Dohne Wool Dominates in the West

“I bought some Dohne embryos and the first thing I noticed was that the growth rates
and finishability of my flock went through the roof.”

Elders, Williams agent Graeme Alexander (left) grower David Kain, Far Valley Dohne stud, Williams, Elders, Williams district wool manager Sarah Buscumb, classer Rebecca Thompson, Boyup Brook and her partner Steve, celebrated Mr Kain collecting the award for sale F21.

David Kain
Far Valley Dohne Stud
ARTHUR RIVER WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Out west, the Dohne breed is making its mark on the Supreme Clip of the Sale competition. Unique to Western Australia, this weekly award goes to growers whose wool is selected as best in the Elders catalogue at each of the 43 wool sales for the year.
Despite saying that “I’ve always thought it’d be a rainy day before they ever give me an award,” David Kain from Far Valley Dohne Stud came away with the Supreme Clip of the Sale during the 2022/23 season. Other Dohne wool winners for the year included some of Mr Kain’s clients.
“I was quietly chuffed,” Mr Kain said.
The winning wool clip had outstanding test results with main line fleece lots averaging 18.5-micron, 1.4 vegetable matter, 68.8 per cent yield, 100mm staple length and a sound average staple strength of 33N/kt.
A stalwart of the industry, Mr Kain began breeding Dohnes in 1999 at his Far Valley property at Arthur River, which was previously stocked with Merinos and pigs.
It was a desire to diversify by increasing meat production while also retaining wool production, which prompted him to begin working with the Dohne breed.
Mr Kain’s success at the Elders Supreme Clip of the Sale shows just how far he has come.
“It is quite a big thing for a Dohne Stud to win the Supreme Clip of the Sale,” Mr Kain said.
A fine micron of 18.5, good yield and impressive style, colour, and length of the fleece got him across the line. But it’s the complete ‘doability’ of the Dohne that is the real winner for Mr Kain and turned him into a fierce advocate of the breed.
“I changed from Merinos to Dohnes during the collapse of the Wool Corporation and Reserve Price Scheme” he said. “We had to shoot our sheep, couldn’t sell our wool, and risked losing the property. It was tough.”
“I bought some Dohne embryos and the first thing I noticed was that the growth rates and finishability of my flock went through the roof.”
“I registered my Dohne Stud and held Australia’s first Dohne Ram on-farm sale, straight away.”
Now running 12000 Dohnes at Far Valley, Mr Kain said he was impressed with the breed from the very beginning.

“I bought one ram, and he would have serviced over 400 ewes. It didn’t hurt the micron at all, although the wool was a bit plainer back then – it was fine and soft but lacked the style and crimp, I was seeking.”
By the time of his win in the Supreme Clip Awards, Mr Kain had refined his breeding which led to the superior results.
“It just came to that point,” he said. “I got the body right first, got the fertility right, got the muscle and meat right, and then set to work on getting the best quality wool. The hardiness comes naturally.” Mr Kain uses plenty of technology in his breeding operation including individual weighing, mothering up using Smart Shepherd, Koolcollect software and Sheep Genetics. High fertility(110-150 per cent) is combined with rapid lamb growth rate (370 gm/day) up to weaning, making the Dohne a highly efficient meat producer.

Far Valley Dohne stud principal David Kain (left), with buyer Mitch Applegate, Mollerin Rock Dohnes, Cadoux and Elders stud stock auctioneer Nathan King holding the $6100 top-priced ram at the Far Valley on-property ram sale at Arthur River.

“As far as the meat side of things, in all my years of selling Dohnes, they have gone straight to the top with no price reductions ever.”
Recently Mr Kain sent one thousand head to JBS Foods which averaged about 23 and a half kilos each.
“We can get them to big weights, the Dohne flies through,” Mr Kain said. “If you’ve got a pure crossbred, the early ones of them will beat the Dohnes, but you come back for the second draft and the Dohnes are there in big numbers in the third draft there’s a hell of a lot. We aim to get them to 50kgs liveweight, then sell. The Dohnes achieve this easily.”
“I gather a lot of data and evaluate them for everything I possibly can,” he said.
“We shear twice a year, in March and then around mid-October. It was the mid-October clip that I won the award with.”
Mr Kain’s wool-classer for the past 15 years is Rebecca Thompson who is well respected in the industry and one of only seven wool classers in Australia to hold a Master’s Certificate.
“David is a passionate wool grower and has worked extremely hard to keep the quality of his wool on the Far Valley Dohne Flock. On preparing the clip there is a high percentage of fleece wool to oddments – maximising the value of his clip,” Ms Thompson said.
“It is a soft, fine white wool with a defined crimp. Hoggets wool has a low 17 micron with the whole
flock averaging out to 18.7 micron, depending on the season. The spring shear has a yield of 70 per
cent and a co-efficient variation of micron under 20. The length of the main lines is regularly 100 mms and over.”
Mr Kain said he employs “cocky shearers,” mostly farmers, and employs young locals as roustabouts, saying he enjoys getting young people into the industry.

“Basically, I feel like I’m sort of finalising my career in this field and I am getting into training farmers for the future a fair bit,” he said.
Mr Kain feeds his Dohnes on a mixture of grasses, clover and supplements with grain over summer. It’s the resilience of the breed that is the standout for him.
“They’re just born tough,” he said.
“When it comes to cold weather, it normally manifests itself around lambing time. You can go driving around the Merinos after a bad night of weather, and the paddocks are white with dead lambs,” he said.
“This doesn’t happen with Dohnes, they are real survivors. If something happens to the lambs they tend to survive, they’ll grab a drink here and there and pull through. In tough conditions a good Merino ewe, might cut between 500 grams to a kilo of wool more every time but good luck trying to finish that lamb.”
The Elders Supreme Clip of the Week annual award ceremony is held in Perth.
“They give us all a plaque and we can catch up with all other breeders, growers and shed staff. It’s an award ceremony that doubles as a great time to catch up with others in the industry,” Mr Kain said.
In summary, Mr Kain said the Dohne breed is, “in the mix with so many different factors, it just puts them way in front. Wool and meat, hard to beat!”
Mr Kain intends to stick with the Dohne breed indefinitely.
Original article courtesy of Kristin Murdock Pipeline Media.