Apparel Wool, Meat for a Feast
Axe Creek student wins Dohne wool classing and sheep judging competition
Wool classing students have again taken part in sheep and fleece judging at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show.
Katy Pollard, Axe Creek, took out both the fleece and sheep judging competitions, held in the Dohne marquee.
Longernong College woolclassing skills trainer and assessor Craig Mackley said 10 students, from Victoria and NSW, took part in the judging, in the Dohne marquee.
"They are all part of the Certificate IV wool classing course - they learn it here at Longernong with me, then they go over to judge the fleeces at ASWS," he said.
Move to Dohne pays off
The dual-purpose traits of the Dohne breed have significantly boosted the productivity of the Argent-Smith family's sheep flock in New South Wales, improving fertility as well as the early growth and carcase quality of their lambs.
CARCASE BONUS - "We sent 214 of our second line of lambs to Gundagai and they averaged a dressed weight of 29.84kg and returned $243 per head.
"What we were very pleased with was that 71 per cent of the draft received the Gundagai Lamb Quality 5+ score bonus which is worth 80 cents/kg, equating to a price of $8.36c/kg.
"We also received $8.50/hd for the skins, bringing the total return to $251/hd."
The Dohne lambs had also been shorn with the return from their wool averaging $25/hd.
"For us the results have confirmed that we're producing the right type of Dohne lamb that fits the bill for the Gundagai Lamb brand. Continue reading
Dohne genetics boosting the wool cheque in a composite ewe flock
Dohne genetics are not only adding growth potential and milk but also boosting the wool income for a northeast Victorian composite flock producing prime lambs.
Lima Park Pastoral, at Swanpool, transitioned from joining composite ewes to Poll Dorset and composite rams to Dohne, wiping off eight microns in a single generation and picking up an extra 440c/kg for the wool.
Lima Park Pastoral assistant manager, Barry Hutton, said the importance of wool in the composite enterprise was questioned due to low bale returns. Continue reading
Young farmer brings outback lamb to the city
An enterprising young farmer is bringing outback lamb to the city with the launch of a station to plate offering. Growing up on the Jackson family's Tirlta and Rowena Stations, an hour north east of Broken Hill, NSW, the rich taste of saltbush-grazed lamb was always known and available to Archie Jackson, but when attending boarding school in Adelaide, he discovered it was somewhat of a delicacy to those in the big smoke. The positive feedback from friends, and families of those friends, has led to Archie offering outback lamb delivered to door under the brand 'Archie S Jackson - Tirlta Rowena Lamb' and through the help of Woodside Butcher.
Comprehensive sire evaluation quantifies the Dohne dual purpose advantage
A comprehensive sire evaluation trial rated as “gold standard” has provided evidence-based data on the Dohne breed’s profitable wool, carcase, reproduction and eating quality traits.
Evaluated under the Australian Merino Sire Evaluation Association (AMSEA), the three-year Dohne trial benchmarked 12 Dohne sires and two Merino link sires across not only wool and carcase traits but also included new traits of udder and teat size, kilograms of lambs weaned per ewe joined, and intramuscular fat as a component of eating quality. Continue reading
SA Dohne performs well in national Merino index
In their 20th year of breeding Dohnes, the Kelly family of Glen Holme stud at Manoora were recently surprised with a career achievement - one of their rams topped a Merino Superior Sires index.
The number one spot was in the Merino Lamb category in both the five-year update, ahead of 392 sires, and the all-time top 50, ahead of 648 sires.
According to Sheep Genetics, the ML index is based on a production system where the majority of income is from sheepmeat production, particularly lambs, with some income from adult ewe wool clips.
The index also focuses on genetic improvement of fleece weight, growth, lean meat yield, eating quality and reproduction, while reduced wrinkle is also included.
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