FOR more than a decade Denis Russell, Parilla, has strived to produce a hardy, cleanskin sheep capable of turning-off good prime lambs in the pastoral region.
And the stud and commercial breeder thinks he has got it right with the Meatmaster composite, which he bred at his Genelink property, from South African fat-tail breeds.
Naturally-shedding breeds such as the Dorper have delivered many economic and management advantages in pastoral flocks, but Denis says he saw a need for a superior meat-producing animal with the ability to walk long distances and with improved heat-tolerance - suitable for the pastoral environment.
"We are aiming for a unique production system which we believed was not being serviced properly," he said.
Denis has gradually stabilised the composite, which can either be red or white in colour, and on February 25 Genelink will hold the first on-property auction of Meatmaster ewes and rams in Australia.
He will offer 60 ram lambs and 100 ewe lambs of mateable weights to suit breeders looking to establish their own Meatmaster flocks.
Denis comes from a traditional livestock background but admits to being "besotted" with the cleanskin breeds since buying a few Wiltshire Horns in the early 1990s.
Subsequently he was one of the first importers of White Dorper genetics, and now runs five different cleanskin breeds on his 2800-hectare farm. These have provided options for the Meatmaster breeding program and Genelink is now running 600 Meatmaster ewes to breed rams and replacement ewes.
Denis also continues to run a White Dorper flock to supply rams to mainly service the South Australian-western Victorian region, along with his Persians, Van Rooys and Minis.
The Meatmaster hybrid has been developed in South Africa at the same time as in Australia, and is gaining market share from the other breeds in the arid areas, although Denis says the South African variety has more Damara blood than the Australian animals, because the meat market there is more accepting of this type.
"The Meatmaster in South Africa was in the early stages when we started and had nothing to offer us - the current type they breed is also unsuited to our prime lamb requirements for the eastern states without further modification, and we will not import from there."
Instead, Denis has carefully visually selected sheep from his own breeding program which were clean-shedding but with good length, more frame, muscle development and good walking ability.
"We have been plucking the most desirable traits from a mix of the breeds - traits such as the length of leg and heat tolerance from one breed and the structure and growth of the Dorper, and combining the best traits."
Denis likens Meatmasters to small cattle and says they are non-seasonal breeders with excellent doing-ability.
"They are a breed which are easy to finish and will keep going on marginal feed, so long as there is volume, but they can also be finished on standing crops," he said.
* Full Livestock report in Stock Journal, December 23 issue.
