If there was ever a year to “step into good sheep,” this is it, says Grant Hausler of Janmac Studs.

“The team of rams you buy this year will hopefully take you into a good season and good prices, and what you purchase now is going to sire 150 lambs or more, that’s a pretty good investment,” he said.

The Goroke, Victoria stud has come through its second consecutive “very tight” rainfall year, but Janmac remains firmly focused on what lies ahead now conditions are beginning to turn.

“We are really positive about the future. The last two years have been what they have been but we look forward with real confidence that those who can do the lamb job well will be well rewarded,” he said.

“Lamb prices are as good as we’ve seen in recent memory and it won’t just be a one-year blip, it’s likely going out four or five years. The stock are getting better, the genetics are getting better, so when the season plays the game, it will be game on.”

And for those looking for a silver lining after the challenging seasonal conditions in southern Australia, Grant has that too.

“We are all learning something from these years, which is going to help us going forward. It’s not the conditions we’d choose, but there are certainly lessons in it,” he said.

Running a commercial lamb operation alongside the stud gives the Hauslers first-hand insight into how their genetics perform for clients. Even when lamb prices are high, or perhaps especially then, “rapid growth and high yield” remain essential.

Janmac’s Poll Dorset and White Suffolk sale rams were tested by tough seasonal conditions as lambs but Grant is pleased with how they will present in October.

“We are breeding animals that have the capacity to recover, whether that be our commercial lambs or our rams. Our commercial lambs were battling but have turned into really good prime lambs, a good indication that what we breed works.”

Last spring, the Hausler family achieved a stud record for a Poll Dorset at $13,000, averaging $1,549 for the 136 rams sold. They also sold 34 White Suffolk rams, averaging $1,260 and topping at $2,300.

This year, Janmac will host its 21st annual on-property ram sale on Wednesday, October 1, from 1pm, offering 200 Poll Dorset and White Suffolk stud and flock rams.

The catalogue will feature standout sons of Warburn 220470, a sire Janmac purchased in partnership with Mallee Park and Sunnybanks studs in 2023 for $16,000 with Australian Sheep Breeding Values in the top 20 per cent for all eye muscle and yield indicators.

“We are after predictable sheep. Bloodlines we’ve used in the past have worked for us, so we continue to do what we’ve always done, lines of even sheep that work. If you stick with what you know, you get predictability in the product.”

The Hausler family welcomes all visitors to Janmac, Edenhope Road, Goroke, on Wednesday, October 1, to see the 2025 team of rams for themselves.

For the latest news & sale updates, please visit www.janmac.com.au or Janmac Facebook & Instagram Page.

This article appeared in Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 10 September 2025.