| 19 Pioneering sheep breeding and export success Sally and Lindsay on farm. Karen Phelps RURAL PEOPLE » Stratheden Beef A remote Tasman farming operation has found itself at the centre of an unexpected international spotlight, as an unnamed American reality television series has filmed on-site. The reality show is due to air in spring and filming has already delivered moments of unintended comedy. “They had a hay bale to use as a picnic table to do a shot then the sheep came out and ate before they could shoot. It was hilarious,” says Lindsay Strathdee, 70, who owns Stratheden Farm with wife Sally. The drawcard for the film crew were the couple’s Valais Blacknose sheep dubbed ‘the cutest sheep in the world’. The Strathdees have become known globally for their pioneering sheep breeding programme and export success. Their Valais Blacknose enterprise, which began in 2017, now trades under Valais Blacknose New Zealand and runs around 100 purebred sheep alongside a breeding-up flock. The animals, originally from the Swiss Alps, have become a global novelty breed prized for their distinctive appearance and gentle temperament. They produce half the fat of a commercial meat sheep and an enormous amount of coarse wool, 12 inches a year, meaning the Strathdees shear two to three times a year. “We have helped to establish the breed in America and the breed has just exploded over there. They just love them,” explains Lindsay. They have also exported semen and embryos to Canada and sent live sheep to Japan, where they are now kept on wineries as visitor attractions, while other animals feature at Airbnb stays, farm shops and petting zoos. Lindsay says Valais Blacknose can be reluctant maters. “We tracked down some Austrian sheep with amazing fertility and we’ll be making them available to New Zealand breeders next year and taking them into America as well.” Located in Motueka Valley, Stratheden Farm itself combines livestock enterprise with tourism and regenerative farming. Formerly a dairy unit, it now runs a beef herd alongside the sheep programme, with around 90 calves and 20 breeding cows, some of which are finished to prime. The couple say the decision to sell the 105ha property, which combines 40 hectares of fertile flats and 52 hectares of moderate hill country, with the remainder in steep native areas including 9 hectares protected under a QEII Covenant featuring original forest and regenerating manuka, is driven by practicality and long-term planning. “We are looking at moving to North Canterbury to a flatter property and are currently on the hunt,” explains Lindsay. “We also mate other people’s sheep from Canterbury and Southland, monitoring their genetics and providing them with new rams each year so we will be closer to our clients. Sally is also now a senior judge within the growing Valais show circuit in New Zealand so the new location will help with this as well cutting down travel time.” Lindsay says their Motueka farm is an ideal property for many farmers. The land also includes more than 70 paddocks and irrigation is a permitted take from the Orinoco Creek with around 15 hectares is currently under irrigation 11ha via fixed grid and the remainder by pods with potential to expand. Soils on the flats are Sherry Sandy Loam, known for natural fertility and excellent drainage while the hill country is Orinoco Hill Soils with medium fertility. There are Te Pari cattle yards (200 head capacity), two sheep yards and quality “We also mate other people’s sheep from Canterbury and Southland, monitoring their genetics and providing them with new rams each year so we will be closer to our clients.” Darren Moon darren.moon@rothbury.co.nz 027 546 3252 Want quality advice from a local? Leave it to Darren. Proud insurance advisers to Stratheden Beef fencing, much of it new, and two dwellings, including a cottage used for short-term accommodation.
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