AT JUST 15 years of age, Jarred Alcorn, from Yass, in NSW, is no stranger to wheeling and dealing sheep.
His livestock career got a kick-start at the age of five when his grandfather gave him some Merino whether lambs.
Jarred now runs 350 registered White Suffolk ewes under the stud prefix of Jarrabay with dad Barry, selling 60 flock rams a year.
The Yass High School student was among the exhibitors at the three-day Holbrook Sheep and Wool Fair last week.
He exhibited a team of two rams and five ewes at the fair.
Billed as the biggest schools sheep event between Sydney and Melbourne, the fair drew 110 students aged 12 to 17 years.
They competed in junior meat sheep, fleece and Merino judging classes and sheep handling competitions.
Jarred said nobody would believe him two years ago when he shore his own sheep for the show.
"I'm not a fast shearer, but I do a neat job," he said.
Jarred enjoys competing in the open and objective measurement classes at southern Australian shows.
Earlier this year, Jarrabay exhibited the champion and reserve White Suffolk ewe at the Canberra Royal Show.
"I love looking at sheep and thinking what ram will go with that ewe," Jarred said.
"I've got a gift where I can look at a lamb in the paddock and tell its pedigree without using records."
Jarred enjoys breeding White Suffolks for their personality, quiet temperament and carcass traits.
But he prefers not to compete in junior judging competitions, often disagreeing with the judge.
"I look for structurally correct, alert animals with good muscle pattern and body shape," Jarred said.
"But some judges look for tall sheep with not much meat, or short ones, and overlook bad backs and legs."
