NEW BREED... Elders’ Nick Fazekas, Garnett SheepMaster stud principal Neil Garnett, Alison Bannan, Brian and Susi Prater, Elders’ Alistair Keller, Orrie Cowie Merino and Poll Merino stud principal John Dalla, Elders Minlaton manager Adam Pitt, Elders’ Nathan King with the top-priced Garnett SheepMaster ram sold last year.
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ORRIE Cowie Genetics, Warooka, is holding its inaugural SheepMaster field day and stud sale on property on Wednesday, October 25.
The stud, which has primarily focused on Merino and Poll Merinos for decades, branched out to the 100 per cent shedding variety last year.
Principals John and Heather Dalla purchased Lot 1 at National Elders SheepMasterTM Ram Sale, Elleker WA, in 2022 for $110,000, plus four special stud sires and 300 SheepMaster ewe lambs to form an excellent foundation.
Heather said they are already noticing the benefits.
“We had several SheepMasters on display at the Yorke Peninsula Field Days, with our six and a half to seven-month-old lambs averaging 80.1 kilograms and our newly weaned lambs averaging 47.45kg,” Heather said.
“We are excited to provide a productive and profitable alternative to terminal sires which require minimal care and infrastructure development, and will enhance a cropping program or any other livestock enterprise.”
SheepMasters are bred for Australian conditions and are easy to manage, with no shearing, no crutching, no tailing and no flies.
“They reach maturity early, are productive and are fertile with our ewe lambs successfully joining the program at 7 months old,” Heather said.
“Breeding ewes can have at least three lambings every two years and are capable of producing in excess of 200 per cent lambs in well-managed flocks.”
John said he thought the addition of SheepMasters will benefit Orrie Cowie’s whole operation, and those who purchase from them.
“Running SheepMasters means we can run the same number of sheep but will have more time to concentrate on the Merinos as the others are so easy care,” he said.
“Since we have had the SheepMasters, I can say they are really balanced, have a clean shedding ability and carry more weight than other breeds we have had experience with.”
Inspection of Orrie Cowie’s SheepMasters will begin at 10am, with a barbecue lunch provided before the auction at 1pm.
Pre-sale inspection is available by appointment.
For more information, call John on 0419 826 228 or Heather on 0417 898 474, or visit www.orriecowie.com.au.
