East Loddon

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Property Name: East Loddon Merino Stud

Location: Bill & Diane Hooke are principals and managers of East Loddon Merino Stud which is situated at East Loddon, Serpentine, Victoria (60km north of Bendigo) and at Warwillah Station, Wanganella in the Riverina region of NSW (midway between Hay & Deniliquin).

History

Merino sheep breeding has been a family passion for five generations in the Serpentine area in Victoria. Bill Hookes’ grandfather, E. T. Coutts, started breeding merinos in the early 1900’s on his property along the Loddon River just north of Serpentine. No doubt the size, shape and skin formation of those early sheep would be different to the ones being breed today by his descendants.

The property ‘East Loddon’ was purchased in 1984 where the Merino stud was formed. Originally the stud was based on Peppin blood lines with the introduction of plainer bodied sheep in the following years. The sheep now are being bred using the SRS® Breeding System under the guidance of Dr Jim Watts.

Our sheep breeding operation expanded into the Riverina region in the early 1990’s at ‘Lara’ just north of Hay, prior to the purchase of Warwillah Station in 2002. The property covers 38,000 acres of open grass plains with some cotton and salt bush. Soils include grey and red duplex clays with sandy loam on ridges. Shearing count for 2011 was 14,000 sheep which included 6,500 breeding ewes. Breeding cows and trade cattle are also run on the property.

People

East Loddon is run by Bill and Diane Hooke. Bill has been breeding Merino sheep since he finished a degree in Agriculture at Dookie College and years working on leading Australian Merino Studs. Diane is now working full time on the properties following many years of nursing. Bill and Diane have three sons, Andrew, Tom and Marcus. Tom and Marcus both have completed Agricultural Science Degrees at La Trobe University and are currently working within the sheep industry to broaden their knowledge. Andrew has pursued a different career path working in the Outdoor Education industry.

Sustainable Production:

Warwillah Station has changed hands many times over the years with the majority being corporate owned companies. The majority of the Riverina plain has been traditionally set stocked. However, the Hooke family is placing an emphasis on controlling the grazing of this property. By subdividing all of the main paddocks and creating additional watering points, a grazing rotation is being put in place. Benefits are already being seen with country being spelled providing fresh feed for stock and the re-establishment of native perennial pastures.

Priority is given to breeding sheep which can be highly productive in paddock conditions with supplementary feeding only when the seasons dictate.

Benefits of SRS®

With the plain bodies and open faces of SRS sheep, East Loddon has seen a major increase in fertility and the general well being of the sheep. Seven month old ewes were joined last year with a scanning percentage of 99% and stud ewes were scanned at 149%. Commercial sheep had a lamb marking result of 110-120%. The SRS system has produced bold, white, deep crimping wools with high yields (2011 shearing saw yields of 76.5% for adult fleece wool), and a soft handle. Average micron over all ages is 20.6. Shearing three times over two years produces wool cuts of 5.4kg at 8 months, demonstrating the balance between staple length and density.

Contacts:
Name: Bill & Diane Hooke
Address: PO Box 58, Serpentine, Vic, 3517 or “Warwillah”, Wanganella, NSW 2710
Ph: Bill Hooke 0427 378 380
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