Great Lamb Starts With Honest Provenance
At Jarabin, we believe in being completely transparent about where your food comes from. Our lamb is produced in partnership with Dean Bourlet of Kambah Poll Merino Stud — a fellow NSW Southern Tablelands farmer whose breeding philosophy, animal welfare standards, and commitment to pasture-raised production align exactly with our own.
We don't raise our own lamb — and we're proud to say so. Instead, we've partnered with the best. Dean's Kambah Polled Merino genetics are among the highest-indexing in Australia, selected specifically for growth rate, eating quality, and temperament. His animals graze on the same style of open pastures that border the Murrumbidgee River — no feedlots, no grain finishing, no shortcuts.
When you buy Jarabin lamb, you know exactly which stud bred it, which farmer raised it, and how it lived. That level of traceability is almost unheard of in Australian lamb retail.
Our Lamb Partner
Dean Bourlet - Kambah Poll Merino Stud
Dean has been passionate about Merinos and the land his entire life — shearer, farmer, livestock marketer, and now stud owner. Based near Jugiong in the NSW Southern Tablelands, Dean and his partner Mandy took over Kambah Poll Merino Stud in 2022, building on a legacy of high-indexing, mules-free genetics that has been refined since 2000. His rams are fine-micron, high-performing, and selected with the same obsessive attention to detail that we apply to our Black Angus breeding programme.
BREED
Kambah Polled Merino
A high-indexing, mules-free Merino bred for low micron wool, high fleece weight, and strong growth rates — traits that translate directly into exceptional eating quality lamb.
WELFARE
Mules-Free & Low Stress
Kambah rams are bred mules-free as a point of principle. Combined with low-stress handling and open paddock grazing, animal welfare is never compromised for convenience.
NUTRITION
Grass Fed & Finished
No grain. No feedlot. Raised on open pastures in the NSW Southern Tablelands — the same clean, diverse grazing country that produces Jarabin's award-quality beef.
PROVENANCE
Named Farm, Named Farmer
You know Dean's name, his property, his website. This is real paddock-to-plate transparency — not a marketing claim, but a traceable relationship between farmer and table.
What Makes This Breed Special for the Table
The Merino is famous for wool — but Kambah's Polled Merino, with its high growth rates and balanced carcase traits, produces lamb with a flavour profile and tenderness that genuinely surprises people expecting a generic supermarket result. Here's why:
Superior Carcass Traits
Kambah's genetic selection prioritises high growth rates and balanced carcass composition — meaning more of the animal translates directly into quality eating cuts with excellent meat-to-bone ratio.
Pasture-Developed Flavour
Grass-finishing on diverse Southern Tablelands pastures allows the lamb to develop a clean, nuanced flavour — none of the feedlot grain notes that mask what good lamb actually tastes like.
Fine Muscle Texture
The Merino's naturally fine muscle fibre structure produces lamb with a delicate, tender texture that holds up beautifully to both slow cooking and quick-sear methods.
High-Indexing Genetics
Dean uses rigorous data collection and genetic indexing — Kambah rams consistently sit at the top end of national performance figures. That discipline in the stud flows through to every lamb on the plate.
✓ Never grain-finished ✓ No added hormones (HGPs) ✓ No routine antibiotics. ✓ Mules-Free Breed ✓ Named Farm & Farmer. ✓ Australian Born & Raised
Frequently Asked Questions
Honest answers about our lamb, our partnership, and how it all works.
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No — and we think it's important to be upfront about that. Our lamb is produced in partnership with Dean Bourlet of Kambah Poll Merino Stud near Jugiong, NSW. Dean's operation meets exactly the same standards as our own cattle programme — 100% grass-fed and finished, no hormones, no routine antibiotics. We're proud to partner with a specialist rather than cut corners doing everything ourselves.
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We sell Kambah Polled Merino lamb — a high-indexing, mules-free Merino breed developed by Dean's stud near Jugiong in the NSW Southern Tablelands. The breed is selected for fine micron wool, high growth rates, and balanced carcass traits that translate directly into exceptional eating quality.
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Yes. Dean's animals are raised entirely on pasture — no grain finishing, no feedlot. The Southern Tablelands country near Jugiong supports the same style of open pasture grazing that we use for our Jarabin Black Angus cattle at Bookham.
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Mulesing is a surgical procedure historically used on Merino sheep to prevent flystrike. Kambah Poll Merinos are bred with low wrinkle and clean skin traits that eliminate the need for mulesing entirely — a welfare outcome that Dean has made a non-negotiable part of his breeding programme.
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Our lamb is available online via our Shop Lamb page, at the Canberra Southside Farmers Market, and at Sydney's Ramsgate Farmers Market. Home delivery is available across Australia via cold-chain courier.
