The Barnet family has farmed Miramoona South near Walcha in the New England region for about a century. The 789-hectare property’s gently undulating country sets it apart from much of the steeper district and has supported a long-running Merino enterprise.
Thirty years of management change
The story describes roughly three decades of regenerative agriculture rather than a recent conversion. Long-term ownership gives the family an unusual view of how pasture, soil and livestock respond across wet years, droughts and market cycles. That timescale matters because changes in ground cover, soil structure and flock genetics cannot be judged from one season.
Miramoona’s breeding program focuses on soft-handling, fine wool, reproductive performance, natural resistance to worms and a plain-bodied, long-stapled sheep. The stud ceased mulesing in 2007 and shears three times in two years. Quality-assurance schemes help connect the wool with European and Chinese markets that increasingly ask for traceability and animal-welfare information.
The property and the enterprise evolve together
A resilient livestock business matches genetics, pasture and management to the landscape. Animals that suit the environment reduce pressure to solve every problem with an input, while careful grazing can preserve ground cover and recovery. Market specifications then influence which traits create value.
The Miramoona example is distinctive to New England and should not be copied as a fixed recipe. Its value lies in showing how patient observation, breeding and land management can reinforce one another over decades.
For other producers, the transferable questions are clear: which animals perform with fewer interventions, which grazing decisions protect future forage, and which records show whether the land and the business are improving together?
Read the original Queensland Country Life feature, Very gentle New England.