Woomargama Station

14/03/2026

19/01/2026

2026 is the International Year of the Female Farmer. Woomargama Station is fortunate to be working with talented young women who support us as wool growers. I am proud to stand here with Millie and Tamara from AWN on the left of the photo, and Emma and Abby from ZQ on the right. These young women are helping to guide Woomargama Station on the journey of continual improvement re animal husbandry, sustainability, and the marketing of our wool. Without a doubt, I know agriculture to be a great career for young women, and especially working with such a beautiful fibre as wool. Wool: the perfect solution to the fast fashion crisis.

08/01/2026

The importance of summer shade and shelter cannot be underestimated. On these hot days of 40 degrees, to have stock be able to take lie low in the shade reduces their stress enormously. The other critical element is clean water; we check the troughs daily to ensure all is well. Dirty dam water means that stock drink and eat less, and lose condition. At Woomargama Station, we have around 20% tree cover. You can’t control your climate, but you can manage your micro climate. Early morning dew on those clear, cool nights feeds a little moisture into the soils before a hot day. Rotationally grazing stock, and keeping ground cover with no bare soil, keeps the moisture in and stops soil from compacting. And, of course, the transpiration of water vapour from the leaves of trees is critical to the water cycle. Good animal husbandry and good environmental stewardship go hand in hand.

16/11/2025

We are delighted to be featured in The Great Properties of the Riverina and Upper Murray by Richard Allen and Kimbal Baker. The book tells the story of the historic properties in the region, and their relationship with the landscape upon which they operate, and the cattle and sheep which they raise. These were once the great stories of Australia, but with the urbanization of our country, we lose some of our history to a digital world which is not tied to our red earth. Once were the days when Australia “rode on the sheep’s back” and the merino ram featured on the shilling coin. This book is a call to remember our stories and the provenance of all we buy, not only in regard to its effect on our earth, but also the people who are the growers and the makers. They are the heroes of the tale not the marketers.

27/08/2025

WOOMARGAMA STATION MADE THE 200 km TRIP TO CONARGO (population 117 ) to look at RAMS and found the BIG CAT, TOM HAWKINS (what a bonus!). We had a good chat re rams, the season, and the Geelong Football Club. It was a terrific show with 22 breeders and all the wool broking bug guns in attendance. No time to have an ale at the famous Conargo Pub, but we stopped in Jerilderie for a custard start at the bakery (delicious!). A good day at “the office!”

24/06/2025

THE FUTURE FABRICS EXPO, A HIGH TENSILE MIX OF INNOVATION AND HOPE. It was wonderful to attend the Future Fabrics Expo in London and see how the fashion industry is cleaning itself up. LVMH, which includes brands such as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo and Stella McCartney, currently has one million acres under regenerative agriculture - mostly cotton in Tanzania and Pakistan. It plans to have 50 million acres under regenerative agriculture by 2030. We heard how designers are innovating to use recycled and “dead” fabrics (dead fabrics are fabrics bought by fashion houses but which are never made into garments). There was also Tencel which is made from wood pulp, primarily from eucalyptus trees! And in the photo above, one company is going back to nature plant-based dyes to make these most beautiful of colours. Whole supply chain traceability is what companies are looking for and, more particularly, the data behind this to verify all the production processes. It is great to see Woolmark leading the way in this space on behalf of Australian wool growers.

07/06/2025

NOW IT’S COLD AND WET AND THE CATTLE ARE LOOKING AT ME DOLEFULLY WAITING TO BE FED. The farmer is never happy: we have had 25 mls of rain which is great, with more on the way, but we worried last night about the rain and the sheep weather alert. It was 6 degrees but felt like 2 (according to the BOM) due to the gusts of wind. All was well but they need feed to keep them warm. Charlie will feed hay and straw out to the stock this morning to fill their bellies and keep them warm. Winter is here with a bang!

05/06/2025

DROUGHT-PROOFING AS BEST WE CAN. Up and down the Hume Highway, big VW trucks are carting hay to farmers in the Riverina, Victoria and South Australia. This load arrived today; thank heavens it made it across the bridge. We have a tinge of green from the last lot of rain, and are expecting some more on the weekend. Regardless, we are getting those droughty frosts which slow the growth down, and which mean that the stock need extra feed. We are have moved our young sheep to more protected paddocks in preparation for cold and rain, and they have had extra rations. Now we await the rain! Regardless, it looks like a long Winter of feeding.

18/05/2025

GREAT TO SPEND A GENTLE MORNING WITH THE BORDERS in the Covenant and some of the 30 year old plantations. We spotted some wonderful birds, including some rare species such as the yellow robin. There was a view that a couple of birders had spotted the swift parrot, but this was a possible sighting and not listed. There are between 500 - 1000 swift parrots left in Australia; they are critically endangered due to logging in old growth forests in Tasmania where they spend summer migrating from NSW and Victoria. They need the old trees to nest in the hollows. We are currently fencing off two dams, and will receive funding to plant around these dams from Greening Australia, to attract the swift parrot. Dirty dams emit as much methane/carbon equivalent as a fleet of cars! (Who knew?!). Clean dams are carbon sinks. Our dams, and our lake, are covered in ducks at the moment; we have water where other watercourses have dried out, the water birds seem to love the sheep nuts we feeding out during the drought, and the ducks are migrating across the border from Victoria where duck shooting is still allowed. (The Victorian government is appealing to its base in all meanings of the world). Over morning tea after the bird counts, we all discussed the healing power of nature and how good it is for our mental health.

10/02/2025

RED SKY AT NIGHT; SHEPHERD’S DELIGHT. (Even though this cloud was shining pink in the east at sunset). Still nothing surprises me with the weather any more. We have watched the thunderstorms circle around us for weeks, but this weekend they dropped 37 mls. A godsend to the parched soil. I was so taken by the pinks in the gum, and the sky, that I forgot there was a bull ants nest under the tree. (This sent me on a merry dance)! Regardless of the rain, we are lightening off our numbers. The Bureau of Meteorology tells us La Niña conditions are more likely to occur this Autumn, but we stick to our own methods here. Michael foretold this rain as the bore level rose, and the new shoots on the gums in the hot and dry told me rain was on the way. We push on with our bush skills and “feel it in our waters” that it is going to be drier than predicted this Autumn.

10/01/2025

IS IT ONLY ME? I DO LOVE A CEMETERY. On the gravestones, we can read snippets of a life gone by and, perhaps, a time as well. Today, I walked around the Woomargama village cemetery to commune with the relatives of old village names and the ones who no longer live here . The Podmans who lost two sons in the First World War, whose names are commemorated in the village church. And then the long list of Po***cks; I loved seeing the photo of Ron Po***ck on his gravestone dancing with his dry-as-a-bone on, and eyes to the heavens, when the drought broke in 1983. This was the day that Princess Diana arrived in town; we always said she broke the drought. And then Dot Harris, who had the cottage just near the pub. Princess Diana complemented Mrs Harris on her gnome collection when she got out of the car and met the locals on the way to church in Holbrook. And old Bill Gaffney who always worried who would keep the rabbits out of the graves once he was gone. They don’t make people like this any more. They had a pioneering spirit which is found less now in Australia as we become a more urbanised society. They are missed.