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Konongwootong Dorsets for • High Fertility • Early Maturity • Profitability • Reliability

Currently lamb prices are very buoyant: but to get the best price, the prime lamb producer needs to select his terminal sires very carefully.

At Konongwootong, our focus is to produce a line of commercially profitable, high performing, low maintenance rams to suit the demands and needs of today's prime lamb producer. Our aim is to breed rams, that will produce prime lambs to meet the Export and Trade markets: thus, giving the producer the best opportunity to maximise his marketing opportunities.

Our flock rams are paddock reared on good quality pastures and are not given any grain supplementation. Flock rams are run as a single management group from weaning to Sale time and all treated identically.

At Konongwootong we conduct a strict bio-security plan. Our flock is Brucellosis accredited free and we have MN2V status in the MAP OJD programme. Our vaccinating programme for OJD commenced in 2002 there for all our stock are second generation vaccinates at least.

We have been part of the LambPlan Performance recording system since its inception, but we place an emphasis on structural correctness before we consider EBV's. A ram must be able to do the job he has been bred for. We also Prime Scan and Stockscan to help identify our better performing bloodlines.

As well as our Poll Dorset stud, we run 3500 commercial self-replacing Dorset Coopworth cross ewes: so, we are aware of the challenges and needs of the prime lamb producer.

In normal years, we enter our local regional shows and Melbourne Royal but this year, due to Covid 19 regulations these shows have been cancelled; but our team are shaping up well.

Due to the uncertainty of the Covid 19 regulations and the restrictions that may be in place regarding on property sales; we have invited Elite Livestock Auctions to be part of our sale. Chris Norris from Elite Livestock provides an online bidding platform so that buyers can bid from the security of their own homes or wherever it suits them. Our agents from Kerr & Co Livestock and JME will be working closely, with Elite Livestock Auctions, to enable a smooth transition to this form of auctioning. Any clients who do not have access to a computer will still be able to bid through their agents. The actual auction will be live streamed through the Elite Livestock website and linked to other relevant sites. Each ram with his facts and figures and video of the ram, will be available for On-Line viewing prior to the Ram Sale. If Covid restrictions allow, we will still conduct our sale in the normal manner but with the addition of On - line bidding.

Prior to our Ram Sale, clients will have an opportunity to inspect our rams at an on farm Open Day. Covid 19 restrictions will be adhered to so you must contact us if you would like to attend. The Open Day will be on Sunday 4th October from 10-2pm. More information will be available as the weeks progress.

At Konongwootong, we see these difficult times as a chance to embrace new technology and convert the changes forced upon us into positive experience. Please contact us or your agent if you have any queries

Dates to Remember:

Sunday 4th October- Konongwootong Open Day 10-2pm Zig Zag Rd Konongwootong.

Thursday 15th October. Annual Ram Sale 11 am. Please note the change of sale commencement.

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Melbourne Royal Show success

Konongwootong took 10 Rams and 4 lambs to Melbourne Royal Show this year. We were delighted to be awarded equal Most Successful Ram Exhibitor again this year. Our sheep competed well in the ring and paraded well before the Judge Rod Davies from the Wrattenbuillie Stud.

Some of the Highlights:

• Our Keeper ram from this year 180057 won the Trade$ Performance Class and then went on to 2nd position in the Interbreed Class.
• K 180159, who we used as a ram lambs sire last year and is Lot4 in our catalogue came 3rd in the Export $ Performance Class then went on to win the Interbreed Performance Export $ Class.
• K180088, Lot2 in our catalogue came 3rd in the very strong Balmoral Trophy.
• K180043 achieved 2nd position in the April Trimmed class.
• K180219 was awarded 2nd place and K 180329 came 3rd in the May bare shorn class.
• K180658 was 3rd in the June bare shorn class.
• Ram lamb K190035 was 4th in a very strong class of ram lambs.
• Ewe lambs 190051 & 190063 came 3rd and 4th respectively in their class.

We were thrilled once again to be part of the Ceva Group of 3 Rams and were awarded 3rd place. Our sire group by Dongadilling 160011 were awarded 3rd place.

Melbourne Royal was attended by studs from 3 different states this year plus from all over Victoria. It was a great display of Poll Dorset Sheep

 

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New Sire

Sasha Squiers, Ian Kyle and Alistair Sutherland with Perth Royal Sepreme Poll Dorset Exhibit, Dongadilling Stud WA, recently purchased by Konongwootong Poll Dorset Stud to use as a stud sire.

