Dohnes’ do-ability simplifies operation

By ANDREW MILLER / STOCK & LAND / 27th August 2015

Having an income from both wool and prime lamb attracted Clunes grazier Rod Seers to the Dohne breed. Mr Seers runs a flock of 2500 Dohnes at Clearview, in the Glengower district, having switched from Merinos five years ago.

“We like the wool idea of the Dohnes, which produce really good quality wool – we were half Merinos and half first cross but I am just simplifying the operation by having all Dohnes,” Mr Seers said.

“We do put the pure Dohne rams back over the ewes and we also put them over some Border Leicesters.” He said it was the first year he had put pure Dohne rames over the Border Leicesters and the aim was to market the first cross ewes at one and a half years old. “They are a good, easy animal to look after – I like dealing with them,” Mr Seers said.

He said the property aimed to have lambs drop in April, with wethers turned off in February or March, to be shorn as hoggets the next January. “The wool is equally as good a quality as the Merino we were growing before, but it it is slightly less a cut.”

Mr Seers said he expected the prime lamb market to hold up for some time yet – “it looks pretty good for a while, I can’t see it falling in a hole,” he said. “I have no regrets doing what we have done with our flock, compared with the pure Merinos – we might have got 70 per cent lambing from our maiden ewes, out of them, but we are getting 100pc out of our Dohnes,” he said. Golden