Wolf Pack looks to breed’s future
Article courtesy of ACM (Kylie Nicholls) The Land, Stock & Land, Stock Journal, Farm Weekly
Members of the Dohne breed’s newly formed Wolf Pack were on hand to assist at this year’s Australian
Sheep & Wool Show at Bendigo, Victoria.
THE future of Dohne sheep is in good hands with the formation of the ‘Wolf Pack’, a group of young, motivated breeders committed to the development and growth of the breed in Australia.
An initiative of the Australian Dohne Breeders Association’s National Council, Wolf Pack member and spokesperson Matthew Mills said the group was the voice of the next generation of Dohne breeders.
“It’s an opportunity for the younger Dohne stud breeders to get together in an informal setting and discuss the issues facing the sheep industry and the Dohne breed and offer some ideas and insights,” Mr Mills said.
“The group also aims to provide young stud breeders with exposure to the policies and plans that are in place for the Dohne breed and hopefully encourage them to consider joining the National Council in the future.”
The Wolf Pack has 10 members from four States, ranging in age from 21 to 30 years, and Mr Mills aid they hoped to increase group numbers over time.
All the members either run their own Dohne stud or are involved and working in their family’s farm business with representation from studs including Kardinia, Calga DD and Uardry, Macquarie, Midgery, and Spring Valley in New South Wales; Koonik, JAG, and Hamilton Run in Victoria; Clover
Downs, Glen Holme, and Ulooloo in South Australia and Mollerin Rock from Western Australia.
The first meeting of the Wolf Pack was held via Zoom in February, while the second meeting was
organised to coincide with the Australian Sheep & Wool Show (ASWS) at Bendigo, Victoria, where the Dohne was the feature breed.
“The first meeting was really more of a meet and greet for everyone and that’s when the Wolf Pack name was suggested and at this stage it has stuck,” Mr Mills said.
“Our meeting in Bendigo was the first time many of the young breeders had got together face-to-face.
“It was a great opportunity to get together at the ASWS, for some of the new stud breeders who were just getting into Dohnes and had joined the Wolf Pack, this was their introduction to the rest of us who have been around Dohnes for a while.
“We’re hoping it will become an annual meeting in Bendigo, even if they aren’t showing sheep, just to be there and see what the Dohne breed is about at such a big industry event.”
Mr Mills said the Wolf Pack planned to meet monthly or bi-monthly on Zoom due to the geographical spread of members.
“Even though the group won’t have any official authority with the association, it is all about presenting ideas, talking about the industry together and what we’re seeing as the next generation,” he said.
“We will try and line up our meetings to be either a week before or after the national council meets as we will have one representative which will sit on the council sessions and that will rotate around among our members.
”That enables us to present our ideas from the Wolf Pack to the council and also gives us experience in what a formal meeting entails.”
Mr Mills said some of topics already discussed by the Wolf Pack included the importance of collecting accurate performance data, involvement in wether competitions, and the promotion of the breed at industry events and in retail space including butcher shops.
“The consensus from the Wolf Pack is that data is what underpins our breed and we need to collect more data if possible,” he said.
“I think our generation has a much better understanding of using data and figures to improve your sheep flock.”
