60 | Easycare qualities big selling point It took a couple of breeders to find the right genetics and it was pure chance that led them to Takapau. Virginia Wright It was in 2005 that Sabine James’ late husband Donald decided that farming sheep for their wool simply wasn’t worth it unless prices increased well beyond anything likely to ever happen. They decided to transition to Wiltshires, a breed whose main feature is that they shed their fleece annually. It was a big change for a farm that’s been in the family for over 100 years and traditionally farmed Romneys. The Wiltshires, named after the Wiltshire Downs in the UK, where the breed can be documented back to the 18th century, it arrived in the UK with the Romans and is one of the world’s oldest surviving sheep breeds. It Sabine and Donald bought some rams from Martin Taylor at Glenbrae to put over their Perendales and started the transition to a Wiltshire flock. “It took us seven years to get to the point that we finally didn’t need shearers anymore,” says Sabine, her voice still carrying a trace of the satisfaction they felt at the time. While their sheep were now shedding their fleece it was a long fleece, and they soon decided they wanted it short. It took a couple more breeders to find the right genetics and it was pure chance that led them to Takapau. “We were buying some fertiliser and Donald looked in the next-door paddock and said how nice the sheep looked. We contacted them and yes they were prepared to sell us some rams,” explains RURAL PEOPLE » Waldheim Wiltshires Sabine. Over the next few years they successfully bred a Wiltshire flock with the short fleece they were after, and they named them Waldheim Wiltshires. Ask Sabine why she still farms Wiltshires as opposed to any other breed of sheep and her response is typically straightforward. “They are easy care sheep: no crutching, no dagging, no shearing, no flystrike, no docking. You might as well farm cattle they are that easy to farm. I haven’t had a caste sheep, no bearings, it’s amazing. Donald died four years ago and if I had 1600 woolly sheep I would have either leased or sold the farm by now I would say, it’s as simple as that.” On top of all their easycare attributes Waldheim Wiltshires typically scan between 168% and 175%, even through times of drought, with an earmarking percentage of between 140% and 150%. Recognising that the attributes they bred into • to page 65 save time, save money Streamline work TML UnIT The TML unit provides proof of rѴ-1;l;m| 1omm;1ঞm] b|_ $u-1 -rĽv omѴbm; fo0 l-m-];l;m| vv|;l l-hbm] fo0 l-m-];l;m| -m7 bmob1bm] ;-vĺ WEBER ROAD, DANNIVERKE | 06 374 2851 027 343 1919 | waldheim@xtra.co.nz
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