About Woodpark Poll and Poll Merino Studs

Our Vision

Woodpark’s continuing emphasis is to maintain a medium wool flock producing sheep with excellent commercial characteristics.

We use traditional breeding principles and objectively measured characteristics to help maintain a sound breeding objective, to produce merinos with:

• Large frame, plain bodied sheep
• High yielding, low micron wool
• Strong fertility
• Outstanding wool and meat capacity

The sheep are run under natural conditions on the Riverina Plains, allowing our clients to select from sheep displaying strong constitutions and sound performance.

Breeding Aims

When two generations of the Huggins family established the Woodpark Merino and Poll Merino studs at Jerilderie in southern NSW, they pulled together years of breeding, a five generation family farming heritage and an attitude of striving to do the best job they possibly could with everything they touched. They had a huge interest in sheep breeding and a low-key attitude which preferred to allow their work — and the animals they bred — to speak for themselves.

Today, that commitment is evident with the:

• Above average sheep value
• Above average wool value
• Above average greasy wool weight
• Above average clean wool weight
• Above average staple length
• Above average staple strength
• Above average yield
• Above average body weight
• Above average estimated carcase weight

breeding a balanced Merino.

History

Founded in 1863, Woodpark was registered as Mulwala stud, stud number 62 by Alexander Sloane.

The stud was founded on Riverina bloodlines with Wanganella and Wanganella Estate bloodlines the major influences by the early 1900s.

In 1975 the Wood Park property and the then named Mulwala stud, were taken over by the Huggins family. The Huggins’ later renamed the stud Woodpark to reflect the property name and a new era began for Wood Park.

The continuing decline in incomes from Merino flocks provided stimulus for diversification into irrigation, cereal crops, Shorthorn cattle and the formation of a Poll Merino stud.

In the early 1980s the Huggins family started breeding Poll Merinos, with the stud registered in 1992.

In 1991 “Eurolie”, Hay, was purchased to provide additional grazing resources for the Woodpark Poll Merino stud and to provide pastoral grazing as cereal farming and irrigation were becoming a more regular part of the production mix at Wood Park.

In 2005 “Moonbria”, adjoining Wood Park, was purchased in a successful incorporation of the two properties.

Today, the Woodpark operation is still managed as a family operation, with Doug, Owen and Helen Huggins and Margaret Munro continuing their family‘s work; while Stephen and Carol Huggins are striving to replicate this commitment to excellence in breeding and a sense of the commercial realities of life.