Young guns’ stud sheep breeding success against tide of industry exodus

Article courtesy of Farm Weekly (Tamara Hooper) 

With the $3100 top-priced ram at the Mollerin Rock on-property Dohne ram sale, Cadoux, in September 2025, were Elders auctioneer and WA stud stock manager Nathan King (left), who also classes Dohnes for top price buyers Colin, Gavin, and Ashton (right) Hagboom, WR Hagboom & Co, Dowerin and Mollerin Rock stud co-principal Mitchell Applegate. Picture by Kyah Peeti

For Mitchell Applegate, moving to the city for education solidified his love of the farming lifestyle – and was when he realised there was no better place to be than in rural WA.

He is the youngest of three boys and farms alongside his parents Anthony and Vickie and eldest brother Jayden, while middle brother Bradlee is a chartered accountant with firm Byfields.

Mitch Applegate, alongside Anthony, has been building a name for his family and himself through sheep breeding at Cadoux, an industry that has seen a fair share of turmoil in recent years.

“My pop passed away when I was young, but my dad told me he loved sheep and saw their importance in the farming system,” Mr Applegate said.

“My dad also loved sheep and had the same views.

“But when livestock prices and labour availability were tough and then having all three of us boys going away to boarding school, he made the reluctant decision to sell the sheep.”

It was purely a management decision for the time and there was always an option to return to running sheep again in the future.

Thankfully the family’s passion for sheep was not lost forever.

Now Mr Applegate and his family have a successful Dohne stud breeding enterprise that started with the purchase of one Dohne stud in 2019 and another in 2025.

He has recently become a council member of the Australian Dohne Breeders Association (ADBA).

“I really enjoy breeding sheep,” Mr Applegate said.

“The Dohnes are a dual-purpose breed.

“They produce a AAAM fleece and have great meat traits, as well as high fertility.

“This is why I really like the breed.

“Having a stud really keeps me busy.

“Running a commercial flock takes a lot of time and management, but for me, running a stud is full-time.”

Being able to put his own stamp on it is another factor that attracted Mr Applegate to sheep breeding.

The spark was lit when he was in high school and he has not looked back.

A switch from boarding school in Perth to the Western Australian College of Agriculture (WACoA) – Cunderdin honed his ideals further.

“I realised quickly that I was not enjoying being at school in Perth.

“I got the opportunity to attend Cunderdin Ag and enjoyed it from day one.”

It was not just enjoyable for being back in the country, but because he had a sense of want to pursue.

“I started by getting involved in shearing at Cunderdin,” Mr Applegate said.

“I found the livestock and animal management side was what I was more interested in.

“I enjoyed it more than the mechanics and engineering courses.”

This interest led to work with a Cadoux shearing team soon after graduation.

Mr Applegate was then required to work on the family farm which led to the family sheep business being rebuilt.

“I was home helping with harvest and flicking through the Farm Weekly when I saw Mollerin Rock Dohne stud advertised for sale,” he said.

“I asked dad if we could have a go at running some sheep.

“He was a bit surprised, especially since I wanted to run a stud, when he had been out of sheep for so long.

“But he did not hesitate to say yes.

“It went from there really.”

With the farm geared up for cropping, it was not an easy transition to prepare for sheep to return.

Luckily some of the infrastructure was still in place, making the transition smoother than expected.

Former Far Valley Dohne stud principal and owner David Kain (left), with a ram he sold in the 2023 Far Valley ram sale to Mollerin Rock Dohne stud principal Mitchell Applegate, who purchased the Far Valley stud from Mr Kain in April. With the pair is Elders WA stud stock manager and Dohne classer and assessor, Nathan King, who negotiated the sale. Picture by Kyah Peeti.

“We thought we would really have our work cut out for us getting everything ready for sheep,” Mr Applegate said.

“Mainly for us, it was getting water points back in place and running.

“In the end it was not as much work as we expected and we had left all perimeter fences in place.

“It was actually really good as we were able to redo the internal fencing to suit the way we wanted the sheep to be run.

“It worked out better for us in the end, especially with our controlled traffic farming and it actually improved our operation.”

After the purchase of Mollerin Rock Dohne stud from the Longmuir family, Koorda, last year, they made the decision to purchase David Kain’s Far Valley Dohne stud, Williams.

“We have adapted breeding to meet clients requirements,” Mr Applegate said.

“I like being able to see what we are capable of in terms of genetics.

“The positive feedback from clients really drives what we do and drives me to continue focusing on the genetic side.

“We achieve this through DNA testing, eye muscle scanning, fleece weighing and wool testing, visual classing, multiple body weights and other trait measurement.”

Holistically Mr Applegate said the focus on nutrition and how they can maintain the health of their farm in terms of soil for future crops and pastures for their livestock was a really important.

“We are working on pasture improvements,” he said.

“A big thing for us at the moment is multi-species pastures.

“This allows the sheep to choose what they eat at different times, it improves nutrition and also helps manage pastures for future feeding.”

Mr Applegate has had plenty of advice over the years.

“If you look after your sheep in the bad times, they will look after you in the good times,” he said of one life lesson.

“As a young fella I got told that if people are all trending one way, not to fully go the other, but to try to hedge your bets a little in the other direction.”

He loves the freedom and lifestyle that farming offers.

“Ag has so many unique parts,” Mr Applegate said.

“It allows you the freedom to express yourself undertaking the parts you enjoy the most and allows you to get away from the noise.”

Technology is constantly evolving and upgrading and being a stud breeder, he sees the benefits of electronic tagging.

Mr Applegate’s latest challenge is to master the ClipEx sheep handler they purchased a couple of years ago.

“When I have it sorted exactly right I can weigh and draft a 400-500 mob on my own in an hour,” he said.

“This is definitely a great help as we do a lot of sheep work in summer, when it is hot and harvest is under way.”