This year’s Australian Sheep and Wool Show has been an exciting learning experience for Kylie and Peter Wood.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Marong couple showed at the nation’s biggest sheep show for the first time after establishing Kype Park sheep farm in January with 14 ewes and a ram.
Previously, they have been a helping hand at Kylie’s mother Shaelene Knight’s Kyolnapark stud but this was the year they branched out under their own banner.
“It's super exciting to be out on our own. Obviously, mum is still there to support us and we get a lot of support from the other studs too, which is fantastic,” Kylie said.
“We have pretty much helped mum out from day dot but in the last three or four years we got a bit more into it and have we've branched out on our own this year.”
Kylie said it hasn’t even been a year since they established Kype Park.
“We’re really fresh out of the bag and it is a big leap but one that we really wanted to take,” she said.
Kylie and Peter’s big leap paid off with one of the four Dorpers they showed winning the novice ewe under 1.5 years group.
“We are pretty happy with that. We had a bit of feedback (from judges) which is good,” Kylie said.
“We're up against the best of the best, so our (Dorpers) tend to be lacking a bit. But it is something we can continue working towards. Hopefully next year we will have a few more ribbons in hand.
“We definitely want to come back with a bigger team.”
In the meantime, the couple will use this year’s sheep and wool show as a learning experience.
“This year we just wanted to come to learn,” Peter said. “We wanted to see how we're travelling and what we need to improved on,” he said.
“More meat is one goal we have. We need to focus on more muscle and bulk (the sheep) up a bit more as a long term goal.
“The Dorper sale is on today, so we will also look to invest in some more stock to go along with some of young stock coming through.”
The Australian Sheep and Wool Show finishes on Sunday afternoon at Bendigo Showgrounds.