ON FARM SHEEP SNAPSHOT: Andrew Mitchell Andrew Mitchell, Mintaro, SA SEASONAL CHALLENGES: them and send them off ACTIVITIES OVER S It’s not as good as it couldbe, but it’s better than otheraround April or May.THE NEXT TWO places. We cut more hay A lot of people were quitting MONTHS: this year than we planned sheep towards the end to earlier in the season, of the year because they > shearing because some of the crops didn’t want to feed them, but > monitoring stock didn’t fill as well as we we’re in a slightly different through summer thought they would. position because we have > selling lambs. lucerne and crop stubbles WHAT’S ON OUR PLATE: as a feed option. We’ll have Area: We have two separate blocks to start feeding them, but at Black Springs and Mintaro. Andrew Mitchell 3,300ha over several probably not until around E: aandkmitchell@ properties, plus After lambing at Black February or March. We will Springs, the ewes started to bigpond.com 300ha leased put the rams in with the ewes run out of feed, so we moved in February, for an August Enterprise: them back towards Mintaro lambing. We will also prepare Dual‑purpose Merinos, to the higher‑rainfall country,our autumn‑lambing ewes cropping and wine grapes where we weaned the and get them settled into lambs. The ewes were then their paddocks before they Livestock: crutched and sent back out 6,000 sheep, including start lambing in April. to the Black Springs block. 3,200 Merino ewes The lambs went onto the We will shear our wether clover and ryegrass pastures lambs in February ahead Pasture: or onto lucerne at Mintaro. of selling them in March, Native pastures, sown Because they’re nearly all after they have been cereals, ryegrass and Merinos, we’ll hold them all finished in the feedlot or on white clover through to March. We’ll shear bean stubbles. ■ Soil: Heavy red‑brown clay, some chocolate brown earth Rainfall: 600mm The Mitchells’ ewe lambs were weaned onto ryegrass and clover pastures. 29