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Property Name: “Glenwood”

Location: Glenwood is situated about 29 km East of Wellington on the Central West Slopes of NSW, Australia. The property is 600 metres above sea level and averages approximately 650 mm (26”) of rainfall per year which is neither winter nor summer dominated. Glenwood runs predominately a merino breeding enterprise including 1300 stud ewes and 3000 flock ewes.

History:

The Smith family has been breeding merinos at Glenwood since 1898. In 1929 Mr. Norman Smith purchased 2 rams and 297 ewes from Bundemar to establish Glenwood Merino Stud. Since 1996 the stud has used SRS® genetics with outstanding results. The breeding technologies developed by ex-CSIRO researcher, Dr Jim Watts, have accelerated genetic improvement, improved animal welfare and improved overall enterprise profitability exponentially.

People:

Glenwood is run by Norman and Pip Smith and their 5 children Chloe, Amber, Maggie, William and Daisy. Norman is fourth generation Smith on Glenwood where the stud has also been established since 1929. Norm and Pip are particularly passionate about the future of agriculture and the merino industry. They have been heavily involved in differentiating the SRS® wool supply and adding value through the ethical and performance advantages that SRS® can offer.

Sustainable Production:

The pastures on Glenwood are dominated by winter and summer native perennials which have been complimented by a super and sub clover history. Norm’s Grandfather was one of the first farmers in Australia to spread super from an aeroplane and his father was a pioneer at aerially sowing introduced pasture from the air.

Today Norm and Pip manage Glenwood in a holistic manner to balance outcomes for the landscape, the livestock, the business and the people. They are encouraging greater diversity of desirable perennials with time controlled grazing enabling short graze periods and long rest periods. Norm and Pip are managing the livestock so that they can minimize chemical use. They are lowering worm burdens by better grazing techniques and eliminating the need to jet for fly strike through genetics and management. Through all of the above Norm and Pip have lowered the cost of production or the inputs while dramatically improving the outputs. Long term this management will take the business into the future where consumers and the public are looking for ecologically and ethically sound products and landscapes.

Glenwood is also monitoring the progress using indicators for the people, the business and the landscape.

Benefits of SRS®

Since starting with SRS® ten years ago, Glenwood has increased fleece weight by 0.5 kilograms per head and reduced fibre diameter by 3 microns. Glenwood’s Merino ewes produce, on average, 6.5 kilograms of 18.5 micron wool per head and their fertility has increased from 90 % to 120%. Fleece length has improved significantly, allowing the sheep to be shorn three times every two years at wool combing length. The wool is distinctive for its exceptional softness, whiteness and crimp definition.

Very early on, Norm recognised the increased importance of ethical treatment of animals and has transformed his flock into a plain bodied type that does not need to be mulesed, are naturally resistant to body strike and are easier to shear. Norm has been an early adopter of use of ASBVs through Sheep Genetics Australia and identifies the sire and dam of each Glenwood stud sheep. Performance records on wool production, body growth, muscle & fat patterning and fecundity are kept and breeding values are derived for each animal. All potential sires are skin tested that ensures that each plain-bodied and wrinkle-free ram chosen as a sire has a high density of wool follicles in its skin. The standard requirement is for each sire to have 80 or more follicles per square millimetre and fibre length above 0.50 millimetres per day.

Contacts: Name: Norm and Pip Smith
Address: “Glenwood”, Wellington, NSW 2820
Website: www.glenwoodmerinos.com.au
Ph: 02 68 453665
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