There’s nowhere to hide from the summer heat on the Hay Plains - and no one knows that better than Tom Hooke, a fifth-generation farmer who spends most of the month in the sheep yards.
“It can be very unforgiving out here,” he admits. “Leading up to Christmas it's crazy busy - drafting, selecting, classing, picking out our rams and putting them to the ewes. Then we get to celebrate.”
“Their favourite thing is collecting old broken ear tags and playing under what they call the magic tree,” Tom says of an ageing pepperina tree bearing pink berries that look like Christmas baubles. “The more they come with us, the more they understand what we're doing and want to be involved.”
The Hooke’s East Loddon stud is focused on staying two steps ahead - breeding SRS merinos that produce high-quality wool but don’t require mulesing. “We're very big on innovating practices,” Tom says. “We love looking back in this industry, but the future is what we're gunning for.”
By the time the rams are out, Christmas carols are blaring and decorations are up at Warwillah’s homestead and the sign out the front has been wearing a giant Santa hat for weeks. “I mean, I love Christmas,” Sarah says with more than a hint of glee. “It’s my favourite time of year.”
She didn’t grow up on the land, but she’s learned that farming life never really clocks off — you live where you work, and it keeps rolling on. Which makes the Christmas break that much more special.
“The kids are always asking, ‘Is Dad having a home day today?’ So Christmas is like a whole run of home days where we can all relax together,” she says.
Whether it’s lazy lunches or swims in the pool to beat the heat, that togetherness is what matters most. “Being with family at Christmas is so important to me,” Sarah says. “It wouldn’t feel like Christmas if we didn’t get together. To have that time where things really do stop and we take a proper break — it’s really special.”
