What's the best job to give four kids when they can't get to school due to COVID-19?
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Make them chief bottle-feeders of 32 poddy lambs.
The Liddicoat family of Goolgowi have seen a baaa-by boom at Arcadia due to an increased twin and triplet lambing this year.
An unusual amount of ewes in one paddock seem to have been spooked, creating a mis-mothering dilemma.
"Last year we had 10 and that was a lot for us before," Beth Liddicoat said.
"We are happy with three or four...32 is a big job."
It is all systems go for the Liddicoat family who are enjoying a prosperous 2020 with increased sheep numbers and rainfalls beyond last year.
Damon and Beth Liddicoat, along with their four children, manage 12,000 acres of sheep, hay and dryland cropping land including the 8000 acre property Arcadia.
The operation includes a Merino flock with half self-replacing females joined to Merino rams and the other half joined to White Suffolks for the meat trade.
The company also has properties at Deniliquin and Victoria allowing for stock to be shifted around if needed.
At the moment the couple currently run 2300 sheep, having increased numbers in the last 12 months.
They were able to cut about 7000 acres of crop to hay last year allowing them to service paddocks early.
"We are normally around 1500 but we've been building to that 2000 mark," Mr Liddicoat said.
"We haven't been able to finish lambs here for the last two years but there is the opportunity to run them down there.
"So we just started to turn the lambs off as quick as we can and try to turn some off as suckers. If the season doesn't go our way we truck them down to Victoria."
Having received more than 120 millimetres for April alone, oats and wheat is currently in the ground with more to be sown at the time The Land spoke with them.
Shearing occurs in February with lambing in April/May.
Like many woolgrowers, dust was a problem this year and did impact yields.
"I don't think I've seen so much dust," he said.
"The shearers come from Booligal and they did comment on the dust.
"We are lambing at the moment and there are a lot of twins and triplets."
Ms Liddicoat has captured the feeding rituals and life on the land behind her Canon 5D camera. The school teacher by day enjoys the hobby.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
