"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 →

THIS ANALYSIS modelled the Dohne, fine wool Merinos and a crossbred Prime Lamb enterprise run in three different environments and found the Dohne is more profitable based on the last 10 year prices whether it is being run in high, medium or low rainfall environments. “Since its inception the aim of the Dohne Merino has been well defined with the breeding objective to improve meat, wool and reproductive traits.” Continue reading →

HEAVIER CARCASS weights, lambing ease and higher marking percentages of Dohne sheep have resulted in a gross margin more than comparable with cropping for South Australian farmer Chris Curnow. Chris and his wife Ann farm 600ha at Avon, on the Adelaide Plains, and run a flock of 700 Dohne ewes in conjunction with a cropping enterprise. The Curnows are members of a Sheep Connect sponsored benchmarking group, and have a handle on just how profitable their Dohnes are. Continue reading →

This season Mr South, along with leading livestock hand Kelly Gorter, decided to try a 21-day joining program with a mob of their Dohne ewes, after seeing some positive results over the past few years since coming back to a 28-day period from 30 days and before that a more traditional 35-day joining. Ms Gorter said the mob of 650 red and blue tag Dohne ewes, which had all scanned with twins last year, identified by the records made using their electronic tags, were mated to Dohne rams at two per cent for just 21 days and the results were "pleasing". "We'd been scanning about 3-5 per cent drys for the oldest age groups of ewes at 28 days so we budgeted on having 10-15pc dry's for the 21-day joining," Ms Gorter said. Continue reading →

"We can’t justify breeding crossbred lambs anymore because the Dohne lambs bring in more money." INTRODUCING the Dohne breed and a new feeding system has increased lamb survival rates and profits for the Boyne family. Peter Boyne, together with his brother Richard and his wife Fran and their two children Shane and Reece own 8000 hectares in the Koorda district in WA and over the last four years have undergone a transformation of the Dohne kind. Due to the dry seasonal conditions and management reasons the Boynes have recently made the decision to phase out their Merinos and slowly breed up to a pure Dohne flock.   Continue reading →

IN a world becoming increasingly socially conscious on animal welfare, social responsibility and environmental sustainability, the wool industry will always be subject to constant change and innovation. Over the past 30 years, and in particular the past 3, mulesing has been at the forefront of focus from both within and beyond the industry. While Australia and New Zealand are at the global forefront of not only government regulation but also a communal push to improve their practices, it can be seen that the most significant influence on the wool industry is from consumers and retailers. Continue reading →