| 47 Eric Laurenson’s Lammerlaw Romney Stud is known for its hardy hill rams with exceptional wool and all-round performance and he is looking forward to having his first on farm sale this year on December 5. In the Mackenzie Country, is where he and partner Lynsey McIntosh have their 170-hectare rolling hills farm and stud operation and up until now, he has sold via private treaty. There will be 50-60 high quality Romney and Romdale rams up for grabs at the sale. “We are doing this to help get a few more people across the cattle stop and up the drive, just to find some new clients and build some more good, long-term relationships with other farmers from around the district would be ideal,” Eric says. Fertility, mothering-ability, survivability, carcass-structure, an open-face with good wool and worm-resistance are traits that Eric values the most. Excellent wool quality has long been a priority for this third-generation farmer and wool classer but Eric observes their selection approach also favours key traits like fertility, mothering ability, good feet and longevity. The CARLA test – developed by AgResearch – is being used to gather and track data on immunity to internal parasites. “When we select either our sires, or rams to sell, or keepers we use that CARLA test data and it’s been really helpful, we are now in our 4th year doing that and we also dag scoring.” He’s fencing and replacing troughs every year and staying on top of farm maintenance. The sheep and cattle yards were only build in the last few years and have been a welcome addition. “Thankfully there’s not too much unproductive land, it’s all fairly well developed. “We had good pasture growth just prior to lambing, which helps. Survival has been good which is fortunate, because scanning was back a bit,” Eric explains. “We got rid of a few ewes in the autumn but we had a better spring than what we thought we were going to have so we brought an extra 100 commercial ewes, so we are running a similar number this season as we did last year, (190 stud ewes and 900 commercial ewes). Eric is now in his 16th year on farm, after moving from Paerau in Central Otago. The move up to Fairlie came at the right time for Eric and he has seen considerable success over that time, selling off one farm to an equity partner in more recent years. “There wasn’t much change from four hours between the two blocks so it made sense for us to move on from that in the end really.” MEAT & WOOL » Lammerlaw Romney Stud Lammerlaw Stud’s open invitation Excellent wool quality has long been a priority for this third-generation farmer. Randall Johnston Chris Pudney 027 685 8104 • Conventional Stock Fencing • Yard Repairs • Replacement • Predator Fencing • Pole Sheds • Lifestyle • Commercial • Residential Local experienced fencers servicing Fairlie, Albury and Mackenzie Basin PUDNEY FENCING FAIRLIE Breed for better host resistance to parasites with CARLA® The option for breeding animals capable of maintaining productivity under a parasite challenge. Contact AgResearch to order your CARLA® Saliva Test kit today www.agresearch.co.nz/CARLA PROUDLY SUPPORTING LAMMERLAW ROMNEY STUD One of their longer-term clients is Grays Hills (Mark Urquhart, Fairlie area) who has been putting Eric’s rams over some of their Merinos with great results. Genetics-wise, the main imported sires used over the years include those sourced from Merrydowns (Blair Robertson); Kikitangeo Romney Stud (Gordon Levet); Doughboy (Hugh and Marcus Taylor) and Gatton Park (David Wyllie) plus some of Eric’s own sires – to great effect. For details on the upcoming sale contact Eric on 027 244 9565 or visit the Lammerlaw Romney Stud Facebook page.
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