Melbourne Royal Results 2018

Konongwootong Dorsets: Most Successful Ram Exhibitor

Konongwootong Dorsets: Most Successful Victorian Exhibitor

Konongwootong Dorsets: Most Successful Poll Dorset Exhibitor

Stockscan Measurements 21/09/18

Tag	Lot No	Wgt	Fat	M/depth	M/width	M/area	Comment
170001	Keeper Ram	122.5	8.	54	106	44.1
170075	Keeper Ram	152.0	11.	55	106	44.9	2ndMay Ram
170086	Lot 2	125.0	8.	52	103	41.2
170101	Lot 3	137.5	9	56	100	43.1	2ndBalmoral Class
170102	Lot 4	137.5	11	54	106	44.1
170130	Lot 5	140.5	8	58	107	47.8	1stApril Ram
170153	Lot 6	137.5	8	51	107	42.0
170157	Lot 7	142.5	9	54	106	44.1	1stExport Performance Class
170367	Lot 8	135.0	10	52	103	41.2
170601	Lot 9	129.5	8	50	104	40.0
180170		62.0	5	40	81	24.9	Ram Lamb
180194		65.0	5	38	82	24.0	3rdRam Lamb
180006							Ewe Lamb
180181							1stEwe Lamb

Our offering at Melbourne Royal AuctionsPlus sale

Royal Melbourne Show 2015

Alistair Sutherland holding the Supreme Poll Dorset Exhibit at Melbourne Royal 2015 K14-042. He is to be retained in stud but semen packages are available.

Konongwootong Dorsets have come home from Melbourne Royal with another feather in their cap. K14-042 won the Supreme Poll Dorset Exhibit on Saturday. Alistair and Jess Sutherland are delighted with their win as they have come close in previous years but have never managed to pull the big one off. The judge Rob Martin, from Kentish Downs in NSW was impressed by the rams scanning data and structural correctness. K14-042 weighed 158 kg and scanned 60mm for muscle depth. 110 muscle width with an area of 50.8cm2. Rob said the ram was packed with meat and had all the other attributes to make him a top stud sire. K14-042 is to be retained in stud but semen is available for purchase. He was sired by Derrynock 12-052 and his EBV data is 14.4 for growth, -0.9 for fat and 1.3 for emd. He has a carcass plus 189.7, TradeS index of 108 and Export $ index of 110. While winning the Supreme Exhibit was the highlight of their show, Konongwootong Dorsets had success in other Poll Dorset Classes as well.

As well as a Poll Dorset stud, Konongwootong run a mixed farming operation of prime lambs and beef cattle. They turn off around 4,000 coopworth/dorset cross prime lambs each year; mostly into the Hamilton saleyards. The prime lambs are dropped in July/August and sold November/December as suckers aiming at the heavy end of the market. A poll dorset lamb grows quicker than any other breed so they take the advantage of selling into both the trade and export markets. Konongwootong Dorsets sell about 250-300 rams per year. Their primary aim is to produce good, sound mulit-purpose flock rams for the commercial prime lamb producer with a balance of figures while maintaining the importance of structural correctness and true dorset type. Annual sale is October 15^th at 1pm.

Konongwootong Dorsets at Melbourne Royal 2014

Konongwootong Dorsets recently competed in the Poll Dorset Competition at Melbourne Royal. They were incredibly pleased to be awarded the Reserve Champion Ram but were stunned to receive the Most Successful Poll Dorset Exhibitor, Most Successful Ram Exhibitor, Breeders Group of 3 Sheep and Best Pair of Rams Awards. They also won the very prestigious Balmoral Class for Rams U1 ½ years and the Ram Lamb Class. In total, Konongwootong won 7 blue ribbons and 3 red ribbons. In the Championship line up, 7 out of the 14 rams represented were from Konongwootong Dorsets. Konongwootong has never achieved this feat at a Royal show before. The Reserve Champion Ram K13-394 came out of the June/July Class for rams Under 1½. K13-394 was breed by Konongwootong Sire K12-201. This ram also won this class at Adelaide Royal.

Competition at the show was very strong with an incredibly good line up of sheep. There were about 140 entries in the Poll Dorset section and the judge, Laurie Fairclough from Stockdale Stud at Yorke WA, had the unenviable task in selecting a winner. He was looking for structurally sound animals that had plenty of meat in the hind quarter and good carcass. They had to be of a good breed type, parade well and have a good sire outlook. Exhibitors came from SA, Tasmania, Gippsland, Wimmera, Mallee, Western District and Central regions of Victoria.

Alistair and Jessica Sutherland and family, have been competing at Melbourne Royal under the Konongwootong banner since 2000, but have hardly missed attending a Royal for most of their lives. They believe it to be a great venue for show casing their stock. The facilities are 1st Class and the competition is ideally suited to anyone interested in producing a really commercial styled sheep. Nearly all the sheep are bare shorn and come from studs that are commercially focused, modern and know the industry that they are producing the seedstock for. The timing of Melbourne Royal is ideally suited to the Konongwootong stud program as it is only 3 weeks before their ram sale on October 16th. Alistair and Jessica believe that their team this year, is the most even line up of rams that they have produced.