Wiltshire Horn popularity grows at annual sale for Hallston Valley Farm

Wiltshire Horn sheep are proving the right fit for the right farm and the right team at Hallston Valley Farm, Hallston.

Jill Noble and her husband Gary Tie first kicked off their 180-ewe Wiltshire Horn stud in 2015 and have never looked back.

Ms Noble, a native of Ireland, has made a real dent in the Victorian sheep industry and was recently on MC duty at the Melbourne Royal Show.

The duo have opened up a strong client base for their 155 acre stud and worked hard to produce quality sheep and meat, sold directly to their new customers.

On Monday last week, the farm held its now annual on-farm sale.

Like most things in her operation, Ms Noble handled the sale herself, with no outside livestock agency involvement.

New and repeat buyers could view the stud's top stock in the yards and make purchases from there.

A total of 30 ewes and lambs were sold in the build up to the sale, based on its advertising, a number were sold on the day, and several more since.

Ms Noble said it worked for the farm and her customers and next year's date was already in the calendar.

"We started an on-farm sale four years ago and it's just something I do every year," she said.

"It's the only on-farm Wiltshire Horn sale in the country.

"Last year, we had 10 people come and 10 people went home with rams.

"The sale works from my point of view, whether it's on the day, in the lead up or after."

The stud's sheep were being snapped up by Gippsland's growing number of small scale sheep farmers and the Wiltshire Horn breed was perfect for the area.

"We've basically created our own market and I'm selling sheep here all year round," Ms Noble said.

"Overall, with the ram flock, there's somewhere around 500 or so with the lambs on the ground.

"We do a lot of pregnant ewe sales which is quite a unique offering.

"People don't necessarily want rams so we do pregnant ewes, April-May, and then provide the ewe lambs and young ewes as well."

The stud also produced and sold 'cut and pack' lamb and mutton, looked after another 20ac of agistment and ran a growing farm stay business.

"There's a lot of people from the city who come out for a couple of nights and enjoy the Gippsland views," Ms Noble explained.

The ewe flock was joined February-March, lambed July to August, and was weaned in November.

Their genetics made them ideally suited to the Gippsland hills.

"We wouldn't say they're zero work but we definitely don't have to do as much, particularly the older ones," Ms Noble said.

"Occasionally we will have to assist with a lambing but they're very good mothers, very good milkers and very fertile."

Mr Tie said the shedding breed first came to England with the Romans and was a foundation breed for many better-known sheep today, including the Hampshire Down.

Ms Noble said the Wiltshire Horns had been used in the formation of some other shedding breeds but their shedding of wool was totally unique.

"The challenge with Wiltshire Horns is its a wool sheep, not a hair sheep," she said.

"It's the only wool shedding sheep in the world."

Showing had become a major part of the stud's operation and Ms Noble had become a familiar face at some of the state's top stud stock gatherings.

"With our stud, we want to be able to promote the animals that we've got and the product that we produce and the environment that it's in as well," she said.

"The showing is a bit of that promotion but it's also a great social outlet.

"Lot's of learning and education happens at the show and going to the shows is a great way for me to contribute to the sheep industry more broadly."

Ms Noble, who first arrived as a bag packer soon after the Sydney 2000 Olympics, said while she put a lot of thought and research into sheep breed standards, being Irish had helped her open doors in sheep showing circles.

"I think because I'm Irish, I get away with an awful lot, and I think the accent gets me doors opened," she quipped.

"I feel like I've been really able to capitalise on being Irish out here.

"They do love Irish people in Australia and generally, we do work very, very hard and I have worked very hard, both of us have, to get what we have.

"Hard work pays off, no matter where you are and no matter what gender you are or age."

Mr Tie insisted that Ms Noble more often smashed through doors and barriers and always threw herself head first into doing more for farmers.

The couple remained hugely passionate about broadening awareness and understanding of sustainable agriculture, particularly amongst non-farmers.

They planned to continue to build their Wiltshire Horn flock and sell more and more to new clients.