The Sheep

Morrison Farming have three distinct strains of ewes. They have been developed to fit our personal interests and give options for our differing land types. The numbers in each flock are constantly changing as we try to predict our best market options.

These form six mating flocks.

1. 800 Coopworth - Burnbank

2. 1,000 Wiltshire - Woodlands

3. 2,000 Ezicare - Ratanui

4. 400 mixed breed 1 year - Ardo joined terminal sires 8/2/10

5. 1,000 mixed breed - Homewood - joined to terminal sires 25/3/10

6. 1,500 mixed breed hoggets - joined to appropriate sires 10/5/10

The Ezicare sheep are bred for Ratanui, our steep Hunterville property. They are derived mainly from a combination of Wiltshire, Texel and Poll Dorset genetics. The intention is to reduce shearing and wool maintenance costs by developing a flock that has no belly or crutch wool and is free from wool on the legs and head. We believe we have taken $12/su of wool related cost from our sheep at Ratanui.

The Ezicares are shorn once a year without dagging or crutching. our selection through an elite SIL (Sheep Improvement Limited) flock aims to have a self replacing sheep that is capable of weaning two lambs, without shepherding, to killable weights 17 - 18kgs. Fifty percent of the single lambs were drafted

pre Christmas off their mothers. The balance of male lambs and all the single ewe lambs were weaned and moved to Ardo for finishing. We expect these lambs to be drafted without shearing before the end of March.

The initial impetus for Wiltshires came in 1982 as we tried to capture productivity by using a new, very fertile breed that produced a large fast growing carcase. The growth in Wiltshire numbers has been tied to the fortunes of the wool industry. As the value of wool rises the popularity of Wiltshire ewes declines and when wool values fall their numbers increase. This is a predictable scenario as Wiltshires have little or no wool. our analysis shows; despite the varying price of wool, the Wiltshire ewe has always remained a viable option as she partitions energy away from wool into her lambs. On Woodlands we maintain a pure flock that receives minimum attention. The majority of New Zealand's Wiltshires have descended from our flock. We have some two hundred Wiltshire Horn ewes and eight hundred pure Polled Wiltshire ewes. The elite ewes are SIL performance recorded. This recording assists to improve carcase, holds fertility and records the wool shedding characteristic that identifies the breed. Within the flock, attention is also placed on a breeding programme that keeps inbreeding at its lowest level.

The Coopworth flock has been developed by Graham at Burnbank. It is a self replacing flock and is providing most of the commercial ewes for Homewood. The breeding aims have focused on maximizing both wool and lamb production. The majority of lambs are sent to the works in the period May / July this includes all the ewe hoggets that are scanned, not in lamb.