In the lead-up to the International Sheep Veterinary Congress in Wollongong, a group of visiting veterinarians took part in a pre-conference tour of Rich Avon, hosted by Dr Peter Windsor. 

The congress, running from October 27 to 31, drew around 500 delegates from across the globe, with 30 of them taking the opportunity to visit the renowned Merino property of the Guthrie family.

The visitors represented a truly international mix, travelling from Canada, the United States, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, as well as a Spanish vet. 

Among them was a Canadian veterinarian who attracted particular interest for her dual enterprise – running a sheep dairy alongside an artificial insemination breeding centre. Her dairy specialises in milking Friesian sheep, while her breeding work incorporates Australian Merino genetics to strengthen her clients’ flocks back home, underscoring the global influence of Australian sheep breeding.

The tour coincided with the annual shearing at Rich Avon, where five shearers were hard at work on 3,000 Merino ewes. Visitors observed the process firsthand and examined the sire battery, which included both Merino and White Suffolk sires.

Midweek, the shearing team briefly downed tools and headed to Glendemar at Marnoo to witness history in the making. There, they joined others in supporting shearer Nikki Lyons as she achieved a world record, shearing 502 Merino ewe lambs in a nine-hour day – a remarkable feat that added a memorable highlight to the visiting vets’ Australian experience.