| 39 MEAT & WOOL » Howden & Co Diverse breeding programme in step Kim Newth Building a quality stud sheep breeding operation doesn’t happen overnight. In the case of the Howden family, farming at Waikoikoi in West Otago, the quest for better lamb survivability started with Brian and Nola Howden some 20 years ago. Now their son Nathan and wife Charlotte are further honing the gains, representing the family’s fourth generation on the land. Brian and Nola originally farmed Romneys but changed the game when they bought the Meba Texel stud in 2005, followed by the Blythburn Genetex stud in 2009. This was also when the farm’s working area grew by 121 hectares, reaching 380 hectares in extent. Around this time Nathan and Charlotte joined them on the farm. Today’s breeding line-up is a diverse mix of half-Texel/half-Suffolk, Beltex cross, Poll Dorset, Charollais and half-Charollais/half-Texel. Last December saw brisk demand for their qualNathan and wife Charlotte with family members Augusta and Henry. ity two-tooth ram lambs, with more than 100 sold. Local farmers had a good pick of rams to achieve their growth objectives. “It was a really good season,” says Nathan. “Pretty much everything we offered was gone. If we’d had 20 more Beltex cross, they would have sold too. The buyers were that impressed with them.” Sheep breeders like Nathan know there is always room for improvement. He is seeking to increase the fertility of the pure Texels and has sourced a good proven ram to assist with that. He also recently purchased another half-Beltex/half-Poll Dorset to boost that strong growth line. “We’re also experimenting with a few Poll Dorset/Texels this year, again with growth objectives in mind.” With a good spring last year, the farm produced 1800 lambs off the ewe for kill-out. Nathan says it was the best they’d ever done, but at the same time lamb prices were well down compared to the 2021-22 season. Inflation is also hitting farm budgets. Nathan says while the pressures are real, cutting corners that risk farm productivity are not worth it. He is maintaining fertiliser applications at the same levels as last year and keeping up with essential animal health, such as vaccinations to prevent Salmonella Brandenburg. Tupping got underway on April 5 with all terminals done first. In the lead up to tupping, Nathan had the terminal mob on one block, and the materIt was a really good season,” says Nathan. “Pretty much everything we offered was gone. If we’d had 20 more Beltex cross, they would have sold too. The buyers were that impressed with them.” Proudly supporting Howden & Co Ltd Maitland Contracting Ltd Call Willy: 0276309032 Email: maitlandcontractingltd@gmail.com • Agricultural Work • Baleage • Hay • Straw nals on another and supplemented with baleage. He’s interested to see the impact on fertility of that differential feeding. Scanning of the terminals is scheduled for the last week of June with maternals at the start of July. Autumn conditions were fairly dry through to mid-April but recent rainfall set the scene for a good late Autumn. “We’re hoping to have 2000kg DM/hectare by the start of May. We’re sitting on 1550 at the moment. As soon as we get them all behind the fence [after tupping/drafting] we should be able to make some headway.” Meanwhile Brian, now 71, continues to be actively involved on the family farm and is an integral part of the operation. Nathan and Charlotte share their farm lifestyle with their children, Augusta, 12 and Henry, 9. Charlotte, a landscape architect, enjoys using her landscaping skills on various local projects. Nathan, an experienced rugby coach, loves the rewards that come from developing and encouraging younger players.
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