The Kentish Downs Poll Dorset stud (F336) was founded in 1960 at Yankalilla, South Australia by the late Ernest Wirth (Rob’s grandfather) and Jim Martin (Rob’s Father). Jim Martin became the mover and shaker in the Poll Dorset world ensuring that Kentish Downs became the sole supplier of flock rams to many of South Australia’s specialist prime lamb producers.

The Poll Dorset breed was selected for use in our stud for two reasons.

• Poll Dorset Rams command 75% of the terminal sire market and is a clear market preference.

• Poll Dorsets are currently the clear leaders with commercial performance attributes on Lambplan.

Kentish Downs was one of the first studs to adapt terminal sire performance recording for growth and leanness with the S.A. Department of Agriculture back in 1971. This program continued until it was superseded by the development of Lambplan. Kentish Downs has been a ‘Gold’ status member of Lambplan since its inception and has many rams in the Lambplan Across Flock Elite Ram List.

Kentish Downs was a founding member of a small committee that created the Meat Elite Nucleus Flock at Walcha in N.S.W. This project used a medical CAT scanner at the U.N.E. to evaluate the total carcass of six-month-old live lambs for muscle fat and bone.

The stud gained valuable feedback information by entering sires in Sire Evaluation Trials in three states, and also conducted progeny test trials with its flock ram clients in conjunction with Elders IGM known as ‘Kentish Downs Prime’.

Kentish Downs has been very successful in the show ring where structure and breed type is paramount and has won many champion ribbons at Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Albury shows while at the same time providing the commercial lamb industry with high performance flock rams.

Kentish Downs Poll Dorset Stud is a leader in supplying high performance genetics worldwide. Over 1000 stud rams have been sold in Australia and overseas. Semen from our top sires has also been exported to many studs in the UK, Canada and New Zealand not to mention the domestic semen sales within the sheep breeders of Australia.

In February 2000 Rob & Jody Martin of Kentish Downs Poll Dorset Stud relocated to ‘North Billabong’ a 1740 acre Holbrook NSW property. The new mixed farming enterprise consistently supports 500 breeding ewes and their progeny, 2000 commercial ewes and their progeny and 300 acres of winter crops to utilize early feed while lambing to help maximize growth of stud stock. Although Jim Martin remained in South Australia he still visits many of Kentish Downs prime lamb customers to see the product that has been produced and chew the fat…