The McRae family will hold their first on-farm ram sale in Eastern Southland next year.
Matt McRae bought sheep at the Wharetoa Genetics dispersal sales in South Otago last month, saying "you pay good money for good sheep and for us, it is a long-term investment".
At the terminal sale, he bought 80 Suftex ewes and at the maternal sale, he bought 150 Cooptex ewes.
He also took home 113 ram lambs and 65 ewe lambs, split between the two breeds.
While it was a big expense, sheep breeding was something they were passionate about, Mr McRae said.
Eilean Donan, a 405ha farm in Mokoreta, southeast of Wyndham, is home for Mr McRae, wife Natalie and their children Jacob, 6, Maggie, 4, and Duncan, 2.
The family celebrated the property becoming a century farm in 2008.
They will hold their inaugural annual Mokoreta Genetics ram sale in either January or February next year.
Mr McRae decided to have an on-farm sale rather than at a saleyard.
"When you go and buy a ram there is nothing like seeing the environment they are from," he said.
He acknowledged the decades of hard work of Garth and Chris Shaw and said the family was honoured to buy some of their sheep and continue their story.
"I’m going to keep it simple and breed sheep that are profitable and can compete with alternate land-use systems," he said.
Mokoreta Genetics had begun selling Romtex two-tooth rams privately since 2021 and that breed would remain available.
Ram sales had increased from about 15 to 60 annually.
About 40% of their Romtex ewes were put to a Suftex ram.
Mokoreta Genetics started selling the Suftex two-tooth rams last year.
Mr McRae’s sister, AgResearch Invermay senior scientist Kathryn McRae, works in the genomics team and provides him technical advice on breeding a flock able to thrive in a southern climate.
"This is her bread and butter and I pay her in dog biscuits for free advice," he quipped.
The key traits his breeding programme focused on were growth, meat and survival, which was important when farming in an area with a 1400mm annual rainfall.
Sheep needed to be reasonably tough and like a long winter. Last spring was relentlessly wet and cold.
A tough season showed how a genetically superior ewes and lambs could perform on their own, he said.
"I see lamb survival as being hugely important to our long-term social licence to farm."
Other genetic traits the stud measured included faecal egg count, dag score, body condition and intramuscular fat.
He had sought advice from other stud owners and been pleasantly surprised by the encouragement given by established breeders in the industry.
He also appreciated the advice from PGG Wrightson livestock genetics rep Callum McDonald.
"We are new to this and learning as we go," he said.
A talking point with his mentors included the financial risk of upscaling a stud at a time when the national flock continued to shrink due to land-use changes.
Even if there were less sheep farmers, those remaining still needed to buy rams and Mokoreta Genetics would provide a "genuine Southland option".
The aim was to keep the wool on and breed a sheep which outperformed a shedding sheep in growth and survival.
Sheep farming was his passion, in any economic cycle, Mr McRae said.
"I’ve had opportunities to go dairy farming and I’m a former bank manager and I often get asked why we’re sheep farming but you’ve got to love what you do and I love sheep farming and I want to see it more competitive than what it is.
"I’m determined to make this a viable long-term option so if any of our children want the opportunity to be the fifth generation to take over one day, they can," he said.
