52 | MEAT & WOOL » Scott Partnership: Balladean Farm Dohne sheep a point of difference Amy and Duncan Scott (top) with dogs Kooch, Gus and Punch. Charlie (5) and Tom (7). Balladean Farm’s Dohne flock on the move (below) Sue Russell Proud to be a long term nutrient partner for Balladean Farm Tractor & Implement Tyres Cars & 4WD Trucks & Trailers Puncture repairs 24 hour call out Specialising in 9 King Street, Timaru E: timaru.tyres@gmail.com 03 688 9358 • 027 610 9020 Main Road, St. Andrews PO Box 137, Timaru Cell: 027 4329 555 Phone: 03 612 6605 Fax: 03 612 6614 Email: www.standrewstransport .co.nz satrans@xtra.co.nz Proud to be associated with Balladean Farm South-Canterbury sheep farmer Duncan Scott’s family traces back to 1882 and five generations on the farm, at Southburn, inland from Pareora. Duncan’s father Owen and his brother Jim were nationally respected breeders back in the day and in 1996 won the inaugural New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition, with judges commenting their standard of stockmanship was second-to-none. Today, Duncan and wife Amy have taken over from his father on the 204ha property, running 1400 Dohne commercial ewes and operating their Border Leicester stud, first registered in 1938, with 120 registered ewes. The couple have two children, seven year old Thomas and Charles, who is five. Dohne Merino sheep originate from South Africa and were developed in the late 1920’s by interbreeding Peppin-style Merino ewes with German Mutton Merino rams. Progeny were initially selected for high fertility, fine Merino wool and rapid lamb growth. The Scott family’s association with the breed stems back to when Owen heard about the breed while visiting Australia, and being the astute farmer he was, saw the benefits of the breed here. “At this time Dohne’s were a new breed to Australia and in 2006 we put the first rams out to dad’s Corriedales. They are a dual purpose breed and we are now a purebred Dohne flock.” Duncan says that with only two studs in New Zealand, farmers who want Dohne sheep seek them out. In the district Balladean Farm is one of the few raising sheep, with the district predominantly dairying. “This district really started to change in the late 1990’s. When I left school the first dairy farm got underway here. There are also several large cropping farms.” Supplementing farm income, and as feed supply allows, Duncan buys in traditional beef-bred weaner calves in late March to fatten by January the following year. Adding to the activity, Duncan also enjoys beekeeping. His hives produce high-country clover honey which he supplies under contract to a commercial honey manufacturer. “I enjoy beekeeping and moving the hives about through to Omarama and to Ranfurly.” As far as the wool clip is concerned Dohne sheep produce a finer wool than the Corriedale which clipped is 28 micron, whereas the Dohne measure 21.5 micron and Dohne hoggets at 19.4 micron. “This is not super-fine but we have a product very much worth selling, for the use in the apparel market.” Today 55ha of the farm on the flats is under irrigation, again the result of astute thinking on the part of Owen, who in his time on the farm, experienced several extreme dries. “It just gives us an ability to grow condition on at a time when other sheep farmers are struggling.” Asked about farming in this climate Duncan says he does see some real changes but just as much remembers as a youngster extreme weather as well. Duncan says his father’s approach to farming became more cautious after a very bad drought in the late 1960’s. Owen and his brother had just bought the farm two years earlier. “They didn’t have back then the irrigation, the silage and the transport resources we enjoy today.” That approach has rubbed off on Duncan. “Dad was always planning and preparing for the worst and enjoying the best when that happened. In the early 1980’s he bought 40ha’s over the road which in time funded the irrigation that went in in 1988.” Lambing is deliberately programmed earlier than other farms in the district and commences in the last week of July. It means that usually, ewes can take lambs to weaning with sufficient pasture. Amy is very much involved in farm life, with her own team of dogs. The couple adopt a philosophy of sharing the load and find that works well. When a new dog is needed to add to the team, Duncan has some great friends involved in sheep-dog trialling he can call on to help find a replacement. While always looking to the future Duncan says he enjoys especially talking to the older generation of farmers in the district whose memories go back further. “They carry a wisdom about good farming practices and I respect that.” For Duncan and Amy a focus is on building on from the good hard years of work Owen invested into the property. Fine-tuning genetics for incremental gain is always the aim. “We have a responsibility to look after this land and to improve it over time. That’s what my father did and that’s why we have this beautiful property today.”
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