AFTER 58 years of Poll Dorset breeding, the Schinckel family have decided to disperse their successful stud.
Principal Alan Schinckel’s father Sandy founded the Leenala Poll Dorset stud in 1958 and when Alan took it on, he and his wife Lyn steered its growth from 160 to 400 ewes in-line with increased demand.
They also developed larger framed, longer and cleaner pointed Poll Dorsets.
This was in response to market signals from many lamb producers seeking rams that gave grass seed management advantages, plus marketing flexibility.
Performance recording through Lambplan has long been an important part of the Schinckels’ breeding program. Their breeding objective has been aimed at producing sound, functional and balanced sheep supported by very good performance figures.
“Our major emphasis has been on high growth, with the right balance of fat,” Mr Schinckel said.
“This has enabled clients to have a flexible range of target market weights, thus increasing their profitability.
“Too much fat restricts producers to marketing lighter weight lambs, while too lean restricts producers to marketing heavy export or feedlot lambs.
“With the right balance eating quality is maintained, while enabling producers to target the top end of lightweight ranges, or having the flexibility to take them on the heavier weights off grass or on stubbles.”
With all of their genetic improvement, the Schinckels have ensured they have not sacrificed the structure, clean points and overall type that they have worked so hard for so long to establish in their Poll Dorsets.
A key management and stock health issue in sheep today is worm burdens and Leenala has been carrying out FEC testing, including individual worm counts on its lambs for many years.
The stud aimed for negative Australian Sheep Breeding Values on as many of its sheep as possible, but without being too extreme, ensuring the individual animal’s immune system is still stimulated.
Good natural worm resistance is a major economic and management advantage.
