| 73 Son of original breeder reaching new heights Flock rams prior to trucking to a client. Ange Davidson A sheep stud on flat land in South Ashburton is a bit of a rarity these days as dairy and cropping farms continue to increase in numbers. George and Simon Lowe’s Poll Dorset stud at Windermere is holding its ground, producing award winning rams on 358 hectares just inland from the coast. “We’re quite unique having just sheep. We feel like the people who did town supply in the early days but there’s still a few of us left,” laughs George. The stud was started by George’s father, Tom who was one of the original breeders in New Zealand. Starting with Dorset Horn sheep in 1937, Tom switched to the Poll Dorset in 1962, having bought a ram from an Australian breeder. While the sheep’s attributes were the same, the poll was much easier to work with and the horn sheep were deleted from the stud by the late 1960s. The breeds popularity spread by word of mouth and Poll Dorset remains a strong contender as a prime lamb terminal sire. The Windermere stud runs 400 Poll Dorset and sells around 120 flock rams per year which go all over the country. Most of the rams are sold privately in the paddock with a few going to ram sales. “They are a nice sheep to work with and are an excellent muscle sheep. The breed is favoured as a terminal sire ram for producing fast growing and good cutting lambs. They are just a good all-rounder that can cope with a wide range of country,” says George. “They have good cold tolerance and foot score with a white skin and fleece.” George and his son Simon continually improve the stud by breeding for an increased size of the eye muscle in relation to the sheep’s live weight, while keeping the fat content at an acceptable level. The breeding programme is working well with excellent feedback from clients and as regular exhibitors at A & P shows, they can compare their stud against the best from other breeders. They tag their flock for ‘line of sight’ identification and keep an eye on percentages through proper shepherding. MEAT & WOOL » Poll Dorset Windermere George and Simon also run a commercial flock of 2100 Romney/Merino cross and would normally run a small flock of pure Merino but the wet weather over the past two years has put paid to this. The Lowes take advantage of the fertile flats to crop for themselves and will fill the silo with barley most years plus a winter feed regime of paddock oats and green feed. All the silage made on the property is lucerne. Like the stud, George is showing no signs of slowing down as he thoroughly enjoys what he’s doing. “It’s been an absolute privilege to be able to keep on farming,” he says. Founders & leaders of ultrasound scanning Proud of our association with POLL DORSET windermere Rowan & Mathew Farmer 0274 328 920 / 027 283 6716 info@stockscan.co.nz THINK SCANNING THINK STOCKSCAN CONTACT DALLAS 027 306 1738 dallas@mainlandgroup.co.nz Mainland Group ORDER ON OUR WEBSITE www.mainlandpure.com Mainland Pure Proudly supporting Poll Dorset Windermere
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