WHEN walking the floor of their family’s thriving Hardwicks Meats processing plant in Kyneton, Victoria, brothers James, Luke and Pat Hardwick were struck by the Dorper breed’s unmistakable rise to prominence.
The trio could see the Dorper’s ideal carcase conformation over the hooks and also witnessed impressive yield data rolling through in results, but James said it was the breed’s growing dominance within the industry that most captured their attention.
“We could see producers in certain areas were swiftly adopting the breed and having great success; we went from processing a few Dorpers a week to then seeing multiple B-Double trucks roll through,” James said.
“It was only within a few years we went from one load of Dorpers per week up to receiving ten loads per week. The sheer volume indicated there had been a remarkable shift toward Dorpers.”
In July 2021, after about 50 years of prosperous business, the family chose to sell Hardwicks Meats to leading export processor Kilcoy Global Foods. This decision allowed the brothers to dedicate themselves fully to other interests – one of which involved entering the Dorper industry and establishing their own seedstock operation, Deepdale Dorpers.
The stud’s flagship 1618ha (4000ac) property, also called Deepdale, is based in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt at Toodyay about 90km north-east of Perth, a key location as the Hardwicks family has ambitions to bring premium genetics to west-coast producers.
In Victoria, Deepdale Dorpers also runs two properties, 3237ha (8000ac) Willah and 1618ha (4000ac) Emuvale, just outside of Carwarp, about 40km south of Mildura to further develop the business’ eastern footprint.
All the Victorian operations are overseen by experienced producer Brady Bown of Willah.
“The Bown family have been in the district for nearly 50 years, and we could not be happier to have Brady join Deepdale as Stud Manager and a business partner,” James said.
James said his family’s background running the meatworks plant and pushing lamb sales through their wholesale enterprise fuelled the decision to establish a Dorper seedstock venture.
“Pound for pound, we could see Dorpers had some of the best yield and meat quality available across any livestock,” he said.
“In our facility, Dorpers achieved some of the highest boning yields on record.
“For farmers, productivity in terms of land use has become so important and they are eager to create the most value out of their land. Dorpers excel in efficient production given they are so low maintenance due to being a self-shedding breed and have adaptability to thrive within a range of different environments.”
“Therefore, we see the demand for Dorpers only set to grow.”
Forging new family traditions
For five generations, the Hardwick name has been synonymous with the processing and meat wholesale sector.
James’ great grandfather and grandfather both worked in the red meat wholesale industry at Flemington abattoirs in Melbourne, focussing on the lamb market.
Carrying on the legacy, Gary Hardwick, the brothers’ father, forged his own wholesale meat business during his early 20s, after studying accountancy, and then later established Hardwicks Meats, alongside his wife Vikki, in 1973.
“When dad started Hardwicks Meats, he could see the writing on the wall the city abattoirs in Flemington probably wouldn’t last,” James said.
“From there, he moved to Kyneton and started a small processing facility and gradually grew the business.”
Luke and James later took over the family operation and further developed Hardwicks to eventually have around 700 employees on the books and capacity to process 38,000 sheep and lamb as well as 4000 head of cattle per week.
“The deal to sell to Kilcoy Global Foods was very much unexpected. It was a new opportunity, too good to pass up, and allowed us to focus on our own passions and interests, which include breeding Dorpers,” James said.
“It’s been an interesting change of pace, but already so rewarding as we have attracted some great clients and are building our reputation for top genetics.”
Flock foundations
Starting from the ground up, Deepdale Dorpers began their stud via sourcing select Burrawang Dorper genetics to develop their breeding program.
“As we are in the building phase, we have implemented a fairly significant Embryo Transfer program as we develop our flock,” he said.
Partnering with Ovatec, a sheep and goat breeding specialist, Deepdale has been able to compound their superior genetics to build volume within their registered flock.
“Our focus is to get to around 2000 head of breeding ewes, and we are not far off that, probably within the next year or two we will hit that target,” James said.
The stud has already hosted its first inaugural on-property sale at Carwarp in October, offering 124 rams which averaged $3001 and achieved a top price of $6800.
The result placed Deepdale Dorpers within The Land newspaper’s Australia’s top 10 terminal and maternal ram studs list.
“We were very happy with that to reach eighth position across all sheep stud sales in Australia within our first year exceeded our expectations,” he said.
This year, Deepdale Dorpers has plans to hit the show circuit to exhibit some of their best rams.
“This will be a baptism by fire for us, as we are new to the showring, but we know word of mouth, and proven results, are key in the seedstock industry to build a stud’s reputation,” he said.
The brothers hope to eventually build the business to encompass two annual sales, one in Victoria and the other at their Western Australian property.
Looking back, James described building the stud as a thoroughly rewarding journey thus far.
“It’s incredible to pair genetics at inception and then see the lambs hit the ground and align with the high-quality progeny you are aiming to produce. It’s also been enjoyable to build relationships with our clients and watch them go on to achieve great results with our rams,” he said.
