
"Using the GlanEry has been positive, as we are seeing less and less sheep affected by arthritis," Tim said.
The lambs are five-months-old when they are weaned in October, and the Della Boscas usually aim to retain 500 ewe lambs to go into the breeding mob as maidens.
"We class the ewes based on wool quality, staple length, size of frame and feet," Tim said.
"Any showing traits that aren't suitable, will be marked as culls.
"The cull ewes and wether lambs are shorn at this time, rather than in the main shearing operation in March.
"This allows us to get a wool cut off before we sell them," Tim said.
Post-weaning, the cull ewes and wether lambs are lot-fed for two months before they are sold to Fletchers.
"We run them on stubbles from October, right up until they are put into the feedlot in February," Tim said.
"In the feedlot we feed Milne Feeds pellets adlib from the feeders," Ross said.
The sheep usually leave the feedlot weighing about 50-60kg liveweight, although the lack of kill space at the abattoirs this year has resulted in the Della Boscas carrying over their wether lambs and cull ewes.
"This year they have been much heavier and we have sold them at about 80kg," Tim said.
"I think it is still a positive result to keep the Merinos around, we may not get as much for our wool and meat, but we still need them in the farming system," Ross said.
Supplementary feeding varies based on the season at Westonia and what food is on offer.
"We feed out hay and a calcium phosphate lick," Tim said.
"We have used feeders in the paddocks before, but we found that we were losing lambs around them, so we stopped using them."
When it comes to pasture management, the Della Boscas this year seeded 120ha of Bladder-Frano clover mix for the stock, and they will actively use what germinates in the paddocks.
In the cropping program, 2900ha is seeded with wheat, 800ha is dedicated to barley, 230ha to oats, and the rest left for clover.
"We usually crop canola, but decided not to this year as it was too risky because we didn't get much summer rain," Tim said.
