The reigns of the stud have recently been handed over to the next generation. Tom and Marcus Hooke are progressing the stud and commercial business with the guidance of the stud founders Bill and Diane Hooke.
East Loddon Merino Stud is operated alongside 15,000 commercial breeding ewes on 90,000 acres of open pastoral country. The business is spread across four properties within the Wanganella/Booroorban area.
Marcus lives at “Nyangay”, Booroorban with his wife Cass and young son Jack. Before returning to the family business he studied at La Trobe University Melbourne where he completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science. Before his studies commenced he jackerooed on northern cattle properties, gaining exposure to large-scale pastoral agriculture.
He has also spent a considerable amount of time learning from Dr. Jim Watts while classing stud and commercial sheep throughout NSW and Qld.
Since returning home, new knowledge has been sought through opportunities including Life Time Ewe Management, benchmarking groups and other industry leading programs. This has enabled Marcus to progress the business.
Contact Marcus | 0437 172 754
Tom and his wife Sarah live at “Warwillah”, Wanganella. Tom completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science/Bachelor of Business at Latrobe University Melbourne. After his studies he gained on farm experience in both Canada and New Zealand before securing a job with Meat & Livestock Australia in the Sheep Genetics office.
Tom’s role at Sheep Genetics largely involved the use of ASBVs (Australian Sheep Breeding Values). From educating commercial producers on application of the tool, to advising stud breeders on the technical points of generating useful information.
Time spent working alongside and interacting with some of the country’s top sheep geneticists, breeders and producers has helped Tom to build a wealth of knowledge and a fantastic network of forward thinking individuals.
Contact Tom | 0409 399 191
Still heavily involved in the family business Bill and Diane are supporting the drive and enthusiasm of the next generation. They reside on the property “Elmsleigh” at Booroorban. They bring a lifetime of experience from running stud and commercial sheep in different environments across Australia.
Bill studied Agricultural Science at Dookie College and worked for leading merino studs before returning home. They first started farming at “East Loddon” Serpentine, Victoria. This is where the foundations of the stud were laid. Sheep where also run at “Lara” north of Hay before the purchase of “Warwillah” in 2002. They moved the stud sheep in 2010 and shortly after the property “East Loddon” was sold.
Bill and Diane still continue to build knowledge adding to their experience, this is invaluable to the growth of the business.
Contact Bill & Diane | 0427 378 380
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