In the front row, were Elders Southern Clip award winners James and Rachel Manning with their sons Louis 19 months, Angus 5, and Arthur 7. In the back from, from left, were Elders Victorian wool sale manager Lachie Brown, Elders district wool manager Damien Whiteley, and Elders general manager, Victoria-Riverina, Brendan Rinaldi.

SEVERAL shearings in the past 12 months didn’t prevent the 2022/23 Elders Southern Clip of the Year award winners, the Manning family from Tasmania, from presenting a top clip for sale.

The Lemont Tasmania operation run by the Manning family, Michael and his son James and other members hasn about 13,000 Sierra Park blood Saxon Merinos – commercial ewes and wethers, and stud sheep — with a clip average of 17.5 microns running across about 10,000 acres with an annual rainfall of around 550mm.

James Manning said the wool came up nice and bright despite several prem shearings at around 60mm to align fleece growth across the age groups, to match the availability of shearers.

“I wanted a ewe shearing and a wether shearing, we were doing age shearings, but it was becoming hard to get shearers and it was hard to keep them there.”

The clip is certified with the Responsible Wool Standard and SustainaWOOL and James said he is hoping the Hillcreston blood will help the flock maintain its non-mulesed management.

He said winning the Elders award was great. The award was presented by Elders general manager for Victoria and the Riverina Brendan Rinaldi at Hamilton’s Sheepvention Rural Expo on Monday.

“It shows we are doing the right thing,” James said.

Some of the Manning’s Miena brand wool is sold under contract to the prestigious Italian mill Vitale Barberis Canonico and the rest is sold by auction.

James thanked the clip’s classer Nerolie and the operation’s fulltime worker Katelin Barker.

Elders wool quality assurance & marketing manager and auctioneer Samantha Wan said the Mannings presented a brilliantly on the showfloor with specs to make the Italians swoon and with clear concise paperwork from classer Nerolie Jenkins.

The fleece wool offering averaged 17.7 micron, with a 77 percent yield and tensile strength of 51 Newtons/kilotex.

She said their Miena farm has been held by the Manning family for about 70 years. The comprises 70pc native pastures and 30pc improved. Miena registered a Merino stud in 2022 after years of breeding their own rams. Blood lines used are Winton and Trefusis and more recently Sierra park and Hillcreston.