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2020 Newsletter

Print Newsletter – Click Here

15th Annual Ram Sale
Kardinia is gearing up for a strong ram selling season with seasonal conditions looking favourable across most regions.
 
For the health and safety of all clients we have introduced a few changes with our sale being conducted under Covid safe guidelines.
 
All rams will be sold through our usual on property sale programme with the bidding interfaced with audio streaming via Auction Plus.  Agents will be on hand to assist clients with selection and purchase and navigating bidding online. 
 
We have provided additional pre sale inspection days to cater for those who wish to participate on Auctions plus.  Let us know if those dates don’t suit and we will arrange an alternative time.
 
For those unable to attend on sale day we will organise delivery of rams.

IT’S THE ALL-ROUNDER“Encompassing the four key profit drivers of fertility, fecundity, wool and meat, the Dohne Merino has firmly established itself as the ideal all-rounder and breed for now and into the future.”

MEAT – The Dohne produces an award winning, high yielding prime lamb carcase with attributes being equal to the commonly known terminal breeds with one exception, less fat.
Along with these characteristics the Dohne has the distinct advantage of being both a self-replacing flock and a terminal prime lamb system. Dohnes command high regard over-the-hooks and in the saleyard to terminal breeds and are being increasingly sought after by processors, restockers, finishers and feedlots.

WOOL – Gone are the misconceptions of Dohne wool being inferior to Merino wool with the backing of AWEX. Dohne Merino wool is no longer classified as anything other than AAAM. The majority is inseparable
from quality Merino wool, based on standard testing procedures.
Crimp and definition characteristics of wool produced by Dohne Merinos is on par with Merino wool and there is no price differentiation. For even the most discerning wool enthusiast, separating a quality Dohne fleece to that of a Merino is a near on impossible task; test results speak for themselves.

FERTILITY – It’s the most important aspect of sheep production. Fertility is
one of the main drivers for profit in the sheep flock, and certainly a key measure in assessing flock reproduction and genetic improvement in studs. It is not uncommon for the breed to record lambing percentages of up to 150pc, equal to traditional crossbred and composite flocks.
The Dohne competes equally with the Merino for wool quality. Its superior carcase, faster lamb growth rates and most importantly, higher fertility and fecundity, make the Dohne an attractive and profitable option for producers.

FECUNDITY – Increasing ewe reproductive rate will increase profit to farmers. By introducing Dohnes, farmers have been increasing gross margins not only through ewe fertility but also fecundity. Fecundity is one of the main profit drivers in a sheep flock and certainly a key profit measure in assessing a flock’s production.
Improved reproduction and fecundity influences the rate of genetic change in all other production aspects. To improve reproduction efficiency is to improve fecundity (rate and number of multiple births). Fecundity has a comparatively high heritability conducive to a reasonably acceptable rate of genetic change.

Original Article Published in the 2014 Stock Journal Dohne Lift Out

With years of performance testing, continual evaluation and applying the best genetics we believe we have some exceptional rams on offer in our 2020 sale that can make a real difference to your sheep operation.  Our sale catalogue will be available  for download from our website or if you would like a copy emailed please let us know.  All sheep are fully performance recorded, with all data represented in the sale catalogue.  
 
The stud is run under commercial conditions with no self feeders or shedding. All sale rams are run and managed from weaning to sale day in one group to challenge constitution, structure and performance.  Running the stud under our intensive commercial conditions without any supplementation gives us an accurate reflection of each individual’s doing ability and fertility, and what you see is what you will truly get.

List of Sires for 2020 Ram Sale

KD152415 – a long deep barrelled body with good bone and a good covering of white soft wool.

KD152456 – quality wool sire lines with outstanding staple length of white soft well crimped wool.

KD160012 – triplet son of MD137021 was selected for his growth, structure, length and depth of body.

KD160402 – great growth rate, early maturity, muscling & fat attributes, long stapled, white soft wool.

KD160471 – sire with great structure, depth and width of body.

KD171141 – sire has great length and depth of body with outstanding muscling and depth of twist.

GLN152131 – a well-balanced, great confirmation , body shape and a nourished white soft, long stapled wool.

HR160121 – very square and solidly built with good muscling throughout his body.

KP132345 – well balanced throughout, good muscling & shape, white fine soft wool, long stapled.

MD162966 – quality white, fine crimped wool that has a good staple length covering the body well.

As a commercial breeder how can I relate a ram’s ASBV to my flock’s performance?
Ask a local Dohne breeder how a Dohne flock will perform on your property.

Relative to this flock performance define your flock’s breeding objective for each trait, e.g. increased post weaning bodyweight (PWT) relative to the general Dohne performance.

Select rams for the stated breeding objective, e.g., rams with an ASBV higher than average PWT, that is, ASBVs that have a positive value for PWT (greater than 0.0). The higher this value the higher the PWT or another way to consider this the greater the growth rate.  

Is the Index Important?
The key is to select rams with the individual ASBV traits that reflect your breeding programme. 

An index number is correct for you only if you have the same weighting for the respective growth and wool ASBV’s as the index number for that ram. 

Keep in mind when viewing the Sheep Genetics database rankings that any individual ram must show the “reg” icon (registered) and that his sire has performed over 2 or more mobs for more accurate data. 

This is in line with the Australian Dohne Breeders strict guidelines when reporting data. 

Dohnes “More than a Merino fleece”, building Resilience and Profit.

“We Love Wool”  but Global market trends are clear, breeders need to aim for a resilient, highly fertile, meat and wool producing sheep.  It’s time to “clear the wool goggles” whilst boosting the reproduction, genetic fat and muscle traits in your flock but still retaining your quality wool cut.  If breeders continue to put high fleece weights on the body of an animal beyond 10pc of their body weight you start to trade off in other areas.   Commercial flocks need to develop into a total productivity industry rather than just focusing on wool with global market prices confirming this. 
The big question is “how many kilograms of lambs you can wean per hectare? At Kardinia we aim to breed rams with excellent Sheep Breeding Values for post weaning early growth, eye muscle and fat, clean fleece weight and high staple length.  These traits provide resilience for the ewes, helps lamb survival and opens up opportunities to turn off fast growing prime Dohne lambs. 

Let’s tell the World how wonderful wool is – don’t give consumers reasons not to buy wool and globally are sending us a very clear message, one we shouldn’t choose to ignore.  Today’s reality is that non-mulesed wool demand is stronger than ever before.  Our commitment to provide quality unmulesed wool is stronger than ever and we are proud to be part of the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) programme.  Kardinia are proud to be supplying non mulesed wool to 2 Australian brands in their next range of woollen garments. 

Contact us

Don and Karen Mills

Don
0427 872 808

Phone:
02 6035 8516

Fax:
02 6035 8503

Address:
Kardinia
Corowa NSW 2646

Email:
kardiniadohnes12@gmail.com

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