Gulargambone’s Graham Peart has been closely involved with many of the developments in the wool industry since beginning his career as an agronomist at the research station at Trangie in 1965.

Mr Peart's research into rotational grazing of lucerne was just the beginning of work that would have impacts across the industry in changing practices and improving production.

His efforts were formally recognised on Australia Day when he was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for services to the industry.

“Our sheep are vastly better in wool production, they are considerably finer than they used to be, and they are much more efficient [breeders],” Mr Peart said, noting that these are all things aimed for in their research at Trangie.

“We used to think that 105 per cent lambing was a good return, whereas now they can rear 110 or 120 without much trouble.

“You still have to be a good manager to get those results, but they weren't even available from good managers back then.”

The development of dual purpose merino, bred for their meat and wool, is another way the industry has changed for the better.

“Two lots of income a year is hard to go past,” according to Mr Peart.

“The wool might fall off shedding sheep, but there are only very few times in the wool cycle where the price is so low you can let it fall off in the paddock and think that is an advantage.

"You're throwing away a lot of the income.”

Asked what he is most proud of in his long career - which included being a director and chair of the Australian Wool Corporation’s Wool Stockpile Selling Board during a very turbulent time in the Seventies and Eighties - Mr Peart cited the establishment and continuation of the Gulargambone Rural Association for Sheep Selection (GRASS) Stud, located at his property at Armatree near Gilgandra.

The co-operative ram breeding group was started by 10 farmers (including him) 50 years ago, and is continuing strong today.

“People have stayed on or passed on to the next generation but they are still members of the GRASS Merino Stud, and very supportive and faithful to the common aims of improving their sheep and the whole sheep industry,” he said. 

[IMAGE: GRASS Stud]

Mr Peart’s desire to help the whole of the industry also shone through when he was a director of Meat & Livestock Australia's Computer Aided Livestock Marketing (CALM) initiative.

“It was a great effort to improve the selling of livestock and wool. I tried to think outside the square and push for improvements that would help every wool grower in Australia, not just a particular stud group through inefficient brand name selling,” he said.

He is optimistic about the industry’s future, believing it has been a good time to get into the sheep industry for a while.

“Supply and demand control prices - supply has dropped dramatically and the quality of the product has improved dramatically,” he said.

“It is time to pay a bit more as you can see from the dramatic rise in the wool price over the last 3 or 4 months.”

Mr Peart, 83, has recently retired as business manager of the GRASS Stud and now lives at Valla Beach near Nambucca Heads, although his heart remains in Gulargambone.