Mount Ronan – White Suffolks and Maternals

Specialising in the breeding of elite quality prime rams

Mount Ronan Ram Sale Tue 2nd October 2012

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The 16th Annual on –property Mount Ronan Ram Sale will be held on Tuesday 2nd October 2012, at 1.00pm. 70 White Suffolk and 70 Maternal rams will be offered.  Complementary BBQ lunch and refreshments from 11.00am.

The 2012 sale rams worked hard this winter to forage enough pasture to maintain condition. The best paddocks were reserved for the ewes and lambs, and even they would have benefitted from more feed.

The rams were brought back from our other property to the home farm on the 16th September. They were placed in a paddock of conserved pasture and have really commenced putting on condition.  They will look really good on sale day and will be extremely fit and healthy.

As a line of rams, they are outstanding. Their genetic quality is excellent. 6 of the top 13 White Suffolk rams on LAMBPLAN from the 2011 drop in Australia are Mount Ronan rams, and some will be in the auction. The top ranked 2011 drop White Suffolk ram on LAMBPLAN in Australia is a Mount Ronan ram, sired by the outstanding ram MOUNT RONAN 337/10. (MOUNT RONAN 337/10 is the second ranked White Suffolk sire for Carcase + Index on LAMBPLAN in Australia.)

Mount Ronan White Suffolks continue to lead the breed in muscle genetics. The average eye muscle depth ASBV for the Mount Ronan White Suffolk flock is twice as large as the average eye muscle depth ASBV for the White Suffolk breed in LAMBPLAN in Australia. The growth genetics of Mount Ronan White Suffolks exceeds those of the National White Suffolk flock on LAMBPLAN, and the average birth weight genetics of the Mount Ronan White Suffolk flock are exactly equal to National White Suffolk breed average.

As a result, Mount Ronan White Suffolk rams will produce lambs which are born easily and produce muscle mass rapidly, reducing the days to slaughter. Consequently carcase yields are enhanced and producer returns are maximised.

MOUNT RONAN WHITE SUFFOLKS POSSESS WORLD CLASS GENETICS

WHICH CAN PUT MORE DOLLARS IN YOUR POCKET

The 2012 sale catalogue, with ASBVs of all sale rams is available here: 2012 sale catalogue.

Sale rams fleshing out on grass only. 16 September 2012.

Mount Ronan Field Day

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Mount Ronan will be holding a Field Day on a client property on Friday 26th October 2012, at “Cherylton Farms”, Kojonup. The day will be extremely worthwhile and will be advertised well ahead of time. The Field Day will focus on the successful application of high performance Mount Ronan maternal genetics to a self-replacing, maternal lamb breeding flock.  It will be a golden opportunity for commercial lamb producers and others to experience new and exciting initiatives being implemented with great success at “Cherylton Farms”.

Speakers will present on a range of topics with relevance to the optimisation of lamb production.

Farmers will be able to compare the “side by side” financial analyses of the lamb enterprise with the cropping enterprises on the property for the 2011/2012 season.

Some of the 3500 Mount Ronan maternal bloodline ewe lambs being mated in a feedlot at “Cherylton Farms”, Kojonup, during February/March 2012.
These ewe lambs were all twin-born after August 1st 2011. The pregnancy percentage over the 3500 ewe lambs was 87%, and the potential lambing percentage at scanning was 152%. These ewes are currently lambing.

“We have found Mount Ronan genetics to provide us with breed-leading performance in an efficient, robust package. Guy has placed significant pressure on his sheep flock to identify genetics that stand up in commercial operations.

Mount Ronan’s meticulous record keeping, ensures that every newborn lamb is individually weighed and the dam is scored on mothering ability. While understated about his efforts, I am convinced that this process over many generations has provided Guy with a truly unique and potent mix of breed-leading growth and muscle, with unmatched White Suffolk maternal attributes.

With increased animal welfare pressure and a clear economic advantage, we place great value in ensuring that scanning translates into lambs weaned, a performance target that is greatly assisted by the mothering ability of Mount Ronan genetics.

We have found Guy to be both personable and very informative in helping us get the maximum out of his genetics. If you aim to produce the maximum kg/ ha of high quality lamb, I would suggest popping in to see Guy – it is a truly unique experience.”

Mike Cameron, “Cherylton Farms”, Kojonup

12 month old Mount Ronan maternal blood ewe lambs with twin lambs at foot.
“Cherylton Farms”, Kojonup. September 2012.

 

Pregnancy Scanning Results

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Pregnancy scanning results have been outstanding around the state, with lots of twins expected. Ewes will have to be protected against energy stress, particularly if this dry start to winter continues.

At Mount Ronan, the adult ewes, including hoggets, have scanned 146%.  We believe this is a good result considering the very commercial way we run our ewes. We expect that most of these lambs will be weaned successfully because of the excellent mothering ability of our ewes, as a result of stringent culling over many years.

We will be scanning our ewe lambs in the next few days, and are hopeful of good results.

Clients of Mount Ronan who are using our maternal genetics, and are maximising flock inputs (eg feed) have scanned up to 179% this season.

Mount Ronan Consulting Launched

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We launched our new venture, Mount Ronan Consulting, at the Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day on Sunday 27th May 2012.  Mount Ronan Consulting specialises in the provision of services to small land holders.

The day was a great success, and we enjoyed interacting with a diverse range of people. Our tactile display of “specially planned” pet lambs (6 in total!) was a massive hit with the children. Several little bands of children were seen to return more than once to enjoy the experience. The lambs looked a bit dazed by the end of the day, and seemed thrilled to return to their little paddock near the veggie patch.

 

Farm Day 26-27th May 2012

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FarmDay was held around Australia on the 26th and 27th of May. We participated for the first time, and enjoyed the company of a young Perth couple and 2 of their 3 children.  They had previously attended the FarmDay last year, and were keen to gain extra experiences for their family. It is obvious that a small effort on behalf of a farming family can make a lasting impression on a city family, and greatly improve their understanding of farming life and issues relating to agriculture today.  For more information, check out   www.farmday.com.au.

Bred Well, Fed Well Workshop 29th February

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Mount Ronan hosted a very well attended Bred Well, Fed Well Workshop on the 29th February. The workshops which were conducted at several locations around the state are part of the “Making More From Sheep” program, which is sponsored by AWI and MLA, in conjunction with WAMMCO.

Key speakers, Dr Mark Ferguson and Dr Jason Trompf, presented informative talks covering the following topics: improving ewe nutrition; developing a breeding goal; developing a feed budget and breeding better ewes.

Participants generally commented that it was the best sheep industry event they had attended.

As a result of this workshop, several groups of sheep producers are intending to enrol in a “Lifetime Ewe Management Course”. We are going to be involved in a group with another four participants, and would thoroughly recommend all our clients attend a “Bred Well, Fed Well“workshop when available in your area.