Coopworth, Dorset Down & Shorthorn Cattle Studs
New Zealand
GLENDHU GENETICS
RAM STUDS
RAM SALES & OUR OPERATION
Each year we hold an on-farm Ram sale offering pure Coopworth Rams and pure Dorset Down Rams for sale.
By offering a wide selection, it enables farmers greater choice, to determine which ram best fits their goals. With the bonus of being able to look at a line of sires during the selection process.
Our on-farm sales are run in conjunction with Bidr, an online platform, livestreaming the sale to those who can’t travel, giving them the ability to watch and bid on the auction from the comfort of their home.
COOPWORTH STUD
Our two Coopworth studs are run 100% independent of each other on separate farms. We use different sires but often swap ewes to give us a stronger linkage under SIL.
The Ashaig Stud has been breeding for over 40 years, and the Glendhu Stud more than 15 years. Both are 100% pure Coopworth with no other breeds through them, something we are very strong about.
Both studs have similar breeding philosophies and between the two, makes us one of the largest studs Coopworth operations in the South Island.
This allows us to select only the top Rams for sale. We believe in quality not quantity.
COOPWORTH IMPROVED GENETICS
Hinenui 1281/17 was used through an AI programme and is a complete outcross for us. Bred in the Hill Country in Gisborne, we searched the country to find a Ram to complement our breeding programme and this Ram delivered!
We used sons by him as lambs and are pleased with the lambs. Some new sires from 2020, Wharetoa 134/17, Puketaura 743/17 have sons, as well as some of the top Rams we have retained.
The past year's climate challenged us. A dry autumn, a wet winter and a tight spring. Regardless, the Coopworth ewe continued to demonstrate its strengths under the conditions proving our genetics perform under difficult conditions.
Our focus for the past 10 years has been on meat and growth, and we are seeing the fruits of these genetics in returns of our commercial operation, as well as hearing glowing reviews through client feedback.
Our Coopworths are certainly dual purpose: retaining the strong maternal ability that the breed is renowned for but having strong carcase qualities that allows clients to achieve superior results using these genetics without having to cross terminal sires on their maternal flock.
We have included the SIL Dual purpose percentile band in the catalogue to show where our genetics sit compared to other breeds and breeders via SIL. More than a tool to aid selection, it shows that our rams are at the top end of performance.
DORSET DOWN STUD
The Glendhu Dorset Down stud was established 50 years ago and is now one of the oldest studs in New Zealand.
Our focus on Dorsets is simple, strong growth from birth to weaning with high muscle, and lambs that will yield highly. Terminal lambs should be killed off mum as we try to maximise profit per ha. Fertility ensuring ewes have 2 lambs at weaning time.
Using performance data helps us drive genetic improvement. Craigneuk 200/17 continues to be a top breeder for us with his progeny demonstrating exceptional growth and early maturity.
We have a new sire in Craigneuk 364/18 whom we purchased in the 2020 Craigneuk sale. Another huge weaning weight Ram with a high EMA. These 2 sires are really stamping their mark with impressive performance data.
Last year, we offered six rams from the Sinai Dorset Stud in Canterbury. Those rams came to us in May after being heavily used as ram lambs across their commercial operation. They are all sired by one of our rams, Glendhu 29/18, whom we used as ram lamb before selling him to the Sinai Stud. 29/18 had a large offering of rams in our 2020 ram sale.
Another cracking weaning weight at 61kg and his twin sister matched it. His mum had the two top price rams in our 2020 sale. When we were given the opportunity to take some top ram lambs off this stud, we grabbed it given the performance behind these rams. Please note, these rams were not autumn scanned and were scanned in the Spring.
