- “Clydesdales” of the super fine sheep world – big heavy cutting very fertile super fine sheep
- Deep, even, well balanced Poll Merino Ewes with a long breeding history
- Good value for money – excellent quality rams at very reasonable fixed prices
- Old fashioned service with a smile 😊
Who we are
We (Steve and Lydia Jarvis) are the 3rd generation on Heathfield. We are very focused on, and passionate about, breeding high quality Poll Merinos – backing their easy care, positive productive traits.
Based in Boorowa – a renowned Merino district in the South West Slopes of NSW – Merino sheep is all we do. We have been breeding polls for 30 years through the highs and lows of the industry, and have moved into the next phase of offering quality Poll Merino Rams.
We understand that rising demand for quality rams these days often means digging deeper into your pockets to get the rams you need, or settling for less. Our rams are sold at fixed prices and we offer 1 on 1 service and support with inspection by obligation free appointment – providing what we feel is excellent value for money.
Historically our long term focus has been on breeding and selection to produce truly balanced, profitable sheep. We believe that by doing this we now have an exceptional depth to our ewe base, thanks, also, to the help and guidance of the Late Peter Westblade, Tim Westblade, and the Pastora bloodline.
“Clydesdales” of the super fine sheep world?
We have plain bodied, heavy cutting sheep, especially for their fine micron – generally 15 to 17.5 – with the muscle and fat that gives us a 5 year average of 106% lambs marked to ewes joined, while 1/3 of the ewes are maidens. Our mature ewes cut an average of 6.1kg over a rolling 5 years. Our sheep produce a stylish white long-stapled bold crimping wool.
The oldest ewes we join are 4½ years old, apart from really exceptional ewes retained to ensure continued genetic improvement. This strategy allows us to make quicker genetic gains than keeping ewes to 7 or 8 years of age. We also capture a premium for our surplus sheep that are sold at a younger age. Our surplus ewes are sought after because of their good commercial traits – high value fleeces and high fertility – and they are very profitable prime lamb mothers as well.
Breeding good do-ers
We believe sheep need to be efficient, resilient and able to flourish in the tough times. Historically, by not over-feeding we have encouraged and selected sheep with natural doing-ability. We feel this is a vitally important characteristic for a commercial breeder looking to buy rams – they will do well, and if fed up, will do even better. All our sheep including rams are raised in a commercial environment, and what you see is what you will get.
Managing the farm environment for health and diversity
We value our natural environment and since the late 1980s have actively worked at transforming a largely cleared landscape to increase biodiversity by planting or sowing many thousands of native trees and shrubs, and also managing grazing for diverse outcomes. Many of the shelter belts are now tall, dense stands providing a win-win situation for sheep and lambing shelter, biodiversity, and they have created a much more pleasant place to live and work.
Let’s have a yarn
No smoke, no mirrors, if we have raised your curiosity or interest, we invite you to come by on our open days listed below, or contact us at any time to talk sheep or come for an inspection by appointment.
- Saturday 15 September 11am–2pm
- Saturday 22 September 11am–2pm
We are also displaying some rams at the Young Show on Sunday 16th September.
Our September 2017 drop Poll Merino sale Rams are available for purchase in $1200 and $800 grades plus GST.
We are building a full website to be launched early September 2018. This will have more information about us: our history, our sheep, our wool, revegetating the farm, our goals, and why we are so confident in our genetics, so please feel free to visit www.heathfieldpollmerinos.com again soon.
