8 | RURAL PEOPLE » Longfield Stud Top Corriedale sheep in North Canterbury Longfield stud ram. Booker Family (inset). Photos Biddy Harnett-Getz. Emma Bailey For over a century Longfield Stud has been breeding exceptional Corriedale sheep in North Canterbury, now it is adding White Suffolks to its legacy. Longfield Stud owners John Booker and Jo Thomson are excited about the addition of White Suffolks which have already generated interest. The Corriedale stud was set up in Hawarden, North Canterbury by John’s Grandfather Bill in 1925. In 1960 his father Freeman started on the farm and took it over in 1973. John went into partnership with his dad after coming back from overseas in 1992 and then he and his wife Joanna took it over in 1997. In 2016 the John and Jo and three of their five children, Claire, Fern and Rosa moved the stud to Ballyams, a 640 hectare property at Kekerengu, north of Kaikoura. Despite changes in land use and a swing to dairy farming, John’s passion for Corriedale sheep hasn’t dampened in particular for genetics and measuring performance. Johns main motivation with breeding is to improve his clients returns. “After my stint at university (Lincoln) I was a farm adviser for MAF and that’s when I got into performance recording and became involved with SIL (Sheep Improvement Limited).” He measures fertility, weaning weights, autumn weights, eye muscle in the males and the yearly fleece weight and micron. “Buyers are very particular about their wool. The Corriedale clip has got quite a bit finer. Corriedales are a dual purpose breed; meat and wool and we have a really good return on our wool and lamb production.” He has embraced new technologies using AI and embryo transplants. “Now when we sell genetics overseas we are generally selling semen.” After John had a bad quad bike accident in 2024 the family made the decision to sell Ballyams and moved to a smaller block closer to Kaikoura. “A change in location always brings new challenges. In Kekerengu we had high rainfall and humidity so your wool quality had to be spot on to avoid fly strike. This year in Kaikoura we had 380mls of rain in January and then 250mls in July but the wool held up. “My shearer Peter Yorke, with 51 years experience all around the world, couldn’t believe the whiteness and brightness of the fleece after the season. We had the Y-Z colour test with a result of negative 1.3. “We’ve had fantastic pregnancy scanning results of 185 per cent with our 60 kilograms ewes.” Two of their five children work in sheep genetics and the meat industry and he wants to leave a legacy at the farm for them so now they are looking to add White Suffolks to the stud, using his past experience working with different breeds. In March John and Jo bought purebred White Suffolks in South Australia. They will graze over there and be mated with White Suffolk rams at an export breeding centre. “The resulting embryos will be imported and implanted into recipient ewes next Autumn.” He has already seen quite a bit of interest in the breed, which is one of Australia’s most popular terminal breeds. “They are notable for ease of lambing and fast growth weights.” 03 201 6470 Carl - 027 272 9333 | Callum - 027 272 9888 LONGFIELDSTUD • BOOKER FAMILY • EST 1925 • Corriedale and White Suffolk All sheep run under commercial farming conditions • Fully performance recorded • 185% pregnancy scanning 2026 - 60kg joining weight • Sale rams 23-27 micron Contact - John Booker & Jo Thomson, Kaikoura j.booker@amuri.net | 027 414 4129
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