SPENDING weekends in Melbourne has been profitable for one Riverina couple, writes KIM WOODS

A drought strategy to finish lambs has turned into a successful value-added brand for farmers Andrew and Nichole Varley.

The couple, from Finley in southern NSW, can be found most weekends at suburban farmers markets in Melbourne selling their Killara Rise-branded lamb.

The second-cross lambs are pasture and grain-finished to 22-32kg carcass weight and sold direct to the consumer as primal and value-added cuts.

Aside from the lambs, Andrew and Nichole juggle a 999-head cattle feedlot, a stud Simmental herd and cropping work on their 729ha farm.

Nichole, a mother to four young children, also works part-time as a livestock market reporter at Shepparton and Finley.

Three years ago, the couple were left with first-cross lambs which had failed to finish.

They were forced to think outside the square to get the best possible price for their sheep.

The Varleys formed an alliance with the Yarra Valley grass-fed beef brand, Little Creek Cattle Company.

Little Creek Cattle specialised in selling value-added beef cuts into the booming Melbourne farmers markets.

In early 2008, Andrew and Nichole took their first Killara Rise-branded product to a farmers market at Nunawading.

"We cut up six bodies - it was exciting," Nichole said.

"The highlight was dealing with the customers - there was an unmet demand for good-quality lamb product.

"We used the logo 'my gate to your plate'.

"People wanted to know about us and our kids and farm and we virtually became ambassadors for lamb and agriculture."

Pretty soon, the Varleys were selling at five markets each weekend across Melbourne.

But back home, the ewe flock supplying the lambs had undergone a dramatic change.

Andrew and Nichole had culled their Merino ewe flock in the worst of the drought, retaining 500 crossbred ewes in stock-containment areas.

"The Merinos had reached the top end of their life cyle and mutton prices were good, so we destocked in 2007," Nichole said.

"The crossbred ewes were able to handle the conditions and were joined to Poll Dorset rams."

Ewes are usually supplemented in the feedlot before joining to relieve grazing pressure on pastures.

"We used to traditionally join in October, but the drought forced us to move to November," Andrew said.

Ewes are pregnancy-scanned and separated into wet or dry mobs.

First and second-cross lambs were initially run to give a cross-section of maturity patterns.

But the saleable meat yield of the second-cross lamb convinced the Varleys to further refine their product.

Grain is trail-fed to lactating ewes to boost the lambs before weaning at 12 weeks of age.

Weaners are then shifted on to either stubbles, lucerne or grazing wheats.

They are then supplemented with grain to a carcass weight range of 22-32kg and have a maximum 24 to 36-hour wait in pens before slaughter.

The carcasses are aged up to 10 days in the chiller before being boned out at Coldstream.

"We want the pH of the meat to be right so it is tender, moist and full of flavour," Nichole said.

Andrew said Meat and Livestock Australia's marketing campaign had markedly increased lamb demand.

"Sam Kekovich and Tom Cruise have done wonders for lamb," he said.

"Twelve months of the year, consumers are asking for spring lamb.

"Our lambs are not lot-fed or organic, they are grain-finished and we don't use antibiotics or growth hormones.

"Often, we will have people queueing for our lamb as early as 7.30am."