Producer Profile - Kamora Park Poll Merinos

Tell us about your farm and Kamora Park Poll Merinos? 

Kamora Park Poll Merino Stud was established in 1963. Our team comprises of Colin & Julie, Wade & Mel, and Peter & Katelyn. Collaboratively, we oversee a 4,000-hectare property located near Sandalwood, in South Australia, an area with an average rainfall of 260mm. 

Our breeding objectives are to consistently produce dual purpose (meat and wool) sheep with long bodies, large frames and good spring of rib. These sheep must have optimal body weight and structure for survivability in all environments and be early maturing. We believe in producing free growing, long stapled, crimpy lustrous wool on productive, soft-rolling skins. In 1993, Colin attended an SRS Day and admired how lustrous, rich and crimpy the wools on this type of sheep were and from there decided to breed this soft, silky style of wool that Kamora Park is now renowned for. 

While producing sheep in our main enterprise, annually we also crop about 1,300 hectares. Most of which is barley with some rye for grazing and hay as well as a small amount of oats for hay. 

Much of South Australia has been battling drought, can you tell us about the conditions at your farm during the past few years and how you've managed? 

Over the last 5 years or so, we have had a pattern of late season breaks with rain arriving in the first few weeks of June. Being situated in a low rainfall area in the South Australian Mallee, we are familiar with dry and prolonged tough conditions. However, the current drought has been the most challenging in having to supplementary feed for far longer than any other year, while production costs continue to be higher than ever. We always manage these times by planning well ahead with grain and hay storage - this is what gets us by. We continue to be in awe of the merino ewe and her capacity to rare lambs and cut a 7-9kg fleece in less-than-optimal conditions year after year. By far this year, the consecutive days of gale force winds, repeatedly battering us through this dry period have caused wide-spread damage to the land, our crops and fence lines - which will take years to recover from. To date we have received about 71mm of rain for the year, but with consecutive years of hardship, we need a lot more rain to be considered out of the woods (for drought). We continue to be optimistic and resilient as we absolutely love what we do and are supported by a great network of people across the industry. 

You recently sold a ram for $40,000 at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show at Bendigo, and topped at $9,250 at your recent ram sale. Can you talk us through what you breed specifically for and tell us a bit about these top animals? 

Recently, we have had tremendous success in selling two of our rams prior to our on-property auction. While we don’t usually sell rams prior to this, we felt that we had to accept the offers. KP 240127 sold for $40,000 at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show to Roemahkita Stud and the following week at the South 

Australian South-East Merino Field Day in Keith we sold KP240152 to Millbrae Stud for $20,000-both Wiringa Park 450 sons, bred through artificial insemination over our top stud ewes. 

While these were such pleasing sales, we were just as thrilled to be able to sell the majority of our 2025 sale rams at our on-property auction on Friday 1st August, particularly during ongoing dry and challenging conditions for us and many of our clients. We sold 158 of 184 offered to a top price of $9,250 and averaged $2,090. Following this we sold another 13 rams, and our final two rams will be offered at the Adelaide Ram Sale on Friday the 5th of September. Both of which were originally stud reserves and bred by top performing rams across Australia-one by our own Kamora Park 97 and one by Wiringa Park 450. 

What do buyers want in their rams now? How has that changed over time? 

Buyers want structurally correct, ‘good doing’ rams that can survive and thrive in any environment. They want long-stapled, heavy cutting wools on plain bodied, productive loose skins. This is where the industry has come a long way genetically-breeding away from a traditional thicker, tighter type of sheep to a more free-growing and easier-care merino. 

Early maturing sheep are important for farming enterprises with quicker growth rates and a faster return on investment. We muscle scan and weigh our rams at 10-11 months age to help guide buyers with these traits in the ram selection process. 

Our buyers are after consistency in the quality of our rams. To achieve this we are thorough and fastidious when it comes to sourcing and selecting genetics that will refine and advance our breeding objectives. 

What role do you see Polled Merinos playing in the future of the national flock? 

Polled merinos have already come such a long way genetically and productivity wise and will continue to play a significant and growing role in the future of the national flock. Today’s modern, dual-purpose polled merino, and the genetic advancements that come with it, allow for easier handling and management and have the benefits of income from both meat and wool qualities. Breeders can now select for both fleece quality and poll status, along with a range of industry relevant data, making polled merinos more commercially competitive and a highly versatile and crucial source of income across a range of production systems.