Shane Baker to take White Suffolks to Australian Sheep and Wool Show

Marketing his sheep is the main reason Shane Baker goes back to the Australian Sheep and Wool Show year after year.

Mr Baker, who runs the Booloola White Suffolk and Loddon Park Corriedale studs at Baringhup with his wife, Amber, and two daughters Rory, 6, and Remi, 3, has been attending the show at Bendigo since 1999 and hasn’t missed a year.

“We keep going back ­because, for one, it is on our doorstep and it is a good shop window for our sheep as there are a lot of commercial producers who visit, so it is important for advertising our product,” he said.

Taking about 12 White Suffolks and five Corriedales to the show this year, Mr Baker hopes to recreate even a small part of last year’s success.

At Bendigo last year he won 13 ribbons for 14 sheep, taking out the supreme White Suffolk ram and reserve junior champion White Suffolk ewe titles.

He said it was the first time he had won the supreme White Suffolk title, which provided good promotion for his business.

“Showing is just about getting your sheep out there and letting people see what you have so hopefully they like them enough to then come to your sale.”

Mr Baker used his wage as an apprentice boiler maker to buy ewes for the White Suffolk stud, which he established in 1998, and he is the fourth generation stud master of the Corriedale stud.

“When I started the White Suffolk stud it was a Poll Dorset dominated area and I saw the opportunity for an easy-lambing, easy-care breed, which is what led me to choosing White Suffolks,” Mr Baker said.

When breeding White Suffolk rams, Mr Baker said he ideally wanted a ram that was going to be easy birthing with plenty of muscle and produced a high-yielding lamb.

Commercial viability was an important aspect of sheep breeding for Mr Baker.

“The aim is to try and make our clients as much money as possible,” he said.

“The White Suffolk, along with the Poll Dorset, have been two breeds that have been prepared to move with the times and that is why they are still popular.

“White Suffolk breeders in particular have been innovative and able to adapt to what the market requires.”

The Booloola on-property ram sale is held on the first Tuesday in October each year, with 90 to 100 rams offered.