INCREASE FLEECE WEIGHT WITHOUT LOSING WOOL QUALITY
Featuring sons of Hugh 11.3542, Australia's Top Performing Ram
Contact:
Hazeldean: 02 6453 5555
Richard Cannon: 02 6993 1177
m:0427 931 177
Bea Litchfield:0427 933 103
Jim Litchfield: 0417 676 561
120 Merino & Poll Merino Rams
Rosevale, Hay, NSW
Dear Merino Breeders,
Welcome to the 2016 Annual Hazeldean Riverina Merino ram sale. We take great pleasure and pride in putting forward this outstanding draft of young rams for your competition.
Hazeldean has always supported objective comparisons of bloodlines and individual sheep. It helps us identify other sources of genetics that we can use that can improve our sheep in certain areas and it helps maintain genetic diversity which is critical in these days of large scale AI programs. It also benchmarks Hazeldean against the rest of the industry which we think is important for national genetic progress and valuable to the industry at large.
With all comparisons it is the broader picture emerging that provides the most valuable information. Individual trials are not necessarily something to hang your hat on but once the power of averaging works over a number of analyses, valuable and accurate information is clear.
One thing that has probably not captured the attention of the main stream of wool producers observing these objective comparisons, is profitability per hectare. It is all very well running big sheep cutting large quantities of wool that perform well in wether trials but if the maintenance costs of these large animals offsets the returns then profitability will start to slide. Few managers work this out, preferring to see a pen of magnificent wethers and not thinking that perhaps they might be better off with slightly smaller sheep cutting similar or in some cases greater quantities of wool. It is these animals that improve the most important marker – profitability per hectare.
We have been encouraged by a number of analyses that have identified Hazeldean blood sheep as excelling in this fundamental profit driver. In the Peter Westblade trial Hazeldean blood wethers did exceptionally well and those that study the ASBV profile in Sheep Genetics have arrived at a similar conclusion.
We look forward to seeing you on sale day.
regards,
Jim Litchfield, September 2016
| YWT | YCFW | YFD | YDCV | YSS | MP+ | 7& | |
| RIVERINA SALE AVG 2016 | 4.1 | 19.1 | -1.9 | -0.4 | -1.6 | 158 | 164 |
| Average Industry | 3.8 | 11.2 | -1.0 | -0.6 | 0.3 | 132 |
Hazeldean Riverina Sale Rams average ASBV's show far heavier fleeces than the industry average, that are also finer than the average, and average indexes far above the industry average.
Hazeldean Genetic Trends over the last 10 years. Click to view data.
Rams available for private selection following the sale or any other time by appointment.
For prior Inspection of the rams or any information please don’t hesitate to call Richard Cannon on 0427931177 or email Richard.
Watch interviews with clients & industry experts about why they use Hazeldean genetics
click here to find out how to use ASBV's & Indexes
click here to find out more about Merino Select Indexes
Pdf file Pocket Guide - an easy to understand guide to using ASBV's
The Hazeldean Breeding Policy
The special treatment of small groups through shedding and provision of artificial rations is at odds to the philosophy of the stud. To give accurate and meaningful measurement information, it is necessary to evaluate animals by running them in large contemporary groups under conditions equivalent to those experienced in the world of commercial wool growing.
Hazeldean therefore runs its stud operations along the lines of a commercial wool growing and breeding enterprise.
Hazeldean bases its selection decisions and grading for sale on a measurement system that has been in place for many years. Measurement, when applied with common sense, significantly improves the accuracy of selecting for heritable traits of economic importance such as fleece weight and fibre diameter.
Hazeldean Flock Health Status
The Hazeldean flock is assessed under the National Johne's Disease Market Assurance Program and holds a status of Monitored Negative 3 Vaccinated ( MN3-V).
The Hazeldean flock is also accredited as Brucellosis free.
Please note
Although Hazeldean employs best practice procedures in livestock husbandry and does it's best to ensure every animal catalogued for sale is free from disease, internal parasites and external parasites it does not guarantee that any sale animal is free of disease, internal parasites or external parasites.
Semen Interests
Hazeldean retains 100% semen interest and marketing rights on all rams sold including if the ram is onsold, however this does not stop the purchaser from collecting and using semen in their own flock. The rams are sold with full physical ownership to the buyer. If Hazeldean decides to collect and market semen from any ram sold, we will arrange and pay for transport and collection costs, and organise a suitable time to collect the ram.