On the advice of their wool agent Arcadian Wool Brokers’ Gary Simpson four years ago, the Hasells decided to lift the quality of their ram purchases and use management to join the maximum number of ewes over a short period.

Instead of paying less for more commercial rams, the Hasells decided to pay more for a stud-quality ram and join it to up to 300 ewes over a four-week period. Prior to this the Hasells were joining about two per cent of rams over a six to eight-week period.

“We can buy a dear ram and we put him over 300 ewes in a four-week joining,” Mr Hasell said.

The ram with his raddle harness is sent out with the 300 ewes in the evening and the whole mob is then yarded at about 10am every second day. The ewes that have been mounted are drafted off and the ram goes on a ration of lucerne-based chaff, lupins and barley until he goes out with the ewes again.

“We do that basically every second day for about four weeks.

“The ram just about drafts himself during the day – he just comes in and virtually walks into the yards because he knows he is going to be fed up,” Mr Hasell said.

With the old joining method their lambing percentages were in the 80s, while with the single ram system they marked well into the 90s, he said.

By selecting their better quality ewes for the stud ram, they had lifted the frame size and fleece weight for the superfine flock, that had a diameter average of 16.5 microns.

Mr Hasell said it allowed them to buy a ram to do corrective mating with selected ewes and to accurately monitor the performance of rams from certain bloodlines through their progeny.

Mrs Hasell called the method “poor man’s AI” and said they would like to expand it to all their 1200 Merino ewes.

“It’s like running a little stud – you know exactly what you are getting.”

Mr Simpson said he took the idea from a New England breeder but the method was not widely used despite its advantages.

“For the same budget the Hasells are able to buy a stud quality ram rather than commercial quality rams.”