Michael Potter

Nov 8, 2022

By Jodie Rintoul Copy At last months Ida Vale ram sale at Kojonup it was announced the Ida Vale White Suffolk stud had been sold to Rhodes Pastoral, Boree Park stud, Boyup Brook. At the ram sale for the announcement were Rhodes Pastoral management representative Chris Rhodes (left), Ida Vale stud principals Tamesha Gardner and Andrew Greenup, Rhodes Pastorals and Boree Park stud manager Michael Potter and Rhodes Pastoral farm manager Michael Wright. WESTERN Australia's oldest White Suffolk stud, Ida Vale, has a new home. The move comes following the announcement this month that Ida Vale stud principals Andrew Greenup and Tamesha Gardner, Kojonup, had sold the stud's ewe flock to Rhodes Pastoral Pty Ltd, Boree Park stud, Boyup Brook. The Ida Vale White Suffolk stud has a long and successful history dating back to 1983 after Bronte and Di Gardner started WA's first White Suffolk stud. Ms Gardner made the decision to carry on the Ida Vale legacy after the sudden passing of her father Bronte in 2006 and together with Mr Greenup ran the stud for the next 16 years. She said it was a big decision to sell the stud given her family's history with it but they decided to go ahead with the sale because it complemented the future direction of their livestock business. "The Ida Vale White Suffolk stud has been a huge part of our lives for many years and we have enjoyed it immensely," Ms Gardner said. "We were very pleased to be able to sell the stud as a whole to Rhodes Pastoral as it has a long-term vision for the breed and similar breeding objectives to what we had. "The sale will allow us to now focus fully on our shedding breed studs as well as our large commercial flock where we believe there is an exciting future." Rhodes Pastoral farm manager Michael Wright said they were very excited to take on the Ida Vale stud flock. MORE STORIES: "We were looking to expand our operation and opportunities to acquire a stud of this calibre do not come along often," Mr Wright said. "This is a long-term project but we are confident that we have the ability to continue the genetic gain and maintain the client base that Tamesha and Andrew have been building up over the years. "We are also very fortunate to already have in place our stud manager Michael Potter who has been running our Boree Park stud over the past five years. "We will have our inaugural Boree Park sale in October next year where we will present approximately 120 rams." Boree Park stud manager Michael Potter said their aim was to continue breeding industry leading genetics using all the tools available including artificial breeding, genomics testing and LambPlan. "We have also joined the White Suffolk Superwhites group which will link our genetics with other high-performance studs throughout Australia," Mr Potter said. "The Ida Vale purchase will bring our stud ewe numbers up to 900 so that will give us plenty of scope to play around with different genetics. "We need to be constantly improving commercial traits such as growth and muscle but also we need to keep our eye on eating quality which will be a real profit driver in the future." Mr Potter said they would always be on the lookout for new genetics to improve their flock. "This year we have purchased a number of rams and semen packages from around Australia including a recent ram purchase from Detpa Grove in Victoria for $20,000," he said. "Today's prime lamb producers are looking for high performance genetics that are structurally correct and we are confident that we can provide this well into the future." Share