The Breed Development Officer (BDO) is a newly created consultative position reporting to the Australian Dohne Breeders’ Association’s President and Council. The BDO role has been created to encourage Dohne sales by opening up opportunities and building relationships with personnel in industry sectors including; meat processors, commercial producers, and seedstock producers. There is latitude as to how the BDO may undertake the role to progress its objectives. Continue reading →

When the Holt family of Coonong Station at Urana received $438 per head for their scanned in lamb Dohne Merino ewes, they gave much of the credit to a marketing campaign run by 24-year-old agent Helen de Costa. The ewes were sold in AuctionsPlus' weekly national sheep sale earlier this month and the $438 pen featured 340 two-year-old Dohne ewes, scanned in lamb with a White Suffolk. The ewes were some of the 1990 Coonong sold in total, including two pens of six-year-olds, for an average of $314. Ms de Costa of H Francis and Co said their marketing campaign had included a combination of social media and print advertising, along with getting the word out in their agent network. Continue reading →

THE Dohne breed fitted the bill when brothers David and Peter Smith wanted to increase the performance of their farm's sheep program 16 years ago and the breed is still ticking all the boxes. The brothers farm 4000 hectares in north east Carnamah where they have a 70:30 mixed farming enterprise favouring cropping. They also produced pigs for 40 years but moved away from them early this year, so their full focus other than cropping is their Dohne sheep breeding program. Originally Merino breeders, the Smiths wanted to increase the profitability of their sheep and turned to the Dohne breed to achieve their aims. Continue reading →

"We can turn off lambs around 50kg at prices up to $160, so considering their ability to sustain weight and wool cut, I'm very happy." Commercial Dohne breeder, Will McClenaghan has had plenty of exposure to the sheep industry growing up in the New England region but an introduction to the Dohne breed over 15 years ago has changed the way he operates. 2003 marked the change for Mr McClenaghan, forming an association with a local Dohne stud that would point the operation of his 1000 acre property, ‘Balaclava’, Armidale, NSW, in a new, more versatile direction. Continue reading →

“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 →

FERTILITY - THE ULTIMATE PROFIT DRIVER “Fertility is one of the main drivers for profit in the sheep flock, and certainly a key measure in assessing flock reproduction and genetic improvement in studs.” Continue reading →

We found that as well as the constant warmth, our woollen products were comfortable, breathable, soft, light, and felt fresh Continue reading →