Southbridge sheep breeder Andrew Christey can vividly remember taking over the family’s Mapua Southdown stud on a day of mixed feelings.
Southbridge breeder Andrew Christey with the winner in the Southdown Ewe Hogget and All Breeds Miss Canterbury classes at last year’s Canterbury A&P Show.
In between the excitement of he and wife, Louise, carrying on a family tradition was the financial reality.
His father, the late Leo Christey, started the stud with brother, Edward, in 1959 as part of a farm partnership.
With a flock number of 3656, Mapua is the 10th-oldest stud listed in the flock book.
During the 1970s it was transferred into the name of his parents, including mother Leonie who took a keen interest in sheep breeding. In 2007 they took on half the stud.
“The other half was sold to Blair Robertson, who is a well-known stud breeder. Little did I know just how much that half was going to cost me, to be fair. I just said: I will pay what he’s paying and then the bill came in.”
With two children under 5 years, Mark and Sarah, they were keen to carry on the family progression.
Like his parents, they attended the Ellesmere, Christchurch, Oxford, Amberley and Banks Peninsula A&P shows and other events around the country.
The thrill of winning a ribbon in the competitive show ring and the camaraderie among stud breeders was never lost on them.
So there were no regrets about taking on the stud, but its cost was not without financial pain.
“I had just bought the parents out of the farm so I had a few debts on and I think it was something like $40,000 or $50,000 for the stud so it was a little bit more than anticipated. But it was something we could all do as a family and the shows were always a busman’s holiday for us and both kids have grown up liking, enjoying and being a big part of the stud.”
Helping ease the pain somewhat was the sale of Mapua 229/06 for $6400 a year later to Andrew and Tracey Powdrell, who had bought their rams and ram lambs for 30-plus years.
Greendale’s John Clarkson has been a regular buyer for 40 years.
Among other highlights, including winning many show trophies and ribbons, was selling 169/21 to Clifton Downs breeder Chris Medlicott for $6000 in 2022.
On the flipside, the Christeys bought a $13,000 ram in partnership from the Willowhaugh stud about 10 years ago and more lately Clifton Downs bloodlines.
Sarah Christey competing in the youth classes at last years Canterbury A&P Show.
Each year they sell about 30 two-tooth rams and the same number of ram lambs privately, often through stock agents.
The stud flock of 140 breeding ewes mother about 200 lambs at a 160% to 170% lambing percentage.
Some 40 to 50 of the top ewe lambs are retained, as Mr Christey prefers to replace older animals failing to meet high performance standards with younger ewes.
Southdowns are crossed with their commercial flock of about 230 Romney crossbred ewes as their early maturing lambs appearing in late July/early August go off the farm in late November and start of December.
This frees up a busy farming system so they can shut up paddocks, usually for Wattie’s — although the local factory has just closed — and small seed crops.
The commercial flock once numbered 800 crossbreds, but a smaller base is needed to fit in dairy grazing, weaner pigs produced from outdoor sows and a cropping mix of small seeds, wheat and barley.
On an intensively run 110 hectares, wheat and barley are fed to the pigs with straw from these crops and grass seeds going to dairy cows in the winter. Oats and grass are fed out to the sheep in winter and they are then lambed in grass seed paddocks.
Mr Christey said he had always been fond of Southdowns because they were “meaty” animals with a high-yielding frame producing tasty meat.
He prides himself on breeding sheep with good feet and a sturdy body structure that will not let down their buyers.
Many of their rams and ram lambs are sold to hill country farmers in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
The Christeys’ operation is among seven studs opening their gates on a stud tour by breeders as part of the Southdown Sheep Society’s four-day centenary celebrations this week.
The Christeys’ connection with the breed was likely to continue: Mr Christey said the family was competitive, enjoyed selling and showing stud animals and sheep breeding was the one thing they all agreed on.
Mark, 25, has spent a lot of time overseas the past five years including planting and harvesting seed in Western Australia.
Sarah, 23, enjoys stud recording and works with her father taking three weeks off work to carry this out, and tagging, for Mapua at lambing.
Their son is keen to carry on the farm and they are working out the best way to do this as they do not want either of them to go through the same big bill pressure they did. The plan is for Sarah to have her own stud on the farm.
By Tim Cronshaw ODT Rural Life
