Why Coopworth? Because they pump out the lambs and feed them! Here we work on the % of lambs weaned; it is purely financial. The Coopworth are the base of our commercial flock. We are more than happy with their excellent combination of mothering and milking ability, which leads to a very good number of lambs weaned. So, with that first stage of growth and survival ticked, we focus on constantly improving carcass weight.

As a stud breeder, we are never satisfied; we are forever recording and watching improving patterns to continually raise the bar. Good data - thank goodness for good sheep scales, EID tags, eye muscle scanning, our own FEC testing kit, and Excel spreadsheets! We concentrate on the ewe—performance, structure, and toughness. We have never drenched or capsulated ewes. The last drench is as a hogget and then no more. We FEC test regularly, and lamb drenching is stretched out as far as possible. Always in pursuit of the perfect resistant/resilient animals – which we prefer to call the robust crew.

Who are we? Ashton Glen Genetics is a dual stud: Coopworth and a Beltex X Suffolk Stud at Clinton, South Otago. The studs are part of our family 470 Ha Beef, sheep, and mostly Arable operation. We trade beef and store lambs every year, grow wheat, barley, rapeseed, Chinese mustard, Timothy and oats (for your porridge).

Lambing begins late August, which is a bit earlier than it should be because of the arable time frames. They are not too pampered and just have to fit in. The Coopworth are very compatible.

Eight years ago we introduced the Beltex breed across the board. The Beltex X Coopworth are another group …. but that is another story.