54 | Upton Dorset Down stud thriving The Ellis family’s breeding objective is to improve the rams that they offer to the market each year. The stud comprises 200 Dorset Down ewes and is located at the family’s 150ha farm. Karen Phelps The Ellis family is passionate about the virtues of the Dorset Down breed and the benefits for sheep farmers in introducing these genetics into their flocks. Upton Dorset Down Stud, started by the family and located a few kilometres north of Amberley in Canterbury, is now in its 60th year. With the sudden passing of Tony earlier this year, Steven and his partner Di have taken on the stud, with Steven’s mother Lois advising and still taking an active role in all stud matters, and brother Gary lending a helping hand. Steven says the aim is to continue to breed rams for clients who are wishing to make financial gains with meaty, quick growing, early maturing lambs. “Rams must be fundamentally sound, structurally well put together to last the distance and have the ability to be able to handle all manner of farming terrain,” says Steven who is the President of the Central Canterbury Dorset Down Breeders Club and is the current Chairperson of the New Zealand Dorset Down Breed Society. The Ellis family’s breeding objective is to improve the rams that they offer to the market each year so that buyers are getting increasingly better stock. Their breeding programme sees ram sires and females selected to have good meaty carcasses with data collection at weaning and eye muscle scanning at 200 days to help them identify the top performers to sell to clients. Last season’s figures show that the stud Dorset Down ewes, which lambed in August, achieved 150% lambing rates. When weaned at the end of November 45% of these lambs weighed over 50kgs. As testament to the performance of their genetics, the Ellis’ are drafting lambs off their mothers at 17-18 kgs in early November and taking the balance through to 19-20kgs in February. They sell about 60 two tooth rams and 20 ram lambs, which Steven says are perfect for hogget mating, by private treaty to a mix of farmers and stock agents. These animals are sold on farm from December through the summer, which sees their genetics head all over New Zealand. Steven says many buyers feel that using a twin black face ram helps them get more lambs on the ground, which brings financial benefits. Ram lambs are scanned in early autumn and this year’s results show that these animals averaged 73.4 kgs, illustrating that their genetic growth rates have the potential to lay down muscle, which is evident in their eye muscle area scanning results going from 21.6 to 30.8. “Dorset Down is a proven breed for heavy meaty lamb production. We have always loved seeing clients come back each year and hearing about the results they are getting in their flocks from the purchase of Upton Dorset Down rams,” says Steven. The stud comprises 200 Dorset Down ewes and is located at the family’s 150ha farm, where they also fatten around 120 cattle each year, taking them MEAT & WOOL » Upton Dorset Downs through one winter and selling them prime in the summer into the following autumn. Steven owns a 160ha block of flat to rolling country about 6kms away near Waipara, where he runs 1500 Corriedale ewes going to a Dorset Down and South Dorset Down ram for early lamb production in November. Steven says the lack of Proud to be associated with Upton Dorset Downs Personal & Professional Service, Farm, Commerical & Business Accountancy Taxation Advice, Financial Returns 6 Blake St, Rangiora PH: 03 313 7824 team@prosser-quirke.co.nz www.prosser-quirke.co.nz UptonDorsetDowns ENQUIRIES TO: STEVE ELLIS: 027 634 2549 | 03 3146 970 steveanddi1965@icloud.com • Quality flock meat breed rams • Natural farming conditions • Early maturing, growthy, well muscled sheep • Sound constitution • SIL Recorded • EMA Scanned • High scanning sires used rain in the autumn this year has provided its challenges, especially going into lambing with limited food reserves in the paddock. Supplementary feed has been bought in to keep ewes in prime condition as they rear lambs on the property. He has 55ha of irrigation on his block, which helps mitigate the summer dry weather. With current climatic conditions, Steven considers farmers just have to adapt to whatever challenges might be presented to them. Lois is still actively involved in the farm and she works in tandem with Steven and Di and Gary to allow the next generation to carry on the Ellis family’s proud farming tradition.
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