The talk about sheep and wool was all positive at the Isisford show

She had brought six two-tooth rams out that she described as “tough buggers”, having been part of a drought feeding regime that included cottonseed, mung beans and what hay she could get hold of.

While her normal joining and shearing regime was right out of kilter, she said one thing she’d learnt from surviving the drought was to be unafraid of changing management to roll with the seasons.

“I shore my ewes prematurely in September but averaged $2190 a bale, for everything, even the hocks, so it turned out to be a good move.”

Karen said people were telling her they felt more secure now that exclusion fences were going up, because they weren’t going to be “chewed up and spat out”.

“I think we’ll see a massive turnaround in this industry in the next five years,” she said. “There’ll be more sheep for sure if it rains.”

Stonehenge woolgrowers, Mike and Sue Pratt, showed both the grand champion ewe of the flock ewe show, the grand champion pen, and the champion pair of fleeces, weighing six kilograms each.

Their flock is based on Wilgunya bloodlines.

Will and Marcelle Chandler at Oma showed the champion pen of locally-bred ewes and the champion two-tooth pen, while Narada at Tambo, owned by the Turnbull family, had the champion open pen.

In the wool section, Rod Shannon from Rodney Downs at Aramac, had the grand champion fleece, and Susan and Harry Glasson showed the reserve champion fleece.

Steward, Jan Taylor, said 95 fleeces had been shown, a similar number to last year.

Although David and Clare Paterson have gone out of Merinos on their Longreach property, preferring Dorpers, their Pemcaw bloodline team won them the main prize in the wether trial. Their champion Arrowfield team was valued at $203.04.

Close behind were Buckles and Anne Peacey from Laidlaw, Longreach, with a pen value of $197.31, just in front of Cindy Taylor, Boree Downs, Longreach, on $197.05.