| 57 Scott’s building on an 1882 foundation Tom, Duncan, Charlie and Amy Scott. Sue Russell MEAT & WOOL » Scott Partnership “We don’t mate the hoggets because it doesn’t suit this size property. If you get a nice spring it can then turn very dry very early. We get 5 lambings out of our ewes but having said that, if they keep producing healthy robust lambs they carry on.” • to page 58 Duncan and Amy Scott are passionate sheep farmers based at Southburn, inland from Pareora about 10km’s south-west of Timaru. The Scott family have farmed in the district since 1882 and Amy and Duncan’s children are sixth generation on the property. The original 1300 acre farm was split between the 5 sons of its founding settler, Duncan Scott. The farm now comprises 204ha of which about two-thirds are rolling downs with the balance flat. It extends down to the Pareora River and 55ha of the flat is under irrigation. The main activity on the farm is breeding and finishing sheep and buying in weaner calves as the climate permits, in terms of feed coverage. “We certainly have had some interesting seasons – dry at the wrong time,” Duncan reflects. Duncan’s reasonably philosophical about the weather, choosing to call these shifts in norm as the new norm. He’s observed that pasture is later to seed but roll over quickly. Pasture management he describes as ‘quite a challenge’. Each season about 1600 ewes are mated and 400 hoggets are carried over. “We don’t mate the hoggets because it doesn’t suit this size property. If you get a nice spring it can then turn very dry very early. We get 5 lambings out of our ewes but having said that, if they keep producing healthy robust lambs they carry on,” says Duncan. The breed of choice these days is Dohne, a South African merino. Duncan’s late father, Owen, decided to introduce the breed into the then Corriedale commercial flock when he overheard an agent in Australia talking about how the Dohne would take the corriedales over in that country. Based on this ‘intel’ Owen bought the first Dohne rams in 2006. “Gradually we bred out the Corriedales, mostly in pursuit of higher lambing percentages and the finer wool.” When Rural South spoke with Duncan, he had just agreed to take over a Dohne Stud, deciding that the benefits of owning one in terms of future breeding income justified the decision. There are only two Dohne Studs in New Zealand. “We bought 150 ewes, 100 ewe lambs and 90 ram lambs from Glenloe Stud. It was offered to us and for our business its important we hold on to the finer quality wool. We are eager to maintain the integrity of our wool clip, our lambing percentage and finishing prime lambs into the market. We’re also looking forward to hosting our first on–farm Dohne ram sale in December this year”, Duncan says. The Dohne ewe wool clip averages 21 micron, with last years hoggets at 19.4 micron, placing it closer to the wrinkly merino wool clip, used in the 03 688 7517 www.timarucanam.co.nz Mainfert is proud to be a long term nutrient partner to Scott Partnership
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