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RURAL PEOPLE: Bill and Maureen Lott
Business Rural / Spring 2013
Stud breeder trials his first electronic sale I would like to get up to
Neil Grant Dorper sheep are relatively rare in New Zealand, but if Bill and Maureen Lott and other breeders have their way, they may become much more numerous. Dorpers were developed in the 1930s by South African Department of Agriculture scientists by crossing dorset horn and blackhead persian sheep, with the intention of creating a hardy meat producer with good lambing percentages. The result was a black-headed, and a white-faced strain, each with its own characteristics. Both lines have proven successful in arid conditions, and are widely grown in the Middle East, the Americas and Australia. They have a tendency to shed their wool and hair, so they may look scruffy for a while. But farmers never have to get the shearing gang in. There’s a saving. Obviously, then, the meat production needs to compensate, and there is no doubting their ability in this field. Ewes are sound mothers, and their lambs grow rapidly to a high weaning weight. Lambing
500 ewes eventually, but because of heavy culling we’re not there yet. Sunnyvale’s Costa, judged Supreme Dorper for the last two years at the Canterbury A & P Show. percentages often exceed 150%, and the lambs are highly mobile at birth. Dorpers are an economical breed because of their feed conversion ability. They can adapt to most grazing conditions. These attributes encouraged the Lotts to give them a try when they established their farm at Sunnyvale in the hills above Fairlie. They had had a simmental stud at Garston before shifting, and a texel stud and suffolk/texel flock. A friend saw dorpers in Australia, and as the Lotts wanted to develop better composite meat sheep, they imported dorper semen to see how things worked out. They were amazed at the result, and, about 11
years ago, imported 200 purebred live sheep and some embryos. They kept 10 of the 200 and sold the rest. They have concentrated on getting their flock to adapt to New Zealand’s climate and diet. “Their meat yield is high, so it is worthwhile going through a bit of pain,” says Bill Lott. “They’re lovely natured sheep. I train my dogs on them.” Sunnyvale currently has about 100 ewes. They have been doing embryo transferring (ET) to reproduce cold tolerance, and improve traits such as foot problems and worm counts. “I would like to get up to 500 ewes eventually, but because of heavy culling, we’re not there yet. And we sell out every year.” As their flock improves and more commercial farmers realise the value of putting dorper rams across their ewes, the Lotts are confident the breed will become better known and more desirable. Bill Lott has taken rams to the North Island to sell, but found it cost more than he received. This year, he will be displaying the stud’s
top sheep at the Canterbury A & P Show, in Christchurch, from November 13-15. The sheep will then be available for sale on line (website http:// pggwrightson.co.nz and click on Agonline). “This will be our first electronic sale,” he says. “We’ll see how it goes. These things take a while for people to get onto. Electronic sales are strong in Australia.” Australia’s dorper flock is now of sufficient size that the meat is available for customers to buy specifically. Bill says there are not enough producers in New Zealand yet to emulate that. But he hopes it will happen in time. He says the meat is more like romney and merino than texel. It’s soft with fine grain and a little intra-muscular fat. The market for dorpers is nationwide. The Lotts sell them to commercial farmers in Gisborne and broader North Island East Coast region, as well as in the South Island.
White Dorper, Texel and Suftex
www.sunnyvale.co.nz Eight-month-old white dorper lambs at Sunnyvale.
J&A JONES CONTRACTING NOW OPERATING HORSCH DISC DRILL Your local seeding specialist operating
Rams will be offered for sale at the South Island Dorper Helmsman auction on the 22nd through agonline
Phone Jeremy or Ange 685 5997 or 021720 369
Bill and Maureen Lott Registered Dorper Breeders Phone 03 685 8814 Mobile 027 685 8814
facebook.com/sunnyvalegenetics @SunnyvaleGen http://agonline.co.nz/
Email thelotts@sunnyvale.co.nz
Proud to Support Sunnyvale Stud Alexandra 03 440 0100
www.iclca.co.nz
Ranfurly 03 444 9158
Mt Michael Downs RD 17, Fairlie, South Canterbury, New Zealand.