Nithdale Romneys and Suffolks

In February 2008 we purchased Awareka Romneys owned by Murray and Loraine Rohloff. We have been closely linked with Awareka Romneys since we joined the Southern Romney Development Group in 1992 using common rams over those years. Genetically our two flocks are very similar and our breeding objectives over that time have been almost identical with a focus on breeding worm resistance into the sheep while increasing performance. The last three years we both began breeding the MyoMAX gene into the sheep in order to increase meat yield. We saw this as an opportunity to expand our existing stud operation with a point of difference with most other Romney studs being 15 years of worm resistance selection and more recently the introduction of the MyoMAX gene into the breed.

Nithdale Romneys — SIL Flock 2629

History

Up until the late 1970s registered Romneys from around Southland were being used over Nithdale ewes. However the ewes were having lambing difficulties and problems with large udders and poor teat placement. As Nithdale had a large commercial flock it was decided to start a stud primarily for supplying rams for the commercial flock. In the early 1980s a number of high fleeceweight ewes were screened from the commercial flock at Nithdale (when wool was worth something!) and rams primarily from the North Island, from breeders who were part of the New Zealand Romney Development Group, were put across these ewes. Easy care and high performance were the main objectives right from the start. Performance recording (lambing performance, weaning weight, autumn weight and fleece weight) became an integral part of the stud. Rams were used over the commercial flock with surplus rams being sold. In 1992 we joined the Southern Romney Development Group and began recording faecal egg counts as part of the AgResearch WormFEC program.

Current Breeding Objectives

We have been selecting rams and ewes to retain on the dual purpose overall (DPO) index including WormFEC produced by Sheep Improvement Limited (National Sheep Database). All reports now are generated from across flock reports within the Southern Romney Development group. Traits recorded are: number of lambs born, survival, weaning weight, live weight at 6 months, meat scanning (A, B & C measurements) in the ram lambs, faecal egg counts (twice) in the ram lambs, fleece weight at 12 months, live weight at 18 months age in the 2th ewes.

To learn more about the Southern Romney Development Group, visit the website.

Worm Resistance

We see a greater emphasis needing to be placed on breeding sheep for worm resistance. Over the last few years there has been an increasing awareness of drench resistance and the associated problems faced by sheep farmers. We have been part of the WormFEC program for 15 years and have made significant progress in reducing faecal egg counts. This is starting to show in our commercial flock with fewer drenches required over the season. We currently have the top ranked 2th ram in the Southern Romney Development Group for worm resistance and will be mating him this season over our best ewes for worm resistance in an effort to make more progress with this trait. We are also in the process of sourcing a ram that is top in the WormFEC program that we will use over some of our ewes.

MyoMax Gene

Over this last year we along with the other members in the Southern Romney Development Group have begun a program to introduce the MyoMax gene into the Romneys. We selected 447/03, a top Texel ram from the Blackdale Stud (purchased by Peter Wishart & Laurie Paterson), that had two copies of the Myomax gene. This ram currently ranks 7th on the ACE Terminal Sire Index. This ram was AIed to 70 top Romney ewes. Ewe hoggets from this mating, all having one copy of the myomax gene were mated with a top Romney/Texel ram lamb from Murray Rohloff’s Awareka stud. We currently have lambs on the ground (half Romney) that have two copies of the Myomax gene. We will keep blood testing each generation (using the blood test available from Catapult — a subsidiary of Ovita), culling progeny that don’t have the gene and retaining those that do. Our objective is to breed a sheep that is 7/8 — 15/16 Romney with two copies of the Myomax gene. In other words a sheep that effectively has the all the traits we have been breeding for in the Romney with the meat traits of the Texels.

To learn more about the MyoMax gene visit the website: www.catapultsystems.co.nz/products/

Selection of Rams used

Nithdale 457/00
– Ranked top of the Southern Romney Development Group for 3 years and only in this last year has been overtaken
– On the latest ACE Dual Purpose WormFEC Sire Summary he still ranks 29th
– Last year we collected semen from him and he was used by some other prominent breeders in New Zealand
– He ranks well for NLB and has good performance in all the other productive traits as well as the worm resistance traits
– Semen available for sale.

Nithdale 549/05
– Ranked first in the Southern Romney Development Group as a 2th for parasite resistance
– Mated this year to ewes that ranked top for parasite resistance
– Ranks 14th overall on our own sire summary (DPO of 1482)

Nithdale 254/06
– Nithdale 254-06 is a 3/4 Romney, 1/4 Texel with one copy of the MyoMAX gene
– Used in the stud this last year
– Top ranked ram in the Southern Romney Development Group on the latest across flock Sire Summary with a DPO index of 2095

Nithdale 226/05 ranks 18th out of this years 2th rams. His brother Nithdale 225/05 was used as a ram hogget in the stud (which died after being head butted by a newly introduced ram!). They were both half Romney, half Texel with one copy of the Myomax gene. These photos show the extra meat that the Romneys will have with the Myomax genes introduced into the flock.

Nithdale Romneys & Suffolks

Romneys & Suffolks