A PASSION for wool is driving the stud breeding dreams of Washpool's Sophie Reynolds.
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Hailing from a farm in the state's Mid North, Sophie founded Wittalo Poll Merinos in 2019.
The go-getting 22-year-old is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Animal Science degree, and also runs her own sheep pregnancy scanning business.
Her love of agriculture, particularly livestock, stems from her upbringing where she helped out on the farm, worked in shearing sheds and worked for other Poll Merino studs including Flairdale and Baderloo.
She has also clerked ram sales for Quality Wool, saying her industry experience inspired her to start her own stud.
"A lot of the stud work I really enjoyed," Sophie said.
"I'm very interested in genetics and reproduction so it's a project for my own interest.
"I've always liked the wool side of things too. Growing up, I did all the wool judging competitions and it's always been an interest of mine."
The industry experience and her study, in which she is majoring in livestock production and minoring in genetics, has given her a solid platform of knowledge to dive into stud breeding.
"I also do sheep pregnancy scanning," she said.
"I did my course late last year and have had a fair bit of work already, I think a lot of people are doing it now compared to a few years ago."
The Wittalo stud fluctuates between 50 to 75 breeding ewes.
Sophie said she had had plenty of help from her family while studying in NSW the past three years.
"For the past few years I'd go through the numbers, send my plans back and they'd organise shearing, get rid of the ewes we didn't want and take rams out when they needed to come out, and all of those type of jobs," she said.
"The first ewes we got were Flairdale ewes and we bought a ram from Ridgway Advance.
"This year we AI'd a ram from Ejanding (Dowerin, WA), buying the semen from a stud in Vic who had bought the ram.
"We also have some Baderloo bloodline because that's what our own (commercial) sheep were on for a long time."
Wittalo's breeding aims include getting the stud flock's fleece micron down to 18, while still maintaining a heavy-cutting wool.
Sophie also has an emphasis on good structure, plain bodies with little wrinkle and hopes to eventually be a non-mulesed flock.
While she has plenty to juggle between study and the scanning business, Sophie future goals include growing the stud flock, pushing the breeding objectives and selling rams.
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