Mt Burke, a traditional Central Otago Merino property, has been owned by the Burdon family on the mountains overlooking Lake Wanaka for almost 90 years with a focus on producing fine wool.
In 2010 they moved to a crossbred ewe flock to increase sheep meat production by introducing a newly developed sheep breed, Headwaters.
Omega Lamb Primary Growth Partnership project leader Mike Tate said Headwaters was established at a time when dairy cows were replacing sheep on prime country and pushing them into the hills.
That created a need for a breed of sheep with high fertility, resilience and lamb growth rates that could survive in high country.
Headwaters was established in 2006 by Andy Ramsden, who was assisted by Errol Holgate, geneticist Aimee Charteris and a number of farmers.
For Mt Burke that meant running crossbred ewes on traditional Merino country –steep unimproved hills 1500m above sea level.
“They enjoy the summer after shearing like the Merinos used to.
“Merinos can have a habit of sulking and congregating in sheep camps whereas the Headwaters ewes spread out and forage over every inch of Mt Burke.
“So long as they go out in good order they sustain their bodyweight right through the summer,” he said.
“It’s a huge relief for us to be able to get 8000 ewes off the lower parts of the farm and up into the hills and only have to look after the 11,000 lambs during the summer time.”
Burdon said it wasn’t about falling in love with crossbred sheep but making changes in response to a growing reliance on the lamb cheque.
He has had a significant boost in production.
Headwaters ewes scanned up to 145% and the benefit was compounded by better growth rates and lamb performance.
Headwaters spokesman Andy Allison said the foundation of the Headwaters breed was about 250,000 ewes owned by 50 shareholders who selected the Headwaters’ foundation breeds: Texel, Romney, Perendale and Finn.
Tate said while developing Headwaters they made a significant discovery.
“We found family lines that were high in intramuscular fat and substantially higher in polyunsaturated fat and Omega 3.”
Those traits, producing what was regarded as good fat, also enhanced meat taste and succulence, were highly heritable and provided attributes which could be exploited in the market.
“We thought we were producing the Headwaters product but in the end we are producing a high end-restaurant product.”
That led to the $25 million High Health Alliance Primary Growth Partnership between the Alliance Group, Headwaters and the Government, researching the link between long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats and low pH.
The seven-year project had a goal of maximising the health-giving and taste qualities of lamb and improving market returns.
Allison said they found intramuscular fat levels of Headwaters lambs averaged above 3% compared to other breeds at 1%. The research also found Omega-3 levels were typically three times those of average lambs.
Alliance had branded lamb with the attributes. The Te Mana Lamb was released in Hong Kong in May and targeted at Michelin star restaurant chefs throughout Asia.
In October Te Mana Lamb won the Innovation in Food and Beverage category at the NZ Innovation Awards
Allison said two years ago 15,000 Te Mana lambs were bred but numbers had multiplied in subsequent years to an expected 120,000 next year and 240,000 in 2020.
The PGP calculated premiums of 30% to 50% in prices for Omega lamb but Tate said actual returns exceeded that.
He declined to give details but added it was achieved on the back of hard work for farmers.
“Yes, we’re getting premiums but a lot of hard work goes in to getting it.”
The supply chain was very precise.
All Omega lambs had electronic identification tags, were extensively monitored and recorded and had to meet strict weight ranges before being sent to processing.
Lambs spent up to a month before slaughter on chicory crops especially grown by 12 finishers, taking pressure off their home summer dry farms but also boosting levels of Omega 3 and intramuscular polyunsaturated fats.
While the health attributes had been an added bonus, for Burdon the primary concern had been the adaptability of Headwaters sheep to the high country.
Autumn was typically a challenging time on Mt Burke with little or no growth but Burdon said having the ewes on a rising plain in condition leading into mating meant improved scanning results.
Mt Burke was a Te Mana lamb source farm so crossed its Headwaters ewes with Headwaters Omega Rams.
In a favourable growing year up to 90% of Mt Burke’s lambs were sold prime but in a dry year that could fall to about 50%.
“It’s a different approach, with the customer out in front.
“It’s a long-term commitment and the market is already making the right noises. If it achieves its potential it’s a game changer,” Burdon said.
Farmers involved in the project were shareholders in Headwaters.
