| 21 Breeding all about ‘finding the balance’ Each season Charlie keeps about 80-90 romney ram lambs and 200 half-bred ram lambs. Sue Russell MEAT & WOOL » Belinda Colling and Charlie Hore Charlie Hore and Belinda Colling farm Patearoa Station, 27kms south-west of Ranfurley in Central Otago. Charlie and Brother Andrew were brought up on the family’s Stonehenge Station, established back in 1910. Patearoa Station is home to Patearoa Romney Stud, comprising 280 registered ewes, 2,800 merino ewes, 800-900 half-bred, 150 cows and 140 calves and 2500 hoggets. The property is over 7800ha with about 150ha under irrigation. It extends from the Taieri River south of Patearoa and rises into the Rock and Pillar Range. When Rural South spoke with Charlie it was getting dry, however as he explains, they are used to the dry but not with all the winds. “We do farm toward the dry conditions though. We get fairly short on grass but we farm expecting this. All the ewes are up on the top of the hill with the weathers, while all the lambs graze across irrigated land, to keep condition and growth rates up.” Lambs mated to a terminal are fattened and gone from the farm by May. The couple’s interest in Romney evolved from when Stonehenge Station, just up the road, sourced rams from a local stud, so when the opportunity came to buy the stud in 2013 from then owners Brad and Abby Dawson. Charlie and Andrew jumped at the chance. Charlie and Belinda took it over in 2018 when the farms were split up. “We are trying to put a nice fleece on them; white with a bit of staple. You want it as soft as you can get, as white as you can get with a good crimp, but you also want to keep the carcass conformation right. Breeding is all about finding the balance,” Charlie says. He’s philosophical about the time it takes to see meaningful genetic gain given so many factors are involved. Push too hard in one direction and another quality is weakened in the process. Stud rams are sold privately. In the past as many as 60 in each season, however Charlie says now it is usually betwee 25-30. The main focus for breeding them is to breed half-breds for sale. Fleece values from half-bred sheep are struggling at this time, once fetching $15kg it is now at $4-5kg. Charlie says its good to see Merino NZ promoting Romney wool. Working on Patearoa Station are Charlie and one other staff. If more help is needed casuals are brought in. Land by the main road has been taken up into QEII convenant status and about 986ha of old land has been retired to DOC. Each season Charlie keeps about 80-90 romney ram lambs and 200 half-bred ram lambs, to keep stock age and condition ticking over. He says he’s pleased with where their Romney stud animals are placed in terms of condition and traits. “Romney make a valuable contribution to the national flock especially in the cross-bred situation. Romney are great at converting feed into meat yield with ewes making excellent mothers, lambing well on their own and looking after their lambs with great care. We specialise in Civil Construction and Farm Services including: • Earthmoving • Irrigation Services • Dam construction • Farming Infrastructure • Roading and access tracks • Landscaping 027 512 4677 Covering Maniototo, Manuherikia & Strath Taieri ∙ Baleage ∙ Hay ∙ Cultivation ∙ Drilling 021 446 939 | wilsoncontractingltd@xtra.co.nz PETER LYON SHEARING www.peterlyonshearing.co.nz Peter Lyon Shearing is based in Alexandra, right in the heart of Central Otago, a short drive from tourist mecca’s Queenstown and Wanaka, New Zealand. The company services wool growing clients in Southland, Otago, South Canterbury and Marlborough. established since 1985 Peter Lyon Shearing SHEAR QUALITY
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