| 47 All Waihau stud hoggets are mated Waihau Terminal Sires lambed down 350 ewes, weaning over 500 lambs, with stud lambs averaging an impressive 38.5 kilos at weaning. Bernadette Cooney Inland from Napier, at the foot of the Kaweka Ranges, Waihau Terminal Sires combine data with good stockmanship to produce high-performing terminal sires that thrive in tough conditions while minimising input costs for commercial sheep farmers. Operating a 220-hectare lease property, Ben has dedicated years to refining his sheep breeding program, establishing his first Waihau flock at just ten years old. Since then, his dedication has seen steady growth in the business, with annual ram sales increasing from 30-40 to over 120. “We’ve worked hard for the last five years to up the numbers in each auction,” says Ben. “We’ve had four sales now and the last two have been on farm.” Their farming operation comprises 300 commercial ewes which are all mated to terminal sire ram hoggets that they breed themselves, and they lamb down between 300 and 400 stud ewes. All stud hoggets are mated, something relatively unique for blackface studs. Last year, Waihau Terminal Sires lambed down 350 ewes, weaning over 500 lambs, with stud lambs averaging an impressive 38.5 kilos at weaning. Specialising in Suftex and Beltex breeds, Waihau rams offer an ideal balance of hardiness and meat yield. “The Suftex gives the black heads, while the Beltex improves meat yield,” says Ben. These sires are designed to be tough, with longevity and resilience at the forefront of the breeding program. A significant focus for Waihau Terminal Sires is putting effort into recording livestock traits, particularly for low-input factors like Dag scoring says Ben. This essentially measures how susceptible a sheep is to getting daggy and reducing flystrike and workload. “Crutching and dagging are onerous tasks for commercial farmers, so if you can reduce the amount of crutching and drenching required this reduces input costs for commercial farmers by improving animal health,” says Ben. Few terminal flocks nationally are recording for DAG scores, making Waihau’s approach a point of RURAL PEOPLE » Waihau Terminal Sires difference in the market. “We’re seeing some gains since recording, which makes it attractive to buy a ram from us.” Ben sources genetics from top breeders such as Russell Prophet of Raupuha Stud in Waikato, Nithsdale Rams in Southland and Guy Martin in Lincoln, ensuring his flock continues to improve. With rising costs and labour shortages affecting farmers nationwide, Ben has a clear goal to breed hardy, low-input rams that reduce work for commercial operations while maintaining highquality meat production. “It’s about making farming easier by producing vigorous sheep that thrive,” he says. Waihau Terminal Sires annual on-farm and online ram sale is scheduled for Thursday 21st of November 2025. For farmers looking for robust, data-backed rams that deliver strong results, Waihau Terminal Sires stands out as a reliable choice. WAIPUKURAU 06 8578901 HAVELOCK NORTH 06 8767159 bm.co.nz Proud to be supporting Waihau Terminal Sires The BM team provide accounting expertise and business advice to many rural and commercial enterprises in the wider Hawke’s Bay region. Keeping it local. Kate Laugesen, Melissa Horsefield, Alan Maxwell, Kelly Millar, Tony Mossman We are proud to be associated with Ben and Molly at Waihau Terminal Sires Supporting Waihau Terminal Sires from the ground up “We put plenty of pressure on them at home, so they go on to perform well in commercial settings,” says Ben. “We’ll hopefully have 70 or 80 ram sires up and they’ll be mostly Suftex with a few Beltex crosses in between.” When not working the ram stud, Dan and his partner Molly enjoy supporting community, and Molly is secretary of the local Patoka Sheep Dog Trial Club.
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