Our Goal.
The Marocara ram breeding flock situated in central west of NSW at Wongarbon which is 14kms east of Dubbo on the Mitchell Highway.
Our aim is to supply Poll Dorset Rams suitable for joining to 1st Cross a Merino ewes to breed prime lambs from suckers to heavy export weights. With the help of performance recording, we have had an emphasis on quick maturity, eating quality, eye muscle depth and hind quarter development. Visual traits include structural soundness, clean points and dense finer wool.
Feet have never been trimmed to ensure retention of correct posture. The sale rams are machine shorn un sedated and sold with six weeks wool, vaccinated, drenched and ready for joining.
Breeding & Performance.
All ewes are individually mated to the high performance sires from various Lambplan flocks. Membership of Meat Elite allows us to utilise top performing sires from within the group. Meat Elite has purchased semen from some of the highest performing sires from the top flocks across Australia Meat Elite also purchasers high performance outside sires for the members use by AI.
Selected ram lambs are trial mated at 7 months and some are retained for further use depending on the performance of their progeny.
About 10 sires from other high performance flocks are utilised annually by A.I. plus individual paddock mating with our own top Marocara sires.
Recommendations for preferred matings are provided by TGRM ( Total Genetic Resource Management) . This programme minimises in breeding and provides potential progeny with a balance of desirable traits.
All ram and ewe lambs are weighed at weaning and scanned and reweighed by Lambplan assessor Trevor Pearce at 6 to 8 months. The performance of the lambs from weaning to scanning is the most relevant to establish viable estimated breeding values (ASBVs).
Ram and ewe lambs are classed using Lambplan info with around 70% retention for rams for sale and ewes for flock replacement.
Ewe management at lambing is minimal as no assistance at birth has been provided since 1984. Lambing ewes are drifted every 40 new born lambs or every 3 days in batches to allow identification and tagging at 5 days old.
Stud Info & Animal Health.
Poll Dorset Association Registered No. 2002.
Marocara is Ovine Brucellosis Free, Certificate number W 82/17.
Silver status for Australian Sheep Genetics
Breeding Values, ( ASBVs )
Our property is situated in the Dubbo Livestock, Pest and Health Authority area which is a Protected area for Virulent Ovine Footrot and has a Very Low Prevalence for Ovine Johnes Disease.
Stud History.
The Marocara Dorset Horn ram breeding flock was established in 1956 with the purchase of sires and ewes from the then famous foundation studs Lindsbury, Marlebone, Mont Calm and Yackerboon located at Cudal near Orange NSW. Initially sheep were shown at local shows and breed association sponsored ram sales at Dubbo with success. The first Lindsbury poll sire was introduced in 1974.
As we became disillusioned with the show circuit setting breed standards we were one of the original flocks to utilise the Sheep Meat Testing Service established by Alan Luff at the NSW Dept. of Primary Industry’s Cowra Research Station. Since the service became Lambplan it has provided a national computer aided across flocks performance recorded evaluation data base administered by Sheep Genetics Australia located at the University of New England, Armidale.
Farm Profile.
The Kelly family has been farming on highly productive dryland black and red soil types at Wongarbon 17km east of Dubbo since 1928. A mixed rotation utilising various crops including cereals, canola, grain legumes, and improved pasture in the livestock grazing phase. The last crop in the short rotation is under sown with a lucerne based mixed pasture. Our livestock includes the Poll Dorset ram breeding flock of 700 ewes, a prime lamb breeding flock of 3000 ewes and some cattle.
All our prime lambs are marketed OTH which helps us with carcase and customer requirements to help with our ram breeding objectives.