50 | Getting your hands on the best genetics Cam Heggie PGG Wrightson, Livestock Genetics Auctioneer Sue Maxwell, Longview Perendale Russell Proffit, Graeme Maxwell Longview Perendale at auction. Karen Phelps Russell Proffit has been elected as the new President of the Perendale Sheep Society of New Zealand, following in the footsteps of his father, who held the same prestigious position three decades ago, almost to the day. With 45 years of involvement with the society, Russell’s election as marks a significant milestone in his career as a sheep farmer and stud owner at Raupuha Stud and his unwavering commitment to promoting the Perendale breed and advancing the sheep industry in New Zealand. “A lot of farm land is going into trees that has traditionally been sheep country. So it’s about showing people how to use genetics etc to enhance their farming income so trees don’t look as attractive,” says Russell highlighting his vision for the industry’s future. “Perendales are a good hardy sheep and RURAL PEOPLE » Raupuha Stud 33 Moa St, Piopio 3912 07 877 8054 / 07 873 7273 / 021 202 9749 kchservice@kchonda.co.nz / honda.49@icloud.com Proudly supporting Raupuha Stud BDO TARANAKI ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT RAUPUHA STUD generally a lot less work than some other breeds as they are more mobile and have better drench tolerance. They are good easy doing animals and some of the Perendale breeders are leading the way in FE and worm tolerance.” Russell’s Raupuha Stud is one of those industry leaders. The stud’s main focus is on FE tolerance and all stock is fully DNA recorded. The stud is part of FE Gold group, which promotes breeders of elite FE-tolerant rams and raises awareness amongst ram buyers of the value of buying from FE Gold breeders. With the annual sale at Raupuha Stud just around the corner on November 14, Russell and his team are gearing up to offer around 500 rams, including 200 through the on-farm auction. “We will be offering the highest tested Romdales and Perendales in New Zealand for FE tolerance as we’ve been testing for 23 years and the flock has been tested at 0.6mg of sporidesmin per kg of bodyweight,” says Russell. Faecal egg count reduction tests are undertaken, challenging lambs and building data on individual animals. Every ram the stud sells includes these figures. “We invest a lot into our rams for the benefit of our commercial clients. Our sale is a good opportunity for people to come along, have a look and get their hands on the best genetics.” Russell and wife Mavis farm 5579 sheep including 2000 stud ewes. They also farm 1000 beef cattle. They produce rams and bulls for commercial sheep and beef farmers around the country and fattening stock bred on their property. The farm comprises 1100ha total (1050ha effective). The Proffits have just returned from attending the 2023 Beef Improvement Federation Symposium in Calgary. Afterwards they went to Montana as part of a beef and lamb delegate looking at various farms. The trip saw them spend 10 days driving over 4000km including visiting an 18,600 hectare ranch and a research farm. With Over 1000 hectares of buildings and lanes on one farm these were bigger than the Proffitt’s entire farm. One major takeaway from the trip for Russell was the need for investment to keep up with what is happening internationally in the realm of feed efficiency, methane reduction and sustainability: “In the USA they are doing lots of trial work, collecting data and measuring. The universities are working closely with meat companies so there is a lot of collaboration. In New Zealand we need to be collaborating with the USA to get cross referenced data.” The annual sale is at Raupuha Stud on November 14. ADAMS CONTRACTING Dion Adams 22 Main Road, Mahoenui 3978 0272 765 276 07 877 8877 adamscontracting@xtra.co.nz
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