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Our  Story

Why  Our Wiltshire Sheep Suit Our Country

We consider Wilsthire sheep raised on saltbush to be the best tasting sheepmeat in the country.

They also do well on unirrigated dryland river country and only cycle with the shortening of daylight hours (at the end of summer to early autumn) which means that 95 % of the lambs are born in the late winter to early spring before the winter grasses dry off. The Poll Wiltshire ewe in this picture successfully raised quad lambs in 2026!

Gentle  Handling -  Tender Meat

We minimise handling and yarding to ensure that adrenalin levels at the time of slaughter are lower than when animals are processed at large scale abattoirs.

We don’t use dogs to muster and handle our sheep.

We don’t road transport our animals for processing during hot weather.

The Saltbush That Makes Our Country Special

Our sheep graze on natural Riverina pastures, including a remarkable variety of native saltbush:

Hedge Saltbush (Rhagodia spinescens)

Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa)

Bluebush (Maireana brevifolia)

Creeping Saltbush (Atriplex semibaccata)

Flat Top Saltbush (Atriplex lindleyi subsp. conduplicata)

During summer, and during dry years, when the green trefoil and other native grasses have dried off, our sheep turn increasingly to these saltbush varieties.


What Makes Our Lamb So Delicious? 

SIX SECRETS TO DELICIOUS LAMB

The sheep breed. We raise Wiltshires because we think they are the best breed for flavour.

What our sheep eat. We raise our sheep on natural saltbush and native pastures.

What our sheep drink. No tro.ughs. Abundant fresh water from a stream.

The age of our sheep* We consider two-tooth hogget to be our premium product.

Our butchering process. Dry aged, never wet aged.

Our animal husbandry. We consider ourselves to be organic but we are not an accredited organic producer.


*We process most of our lambs as “two tooth” lambs properly called hoggets which results in a more flavoursome but less “lamby/lanolin” flavour. The difference between young milk fed fat first cross lamb and our slow grown weaned hogget is something like the difference between a fresh young “drink now” pinot noir and an aged shiraz.

How customers can help keep the glyphosate sprayer off our saltbush 

When customers purchase Saltbush Billy lamb, hogget or mutton, they help us preserve the natural capital values of our land. Conserving our stands of native saltbush and natural grasses, and regenerating former cropping land, is only possible if customers support our way of farming. By preserving these native plants, we also preserve habitat for thousands of birds, animals, reptiles and other species that share this country with our sheep.

If our land were not used for raising sheep, much of it would likely be used for large-scale cropping, possibly combined with fat lamb production supported by irrigated fodder.

Modern cropping programs — including so-called “zero-till” and “minimum-till” systems — can rely heavily on herbicides to ensure that, in effect, the only things that grow are those planted by the farmer. Glyphosate is sometimes even used as a desiccant to help cereal crops ripen uniformly.

Our way of farming is not necessarily the most profitable in terms of annual cash flow. We believe it becomes much more valuable when natural capital is included in the equation.

We place a high value on the reptiles, native mammals, abundant birdlife, - including waterfowl , emus, peregrine falcons, bronzewing pigeons, and black faced cuckoo shrikes - and, of course, our many varieties of saltbush that thrive on land that never sees a glyphosate sprayer or plough.

What customers choose to buy and eat has an influence far beyond the dinner table. Every food purchase helps determine which farming systems are economically rewarded — and, ultimately, how our agricultural land is managed.

But here's the thing: none of that counts for much if we don't have customers prepared to support us. We never forget that it is our customers who ultimately determine whether we can continue farming this way.