“They are a little bit hardier, and they suited our climate and property which is semi-arid. One of the other benefits we discovered is that they wouldn’t need mulesing, ” he said. When the Dohnes were first introduced to the property, there were two joinings a year for both autumn and spring lambings. Today, however, the Dohnes just have a spring lambing. Mr Hawker said he was also impressed by the quality of the wool itself, and it seemed to have improved over time. Fibre diameter usually measures 20-micron, down slightly from the Merinos which were measuring 21- to 21.5-micron. Many of Mr Hawker’s Dohnes had recently been sold to feedlots. Continue reading →

In achieving this objective over the past five years, the Muresk Dohne flock has become a valuable part of the commercial enterprise that is now supplying animals for industry led research that is undertaken at Muresk. Farm Manager, Steve Wainewright, says the fertility and early growth are major benefits of the breed; ‘The ewes have performed brilliantly under trying conditions this season.’ Continue reading →

THE Australian sheep industry may never have been in a more unique position. Prices for sheep meat, wool and breeding ewes are at near all time highs, while flock numbers are at their lowest levels since the early 1900s. The breed's true dual purpose nature means it can take advantage of both the strong sheep and wool markets. Continue reading →

A numbers man, Mr Culverson needs proof on paper before he’ll jump into a major production decision and after several years of strategic testing, got all the proof he needed to breed further towards a purebred self-replacing Dohne flock. Continue reading →

"Encompassing the four key profit drivers of fertility, fecundity, wool and meat, the Dohne Merino has firmly established itself as the ideal all-rounder and breed for now and into the future." Continue reading →

THE DOHNE’S ability to adapt in diverse conditions has encouraged Bernie and Rachel Panizza to introduce the breed into their flock over the last decade. Traditionally the Panizza family bred Merinos at Southern Cross, Western Australia, but decided to introduce Dohnes into their enterprise after Bernie went to a seminar where a South African speaker talked about the benefits of the breed. “ It was the breed’s capability to suit various conditions that got me interested,” Bernie said. Continue reading →

BALMORAL MERINO LIFETIME PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT
ALLEN KELLY

THERE is one Dohne ram entered in the Merino Lifetime Productivity project in Australia. This MLP project measures and evaluates the ewe progeny from 167 Sires over two years at five sites in… Continue reading →

Dohnes are run in pastoral areas of 150mm rainfall to 1OOOmm rainfall areas in southern Australia. The quick growth of Dohne lambs, higher than the average lambing percentages of Merinos and the Dohne’s ability to hold body condition in tough times along with the production of quality 19-21 micron wool are just some of the attributes that sets this breed apart. The Dohne can and is a totally self-replacing breed, reducing the risk of introducing disease and lice and reducing the cost of buying in ewes. Continue reading →