Posted by on
31/10/2023
From ‘paddock to Prada’, Victorian fine wool merino producer Mark Bunge can trace the wool shorn on his Coleraine farm through the entire supply chain, after which it’s literally off rubbing shoulders with some of the world’s most well-heeled – and suited.
With his Responsible Wool Standard accredited non-mulesed wool meeting global animal welfare standards, Mark has access to premium markets world-wide, with his product largely used for suiting in luxury fashion houses synonymous with quality such as Prada and Burberry.
Having ceased mulesing on his 14,000 strong flock five years ago, the price premiums Mark now enjoys ensures the move has paid its way, but of equal significance, it also provides consumers peace of mind that our Australian wool is produced responsibly and ethically.
Recently, Mark had the unique opportunity to see his processed wool first-hand at an Italian mill, the experience a culmination of a century of breeding for the Bunge family.
“I organised through our wool buyer for a tour of a mill in Northern Italy, which had purchased our wool, and it was incredible to be on the other side of the world holding the processed fibre that could be traced directly back to our farm.”
Mark believed the processor appreciated the visit, and the feedback was that our Australian wool was certainly some of the best in the world.
“It was an extremely worthwhile experience, and so rewarding to hear the Europeans’ passion for our industry. It really did validate all our on-farm efforts to increase welfare outcomes and leverage electronic identification technology, and as an Aussie wool grower, it was a very proud day.”
An early adopter of electronic identification (eID) he believed the technology was critical to his business, affording him the ability to track animals in the paddock, analyse their genetics, record their production data, and of course, trace their wool clip.
A century of genetic gain underpins a strong merino future
This year Mark, wife Jane and three children Sam, Lucy and Tom, all now young adults, celebrate the Bunge family’s 100 year milestone on their property “Kooringal”.
It’s a long and proud family bloodline he’s building upon, and his vision for the future of his merino enterprise is also based on strong and capable genetics.
“Genetics is a vital way to keep our business progressing and profitable, if you’re using the correct genetics you’ll always keep improving over the years, and genetic improvement is cost effective, culminative and easily validated.”
Mark is the chairman of The Balmoral Breeders, under the auspices of the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association.
The group of local producers aim to evaluate and promote leading sires suited to fine wool production in Western Victoria, ‘road testing’ merino genetics on-farm.
One of the most fascinating trials was conducted four years ago when the group tested 50-year-old semen.
Mark compared it to opening a genetics time capsule.
“The semen was being held at the University of Sydney and was the oldest frozen semen in storage in the world, so it was a fairly significant trial,” Mark explains.
“We found that despite the shelf-life, the semen worked just as well as if it were fresh, which was a really exciting development.”
When testing the four rams produced with 50-year-old genetics, the experiment did however reveal that the progeny were totally inferior compared to today’s merino ram.
"The visual difference in the progeny was obvious, so it was interesting to see that the measured results confirm the productivity differences between this group and other entrants, with current fleece measurements two to three micron lower, and current fleece weights one kilogram or so heavier.”
“Visual scores for fleece rot, wool colour, wool character, body wrinkle, breech wrinkle and breech cover indicate that there has been significant progress in these traits over the past 50 years when comparing the scores of current genetics to the average for the four sires from the 1960s.”
“It’s really solid and exciting validation as to how far we’ve come thanks to genetics, and continuing to breed for genetic gain is something I’m really quite passionate about.”
Assessing for on-farm carbon opportunities
Carbon is also a topic currently piquing Mark’s interest, and having recently attended a Rabobank Carbon Training Workshop he’s now got a carbon baseline figure to work from.
“The workshop was really interesting, and I really didn’t have a lot of knowledge beforehand, I certainly didn’t know our farm’s carbon footprint – and although it’s a bit of a scary prospect, I was able to work out our baseline number at the workshop.”
Having ‘dabbled’ in Wagyu cattle for the past 15 years, in more recent years he has taken advantage of his property’s rich natural capital – namely a 700ml/year rainfall average – to background Wagyu for the feedlot market.
“We’re in a fairly safe region here and enjoy a long growing season, so we can put weight on cattle cheaply and efficiently, and it’s an enterprise we can neatly run in conjunction with our self-replacing fine wool merinos.”
While he’s already started planting additional trees on his property, he acknowledges that the methane abatement of his livestock will be his greatest challenge in lowering his on-farm emissions.
“We will be looking to become more efficient with our cattle production, potentially through rotational grazing and managing our soil carbon better, and maybe introducing feed additives, but there is a lot to consider, including whether it’s financially viable.”
“We can fence off a bit more land to grow more trees, but at the moment we’re just starting to play with a few ideas around the edge that will form part of the solution.”
Mark applauded Rabobank for taking the initiative to provide farmers with their ‘first steps’ towards a reduced carbon operation.
“The day will come when there are rules we’ll all have to abide by no doubt, and it’s good to see the bank is acknowledging this and being proactive helping clients be prepared for whatever is yet to come and encouraging more sustainable outcomes.”
Contributing to community through the Rabo Client Council
While proudly taking this farming family legacy forward, Mark is also helping ensure our regional communities can enjoy a similarly strong future thanks to the Rabo Client Council.
Mark has been on the Southern Victoria and Tasmania Rabo Client Council for the past 12 months, and said it provided a valuable opportunity to get a unique insight into Rabobank, but most importantly, to contribute back to our local rural and regional communities.
“To be honest I didn’t know much about the Rabo Client Council, nor the extent of Rabobank’s support of the community, and it’s been a really rewarding way to help distribute money to some great causes that will strengthen our communities and industry.”
In October the Rabo Client Council hosted Mary O’Brien’s ‘Are You Bogged Mate?’ men’s mental health workshop in Hamilton, and Mark said it was so important for the local community to have access to this opportunity without having to leave their region.
“Whether it’s creating mental health awareness or building farm-specific financial skills through Rabobank’s Financial Skills Workshops, these are vital skills and it’s so refreshing to see the Rabo Client Council recognises this and is supporting our communities in ways people just don’t realise.”
“It really highlights that it’s a bank not just here to provide finance, but that is committed to its clients well beyond the farm gate.”
And while Rabobank benefits from clients such as Mark suggesting where community funds should best be spent, he said the personal satisfaction gained was just as significant.
“It’s really rewarding to be helping contribute in a genuine and meaningful way, and going to the Rabo Client Council meetings is always a great experience,” he explains. “The Rabo Client Council is full of like-minded and progressive farmers, and I think we all get something out of just chatting with each other and hearing how others are succeeding in their businesses.”
It’s a relationship that was at the heart of a recent business expansion, with Mark just last month purchasing a neighbour’s property.
“We’re a business that is growing and taking on debt, and Rabobank understands that. Our manager Jemma McDougall comes out and visits us on farm, she’s engaged in what we’re doing and she knows the business, our production systems and our goals, and it’s very reassuring.”
With 27-year-old son Sam working on a farm in regional Victoria, Mark said the time had almost come for him to transition back to the farm.
“He’s still having plenty of fun, and I have a few more years left in me yet, and although it’s not a great time for the wool industry at the moment, that’s the nature of agriculture, we’ve had a magnificent run over the past couple of years and can’t expect that to continue.”
“The future though is exciting, we have genetics, innovation and technology on our side – not to mention a premium fibre that is versatile, sustainable and 100 percent natural.”