IT WAS the low maintenance and easy-doing nature of the Dorper that attracted John and Karen Elmes to the breed 16 years ago.

When we started we could run them with the cattle, run them in the paddock and forget about them,” My Elmes said.

“They are such a hardy animal and from where they came from they know how to do it tough.

“They even seem to do better when it’s drier.”

Today, the hardy disposition of the breed continues to be an advantage in marginal conditions on the Elmes family’s 6200-hectare Augathella property Plevna Downs East, in the often-dry reaches of western Queensland.

Click here to read the full story by Doug Connor for the DSSA liftout magazine.