An innovative Dohne sire evaluation trial is providing valuable insights on the reproduction and meat eating quality performance of the breed, with the latest results released at a field day in February. Held by Dohne trial hosts, Tom and Sophie Holt, at their property, Coonong Station, Urana, NSW, an extensive range of ewe reproductive data, along with the results of the meat eating quality tests, were presented to interested field day participants. Additional comprehensive wool, growth and visual trait assessments were also released. Established by the Australian Dohne Breeders Association in 2021, the sire evaluation trial at Coonong comprises 13 Dohne rams entered from breeders in NSW, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria. Continue reading →

DOHNE breeders and producers are participating in a quality assurance system that allows them to share their story - in the form of images, videos and text - all the way down the wool handling and processing supply chain to spinners and weavers. They are some of the 1000 grower members of The Schneider Group's paddock-to-wool Authentico Integrity Scheme. The Authentico brand was launched in the 1990s, but it's really taken off in the past five years as a key plank is recognising woolgrowers who no longer mules their sheep. Continue reading →

"It's a really nice meat - good flavour and really good texture too." Tony Smith, Rawnsley Park Station, Hawker, SA DOHNES have given Rawnsley Park Station a much-needed profitability boost, being used in the outback destination's high-end restaurant. The Rawnsley Park Station tourism experience, at Hawker in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia, began in 1968 with one tourist cabin. More than 50 years later, the Smith family has 35 holiday cabins, eight eco villas, a caravan park and a restaurant which has a menu with an outback flair, while using lamb bred and raised on the property. Dohne sheep have played a big role in Rawnsley Park's success, with the switch from a traditional Merino operation about a decade ago allowing the family to run a low maintenance operation which caters to their first priority, the tourism business. Owner Tony Smith first started using Dohne rams in 2010, as he thought the breed would suit the country. Continue reading →

Five studs who specialised in Dohnes were represented at the show with the breed's marquee focusing on an element of education. "We have a fleece judging competition, which is a group of three fleeces and it's judged on the uniformity for our short wool and our long wool sections," "But the rest of the show for us is to show plenty of rams and ewe on display and the rest of it is basically education," Continue reading →