White Dorper Stud Philosophy
We believe it is crucial for the Dorper to be developed in its initial years for the sole purpose of providing a Non- Shearing Maternal sheep meat breed to benefit and sustain the developing lamb industry throughout all regions of Australia.
The Dorper breed was developed and measured in its ability to thrive in harsh and semi arid regions.
The breed was also developed in South Africa to provide a 16kg to 18kg cwght allowing for a very sustainable self replacing flock providing lamb for their market requirements.
We believe the Dorper will be enhanced by further development within our Australian lamb industry to thrive in all regions including the colder high rainfall regions through southern and eastern regions where our current composite maternal ewe base is thriving.
It is our view that these achievements can be done within the breed and without the need to introduce alternative sheep breed genetics.
At Haseley and Redcliffe it is fully expected that management will utilize in the longer termTerminal breeds to enhance lamb production once the female breeding markets are saturated.
We see trying to achieve excessive meat traits as a compromise to achieving our more highly valued maternal traits such as Lamb marking % and Lamb sales % which are the real profit drivers for our operation.
It is for this reason that a heavy focus is put on achieving information from naturally conceived and managed breeding stock. Traits included
1. Conceiving whilst lactating
2. Conceiving and rearing at earliest possible age whilst maintaining itself for future production.
3. Conceiving and rearing twins
4. Ability to handle multiple lambing intervals including conceiving off season
5. Ability to milk to enable maximum weaning weights.
Embryo transfer programs played an integral part in achieving large numbers of high quality ewes. Its future within our program will only be to multiply our high performing stock once they have been truly measured and identified.
KEEP IN TOUCH
