The SheepMaster Story

The SheepMaster is the product of decades of focused innovation by Neil Garnett, one of Australia’s most respected sheep breeders.

Neil began his journey at Glenroy, his family’s Merino stud in Western Australia. A bold thinker, he later purchased the iconic Collinsville stud in South Australia at just 34 years old — where he made history by selling a ram for $450,000, a world record that still stands.

But Neil saw a bigger challenge: to develop a meat sheep that would thrive under Australian commercial conditions — with low labour, strong carcass traits, and high fertility.

He began to work on a new breed that would:

• Shed its coat naturally — no shearing, no tailing, no mulesing

• Good bones and structurally correct

• Offer excellent carcass yield and muscle expression

• Resist parasites and perform in tough environments

• Produce more lambs, more efficiently

• Excellent mothering ability, fertility and small, sound udders

Drawing from Damara, Van Rooy, Dorper, East Fresian, Finn, Ultrawhite, White Suffolk and Kojak genetics, he selectively bred over multiple generations to produce a sheep that combined ease of care with high-end performance — both in the paddock and on the plate.

That sheep is the SheepMaster.

Today, SheepMaster is a rising force in the lamb industry, offering producers an efficient, ethical, and profitable alternative. Neil Garnett continues to play an active role, supporting the growing community of breeders in Australia and New Zealand.

In 1989, Neil was awarded the Advance Australia Award by the Federal Government for his services to agricultural innovation — a fitting recognition for a career still shaping the future of meat sheep.