History
The large dual purpose strain of SA Merinos and Poll Merinos
was initially developed from strains introduced into the Eastern States.
Many Australian flocks are based on bloodlines developed in the 1800s
by South Australian parent studs such as Bungaree, Capeedee, Anlaby
and Collinsville.
South Australian studmasters carefully improved their flocks over the
years through careful selection to breed a large plain bodied dual purpose
strain of Merino. These sheep have the capacity to travel long distances
for food and water, and adapt quickly to Australia’s semi-arid
pastoral zones, where large numbers of SA Merinos are run.
Their quest was successful, with SA Merinos accounting for a significant
proportion of the entire Australian wool clip. Further, they have continued
to play a very significant role in the Australian sheepmeat industry.
Growing more wool and meat than other strains in Australia, the SA Merino
generally needs a minimum of care. They have thrived, not only in the
dry pastoral zones with annual rainfall as low as 140mm, but they have
also adapted very well to higher rainfall districts that receive up
to 900mm of annual rainfall.
High fertility is also a positive trait of the SA Merino, and ewes of
this strain provide the nucleus to the prime lamb industry when mated
with meat breed terminal sires such as the Suffolk, White Suffolk and
Poll Dorset in particular.
Some lamb producers in higher rainfall areas in particular, prefer to
use Merino based crossbred ewes as their prime lamb dams, with the Border
Leicester x Merino being the most popular choice.
The superior genetic performance of the South Australian Merino has
positioned it as adaptable for a wide range of conditions, having both
exceptional wool and meat characteristics.
