George and Luce Williams of Grassendale Genetics are renowned Wairarapa hill country sheep breeders focused on producing hardy, resilient hill country sheep with high production, efficiency and structural soundness.
The couple’s steep, summer dry hill country farm, with a particularly high wind run, is the perfect proving ground for their breeding strategy. They are totally committed to their drive to produce the perfect ram for their clients.
Their key focus areas are reproduction, growth, meat, wool and survival and their breeds are Romney (Mainstay), Romworth (Built for Hill Country) and Suftex (The Sunday Roast), as well as the most recent development, the Grassendale Streaker (A Shedding Breed).
Clients of Grassendale Genetics are achieving excellent results, with their rams helping to drive on-farm production gains.
“It speaks volumes about what we are achieving with Grassendale Genetics.”
Robert and Becks O’Neale run 6000 stock units on a 540-hectare effective coastal Wairarapa property at Riversdale beach. The couple has been getting rams from Grassendale Genetics for the past seven years, going back to when they started as farm managers there.
Grassendale’s Romworth rams, used on the maternal side of their operation, have driven significant advances in production. “When we took over here seven years ago, production was fairly average,” says Robert. “We were docking around the low 130s and scanning around the mid-150s.”
“For the past three years, we have been scanning around the mid-180s, with 12% triplets also being bang on for what we want. We scanned at 187% over everything in 2023 and are pretty happy with that. We’re docking around 150% to 153%.”
At weaning, they generally have a minimum of 40% go to the truck to be killed, with the average carcass weight trending upwards and currently sitting at around 18.5 kilograms.
“These are very tough sheep too. We have made huge progress and are growing every year. That is partly down to how we manage the farm but the sheep are a big part of it too and the genetics we are getting. We’re really happy with how things have gone, including using Beltex as our terminal ram too.”
Southland sheep and beef farmers Dean and Sarah Rabbidge, who farm at Wyndham, run 9000 stock units including 4400 ewes and 1200 hoggets on a 580-hectare effective property. Last year, 2023, was their fifth drop of lambs on the ground using Grassendale Genetics Romney as their maternal ram.
“I really respect George and Luce’s breeding objectives,” says Dean. “Our farm aligns with their breeding philosophy of hardiness, good mothering and survivability. We want a sheep that can look after itself at lambing time. It can be a pretty tough environment here. We also want sheep that can maintain stable body condition year round without us having to condition score them all the time.”
Scanning percentages were in the low 170s before going to Grassendale Genetics but are now in the 180s with 4% triplets and a good ratio of twins and singles. “We’ve got them to where we want them to be and are meeting our goals on reducing mortality from scanning to lambs on the truck.”
Despite a drought last summer, they tailed more lambs than ever. “It speaks volumes about what we are achieving with Grassendale Genetics.”
Dean says they are also achieving better wool production and that’s helping their bottom line too.
© Waterford Press Ltd 2024 – Independent Print Media New Zealand
