32 | Breeding program evolves with farmer Suffolk ewes (top) at Piquet Hill, near Huntley. Shedding composite rams and ewes (above). Richard Loader Piquet Hill Farms is a medium hill country 1600-hectare multi-generational farming operation, focused on providing seed stock to the sheep, beef and dairy sectors and is owned and operated by Will Jackson and his partner Nicola Bradstreet. Thirty- ve minutes west of Huntly, Piquet Hill is located in a summer dry facial eczema prone area of Te Akau and it therefore comes as no surprise that facial eczema has been a focus of the sheep operation for over forty years, producing some of the most FE tolerant sheep genetics available in the market. Will says that as the demands of farmers and end-consumers change, Piquet Hills’ breeding program has evolved with it. “We’re now breeding an animal that is commercially focused on maximum output of lambs and growth, out of a moderate ewe and without compromising core structural and constitutional traits. Core health traits of worm resistance and facial eczema tolerance are still at the forefront of our breeding program.” Will and Nicola take enormous pride and responsibility in being genetics providers for their clients and get huge satisfaction in seeing their genetics ourish in a range of environments in both the north and South Island. “For a lot of farmers, there are only two lots of stock they bring on to their property every year and that is their bulls and rams,” says Will. “That comes with a huge amount of responsibility and something we take real pride in. My passion for farming is very much centred around that.” In 2018 with the sharp drop in wool prices coupled with increased shearing costs, Will and Nicola were prompted to start developing a high producing self-shedding sheep based around their maternal composite. The couple were always acutely aware that they didn’t want to lose all the production gains that they had made in fertility, growth and FE resistance. So, their focus was on fusing shedding and haired sheep breeds with the maternal composite, and selecting for the same production traits that they do in the rest of their sheep operation. The result has been the development of a low input sheep with locked in FE tolerance and producRURAL PEOPLE » Piquet Hill Farms tion traits. “The key has been about maintaining focus of our breeding objectives around our primary drivers which are our own commercial pro tability, the client’s pro tability and deliverables to the end consumer, and balancing these together. “ It’s easy to produce an animal with incredible data alone and easy to produce an animal selected solely on phenotype and structure. But the real art, and what makes breeding so challenging and ful lling, is generating an animal that is a balance between the two.” Until now, Will and Nicola haven’t commercialised shedding composite rams, because they wanted a high level of con dence that they had a product that would serve their clients well. “We have a de ned two staged approach to ram selection with lambs being pushed for early growth till mid-February and then maintained and selected for worm resistance, FE tolerance, dag score and body condition through till August. All poor performing animals fall out of the system 027 478 5917 | 07 828 5829 Where the grass is green, B&S has been. Spreading of bulk lime, fertilisers & Urea Baggedfert delivery. Bulk spreading off the ground GPS guided & Spreadmark Certi ed Semi solid & organic spreading Feed pad / herd homes / ef uent waste spreading Silage • Under Sowing • Hay • Cultivation 0223004975 Mow 'N' GrowContracting LTD Servicing Te Akau, Raglan, Te Uku& surrounding areas • Semen collection on farm and on centre • Embryo production, by IVP or MOET (flushing) • Bull fertility testing IN ALL AREAS OF REPRODUCTION JACQUI FORSYTH 027 472 7231 | JOHN HEPBURN 027 280 1805 | MARIELA ROBLEDO 022 1708 724 Contact us to discuss options Contact Mike 027 291 2046 mike@nwlivestock.co.nz
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