24 | Rams that deliver growth and performance Judging at the Christchurch show, holding granddaughter Georgie. Karen Phelps After nearly five decades breeding Dorset Downs, Eualie Thwaites is continuing to focus on producing rams that deliver the growth and carcass performance commercial farmers need. The Dawnlee Dorset Downs stud, based at Glencoe in Central Southland, will have 25 rams available this season, with the latest crop recording some of the strongest eye muscle scanning results Eualie has seen. “It’s the best average I’ve ever recorded, with an average autumn EMA of 22 for the sale rams,” says Eualie. “The best of them was 28, but I’ll be keeping him to breed from.” Eualie will also have additional rams and ram lambs available beyond the main group, with farmers interested in purchasing rams able to make contact with the stud. The results reflect the breeding direction Dawnlee Dorset Downs has followed for many years, selecting animals for growth, muscling and the ability to produce heavy carcasses efficiently. Eye muscle scanning is carried out on both ram and ewe lambs as part of the stud’s ongoing genetic improvement programme. Dorset Downs have a reputation for producing fastgrowing lambs and Eualie says commercial clients continue to see the benefits of the breed. “One regular client averaged over 21 kilograms carcass weight for his lambs this year,” says Eualie. “They definitely grow. Some kill them straight off mum at 18 to 19 kilograms.” The stud’s history began when Eualie was a child growing up on her family’s Edendale farm where her interest in sheep developed into a lifelong commitment to farming. She began selling rams as a teenager and has continued building the Dawnlee Dorset Downs name ever since. Today Eualie and husband Neil farm in partnership with son Daniel, running a commercial sheep and beef operation alongside the Dorset Down stud. The farm runs around 1,700 crossbred Motunui sheep, 100 Dorset Down stud animals and cattle and the wider family business also includes a beef block near Tapanui. The stud has previously sold larger numbers of rams each year, but changing land use in Southland RURAL PEOPLE » Dawnlee Dorset Downs has reduced the number of sheep properties in the region. Despite this, demand remains strong from farmers wanting rams capable of improving lamb growth and carcass weights. “It’s still a battle to make money sheep farming,” says Eualie. “We’re getting good prices but the expenses have gone up as well, and we’re doing a lot of catch up for previous bad years where we have essentially worked the whole year for nothing.” She says improving lamb weights remains a key part of making sheep farming more profitable. “It’s great to see prices have improved but there is still a real need to get them to heavy weights, which Dorset Downs do,” explains Eualie. Alongside preparing this season’s rams for sale Eualie is looking ahead to the New Zealand Dorset Down Breed Society’s National Tour, which will be held in Southland in March 2027. As a member of the national breed committee, she is looking forward to showcasing the region’s Mark Potter Ph.027 471 3053 potterspraying@gmail.com Know for sure. Know for sure. DAWNLEE DORSET DOWNS Eualie Thwaites - 027 206 7502 thwaitesfarming@gmail.com Proven Southland genetics & quality bloodlines. ORDER RAMS NOW FOR DECEMBER / JANUARY DELIVERY. GOOD - $800 ELITE - $1000 RAM LAMBS - $400 (MARCH) mclellanshearing@gmail.com • Call Logan 027 739 7000 Servicing Southland and South Otago sheep and breeding programmes. “I’m also of course looking forward to showing my sheep off and will have to have them in tip top condition,” she says. Her involvement with the breed includes judging Dorset Down classes at the Christchurch A & P Show (which she describes as her ‘holiday’ each year) and supporting activities that promote the breed throughout New Zealand.
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