| 49 RURAL PEOPLE » Waiteika Romneys Pedigree Romneys form the backbone Farmer clients are really looking for soundness of structure. Sue Russell A lovely stretch of near coastal Southern Waikato farm land has been in the Abbott Family since 1973. Just north of Kawhia on the North Island’s west-coast is Waiteika Romneys, a 599ha hillcountry property, where 500 registered pedigree Romney ewes form the backbone of the farming business. Keith Abbott says his journey with the breed has been one of good years and challenging ones as he’s worked studiously toward producing the perfect sheep, a goal he acknowledges, as one that will never quite be achieved. “This land is challenging and any sheep that will thrive in these conditions has to have the ability to survive and survive well,” Keith says. And how is this achieved? To start with the sheep are left pretty much to their own, unshepherded and expected to get on, produce a healthy lamb with great survivability traits, mother it well and do so year in year out without interference. “These humid hills test a sheep’s ability to survive. They have to be robust and functional. We’ve worked very hard to breed in a natural tolerance to facial eczema and now have one of the highest tested Romney flocks in New Zealand, recognised by its FE Gold accreditation.” Keith’s journey with facial eczema stems back to stepping foot on the farm. He soon became aware of the loss of production that was occurring from clinical and sub clinical eczema. So the decision was made to blood test all sires after pasture challenge and this is where the sires susceptible to FE intolerance were identified. “A few breeders in the region by this time had started testing for FE tolerance by dosing potential sires with toxin and measuring the rise in blood after three weeks. We started dosing with sporidesmin and initially results were disappointing.” Over successive years the doses were increased to the point where, by 2009, 0.60mg/kg sporidesmin was given to potential sires, which now has increased to 0.62mg/kg. As a result, facial eczema outbreaks have reduced to almost nil through breeding from the most tolerant tested sires. It’s an interesting fact to consider that 40% of FE tolerance is inheritable. Buying rams, therefore, from breeders testing and using the most FE tolerant as sires, becomes a no-brainer. All Waiteika Romney rams are sold on-farm and, Keith says, on average each year 120 are available on the market. Breeding for FE tolerance is important but not at the expense of other desirable traits, Keith says. “That’s the thing with a breeding programme, if you push too hard in one direction, its often at the expense of other desirable traits. We also concentrated on reducing dermatitis and fly strike by breeding quality second shear wool, with a longer clean staple that allows air circulation. We haven’t dipped our sheep since 2008.” Other traits of importance include fertility, challenging stud ewes to perform on steep broken hill country unvaccinated. There have been no vaccinations since 2009. “We select progeny based on superior weaning results and 8 month weights with a good Dag and condition score.” To combat internal parasites we have been WormFEC testing and Dag scoring since 2005 LTD phone 07 877 8759 mobile 027 55 444 33 By combining our Business and Farming knowledge with Xero and Figured for all your Planning, Forecasting and Monitoring. Helping you move forward. 378 Crozier Street, Pirongia 3802 07 871 1866 meaccountants.co.nz which has reduced the need for regular drenching, no ewes are drenched becoming WormFEC Gold accredited since 2020. Keith says farmer clients are really looking for soundness of structure when selecting rams for breeding from. “When they come on to the farm, they have a selection of rams to choose from and I leave them to select what they want. The farm is also home to 200 Angus cows, 1500 commercial Romney sheep and Keith says helping on the farm are his daughter and son. “My daughter Tracy is very good at stock management and keeping all the records while my son Craig does a lot of the farm maintenance.” From time to time the FE tolerant breeders group gets together to discuss matters of common interest and to share current experiences. Keith says he looks forward to these moments to discuss and compare breeding management practices with other successful Romney breeders.
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