welcome to leahcim
Leahcim is our family’s farm, stud or bloodstock name that has been used for many years. We pronounce it as Leah- cim and it is simply Michael backwards. Alex Michael had a race horse that was extremely successful back in 1950 winning the Port Adelaide cup and many other group one races and was really the start of the Leahcim name. The Michael family first purchased land and farmed at Snowtown in 1873 on the foothills of the Barunga Ranges which was part of Hummocks Station. For the last 45 years we have focused on breeding sheep both merinos and terminal or meat producing sheep. Sheep and wool production now makes up 80% of the income derived at Leahcim whereas 20 years age it would have been 20% of our income. With succession planning and changeover we now run a large percentage of the business under Leahcim Farming which is Luke, Stewart and Alistair’s and families trading partnership. Over the last 20 years since changing our business structure we have been able to increase and diversify our land holding from our original farm which was 250ha three Kilometers south of Snowtown. Within the last 20 years we have purchased Nolan’s a pastoral property 50 kilometers east of Burra, Panlatinga at Willalooka in the south east, Bankowner the property adjacent to Leahcim and in December 2016 we purchased Hummocks Station. All of these properties play a different role within the Business.
POLL MERINO RAM SALE
Tuesday 10th September 2024
WHITE SUFFOLK RAM SALE
Friday 13th September 2024
Nolan’s is a pastoral property that has an average rainfall of approximately 220mm with a stocking rate of one sheep to 3.2 ha. It has natural herbage which include blue bush, native grasses, bindi and clovers with a light balance of native trees for shelter. Nolan’s is cartwheel fenced and watered by a bore (6000ppm) in the Centre of the property and with at least two surface dam available in each paddock. Nolan’s is our flexible grazing property used for many different groups of Leahcim genetics when the seasons permit, it can be highly productive.
Panlatinga has an average rainfall of approximately 500mm with a stocking rate history of 9 DSE for over 20 years. The main pastures include clovers, sown grasses, Kikuyu and winter grazing cereals with blue gums and fenced tree lines for shelter belts and shade. Panlatinga is watered from underground water through pumps and wind mills. Panlatinga is our breeding farm where nearly all ewes our lambed down in July and October.
Snowtown farms rainfall varies from 450mm in the hills to 350mm on our plains country. The soil type has a huge variation along with the vegetation and trees that varies from beautiful creek gums to blue bush and salt bush. The cropping programs and pastures at Leahcim work hand in hand with no till, no burning and minimal chemical being implemented for more than 30 years. Leahcim at Snowtown is used to graze the young sheep while we do our extensive measurements and then prepare those sheep for sale or being retained in the stud.
Leahcim has added Hummocks Station to its business for a number of reasons but one of the main ones is to restore it to its former glory and make it a centerpiece to show off our area and the history of sheep on the Station from 1851 to today. Our home farm at Leahcim was originally part of Hummocks Station where most of the animals were watered and grazed during the shearing of up to 34500 sheep in the 1800’s. Today it’s the home of one of the world’s most advance sheep breeding flocks.