Sheep breeder Roger Ramsey with two Australian White lambs. Photo / Catherine Fry
Waikato builder Roger Ramsey comes from a family background of sheep and beef farming.
In 2006, he and his wife Justine Ramsey bought 40ha in Wharepūhanga, which he describes as a “large lifestyle block”.
When the couple’s four adult children left home, it was perfect for them to branch out into sheep breeding, something Roger has always been passionate about.
They started with Swiss Valais Blacknose sheep, the iconic and much-loved “lifestyle” sheep.
“Our hilly farm was the perfect landscape for the alpine Valais and it was a great opportunity to start a sheep-breeding stud,” Ramsey said.
“The breed is almost ‘dog-like’ with gentle temperaments and love of being around people.
“They make friendly pets for families on lifestyle blocks.”
In New Zealand, Valais are not commercially viable for meat and wool, but for many years they were a sought-after breed and commanded a high price from lifestyle block owners.
Ramsey said since the downturn in the New Zealand economy, local demand has reduced because of financial constraints but demand is high from overseas.
To maximise breeding potential each season, the Ramseys use artificial insemination (AI) and embryo flushing, followed by embryo transfer to surrogate ewes such as Romney and Wiltshire.
“I’ve always been interested in the work being done to find the perfect sheep for New Zealand that can withstand our weather conditions, not require shearing and provide high quality meat,” Ramsey said.
This led him to the Australian Whites, a composite breed of sheep developed in Australia in the early 2000s.
It is made up of four different sheep breeds: the Dorper and Van Rooy (both self-shedding with high fertility) and the Polled Dorset and Texel (both meat-producing sheep).
The meat from Australian Whites has a low melting point, similar to Wagyu beef, and once fully recognised in New Zealand is expected to fetch a high premium here, as it does in Australia.
It became a registered breed in New Zealand in 2020.
The breed is hardy, coping with extreme heat and extreme cold.
As a hair breed, it sheds cleanly with no requirement for shearing or dagging, reducing costs on-farm.
In 2021, Ramsey implanted 70 Australian White embryos into surrogate ewes on the farm.
“I wanted to make some changes to the conformation of those initial lambs, so I went to Australia in 2022 and imported 15 live stud ewes covering eight different bloodlines, which arrived in New Zealand in February 2023,” he said.
“Those ewes are now the foundation of our stud.
“After impregnation using AI, I was able to flush over 150 embryos from those ewes last year and the resulting lambs last season are now like what we see in photos of Australian White Sheep in Australia.”
Ramsey said the goal was to breed Australian White sheep all year round, utilising the polyestrous quality of Australian White ewes, where they can lamb up to three times in two years with no special attention.
“Some farmers in Australia now have their Australian White ewes lamb twice in one year, upon joining the rams after six weeks from the first lambs being born and removing the rams at 12 weeks from the first lambs being born, with 90% of the ewes being back in lamb again.”
The stud will continue to use AI and embryo transfer into surrogate ewes, as well as natural mating, to increase pure-bred Australian White sheep numbers.
When required, new genetics will be sourced from Australia in the form of embryos and/or semen.
“We will soon be established as the ‘go-to’ Australian White stud in New Zealand for top Australian White rams bred from proven Australian genetics,” Ramsey said.