Blackdale Stud

The Black family’s contribution to sheep breeding in NZ was recognised recently with two major prizes at the Beef + Lamb NZ Sheep Industry Awards.

Blackdale Stud comprises five different studs – Coopworth, Texel x Coopworth, Textra (which is Texel, Coopworth and East Friesian); Suftex and Texel. They have 2300 stud and 1500 commercial ewes. It is an intensively stocked, all-grass, all-sheep operation with a focus on breeding rams with the best genetics to achieve optimal net returns for clients.

Started in 1971, there are now 215 stud Coopworth ewes, down from a high of 1200. The Coopworth stud feeds into the operation’s Texel-Coopworth bloodlines, which have grown to meet commercial farmer demand.

Owner Leon Black explains the focus of their breeding programme can be described as “QQ minus C”. That stands for increasing the quantity of wool and meat products; for quality of sound animals, tender meat and good micron wool; and for minus cost. Anything you can do to reduce cost to farmers by providing animals with clean points, hardiness, cold tolerance and good feet, all helps commercial farms reduce the labour and inputs required. “More lambs and faster growth are the key economic drivers, but within that there is an optimum zone.”

Over time the stud has adapted its genetics and measures up well against industry benchmarks. For example in 2014, the Black’s Blackdale Coopworths won two awards at the Beef + Lamb NZ Sheep Industry awards in Napier: a gold award for the Telford dual purpose award for reproduction, lamb growth plus adult size and wool production and the dual purpose award for wool.

They have also had lots of success at the Glammies, which are the Beef + Lamb NZ awards for meat quality. “A quarter of the finalists in the Glammies were our clients”, says Leon. “These awards are another way to compare yourself with the rest of the industry. They are a way to show that you make the grade and give really clear industry comparisons about producing quality for the end consumer.”

Blackdale Stud is a hands-on family business with strict quality control. Peter set up the Coopworth stud 45 years ago. He’s a real enthusiast for sheep and hasn’t missed a lambing since he was 13. He’s 78 now. “I am only farming for fun now,” he says. He and his wife Marion still have the Coopworth stud, and they’ve added a few more breeds to the mix, and a lot more land.

Peter says the single best breeding decision he made was when he decided to marry Marion. She is a fantastic record-keeper for their business. “She has been very supportive and quick with figures, and all the recording work we do. As a result I have a whole library of books about the performance of our sheep.”

Peter began running the family farm when he was 20, but had his own Jersey cattle stud when he was 14.  “I soon decided cows made too much mud in this climate, so when I came back from doing a diploma in agriculture at Lincoln I changed to all sheep. I always had the desire to improve their performance and grow good quality, good performing stock, and as we grew, to see our clients getting the benefits from the work we have been doing. The thing about sheep breeding is there is always a challenge, and something that can be improved, so we always have something to aspire to.”

He started out with Romneys, then moved to Coopworths, then when Texel sheep were imported by Sheepac in the 1980’s, he was a farmer inspector for them. He liked the way the Texels handled the droughts at the time, later visiting UK, France, Finland and Denmark in 1991 to find that they could be used in crossbreeding.

They incorporated the East Friesian sheep into their business as Textras. Their Texel Coopworths are their biggest selling rams, a compromise between meat and hardiness and lamb numbers. The Suftex are “guaranteed jumpers” Leon says.

The farm is now 367ha and they only farm sheep. This past winter the farm carried 5500 head. They sell about 700 rams a year across the different breeds.

Leon has been in the family partnership since 1991 and his wife Wendy since the mid-1990’s.

Peter says everything was done on eye appeal when he started out, but he trusted the Coopworth breeders who selected on performance. “Now the pendulum has swung too far one way and everyone wants to be number one for each factor, but you have to take a balanced view and have a good sheep to start with as a base. Performance records don’t tell you everything.”