Grassendale Genetics’ philosphy is to breed hardy, resistant hill country sheep with high production, efficiency and structural soundness. We strive to continually challenge and consolidate our high performing genetic package in the harsh farming conditions on Grassendale. We are totally committed and passionate in our endeavour to produce the perfect ram for our clients.
The cornerstone principles to successful productive hill country farming:
Zoetis Genetics NZ has been working alongside Grassendale since 2019, helping to refine the flock’s breeding objectives so they align with Grassendale’s farm management policy, the challenges of their environment, and most importantly, with the needs of their clients, guided by George and Luce’s vision for the sheep industry. As early adopters of DNA technology, Grassendale Genetics has strategically used Zoetis genomic tools to lift the rate of genetic gain across both production and health traits. For the past four years they have used DNA testing for parentage identification, which has allowed them to run the stud flock fully under commercial conditions while still delivering the accuracy needed for stud breeding. Combined with genomically enhanced breeding values, this approach has delivered outstanding improvements in the NZ Maternal Worth index, as shown by the latest SIL genetic trend graphs.
George and Luce’s commitment to innovation and continual improvement has led Grassendale Genetics to adopt the Zoetis Shepherd Ultimate® DNA program, with genomics now applied to every animal born. By taking this step, Grassendale Genetics can offer ram buyers breeding values that are more accurate and reliable than ever before, helping their clients achieve faster genetic progress in their flocks. This investment also ensures that buyers are well-prepared for the future, as processors and markets increasingly demand greater efficiency, consistency, and performance across the supply chain. – Dayanne Almeida (Zoetis Genetics’ area manager and technical lead for sheep)
We farm 520 ha of medium to steep hill country in Makuri in the Tararua district. We run 2100 ewes 700 hoggets and 100 beef cows. We started buying Coopworth rams off Grassendale 8 years ago to put across our Romney ewe flock and did this for 3 years, and then for the last 5 years we have been buying Grassendale Romworth’s.
Our scanning % has lifted considerably from a 160 % between 2014-16 to a five year average of 175% across the whole flock and likewise the lambing % from 121% between 2014 -2017 to a five year average of 143%. A big contribution to this lift is the Grassendale genetics, our scanning is repeatable year after year and right where we want it to be, our 2tooths usually scan very similar to the mixed age, this year we had less than 1% dry ewes across the whole flock.
In Makuri we generally have pretty average springs with some very poor lambing weather, I find that the mothering ability of our sheep is outstanding and is a big contributor to their survivability. I think lamb survivability is one of the most important traits in our cold and wet environment and the Grassendale sheep certainly provide this.
Our weaning weights have risen as well which is pretty impressive considering our lambing % is much higher than it was 8 years ago. We also use the Grassendale Beltex/Suftex terminal sire across our B flock and are very happy with these, they have got the biggest eye muscle in their chops I have ever seen and taste amazing.
| Scanning % | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MA | 170 | 171 | 178 | 176 | 177 | 176 |
| 2 Tooth | 167 | 172 | 178 | 173 | 174 | 176 |
| Docking % | 141 | 142 | 150 | 145 | 139 |
Daniel and Lou Bowie
Makuri
