Marius Loots states “he grew up with Dorpers”. He was in the “Karoo” in southern South Africa, which is a semi-arid area, with the driest corner receiving as little as 75mm of rain per annum. The black-faced Dorper was the product of a South African Government-led project. Originating back in the 1930s, the project’s aim was to breed a sheep that could be productive in some of South Africa’s most arid areas. It began by crossing a Dorset Horn with a Persian, then the breed was perfected to flourish in areas such as the Karoo.
Fast forward a few years and Marius was cropping in the Narrogin area of Western Australia but couldn’t replace his love for Dorpers with diesel. This led to the Loots purchasing a property in Peak Hill, NSW and establishing the black-faced Dorper stud “Prieska”, which translates to “land of the lost ewe”. Their ewe flock totalled 2,000 head prior to the mother-of-all-droughts coming for a prolonged visit in 2017. Not being able to source suitable rations on the east coast, Marius started trucking EasyOne® from Perth to maintain his flock and keep his genetic base secure. For three years, the Prieska sheep lived on dust and 300 gms/hd/day of EasyOne®. A situation which no doubt put their initial South African breeding heritage to the test and had the ewes thinking – yes, we are in the land of the lost. EasyOne® then went on to become the staple feed for the Prieska stud ram operation. The stud found the feed ideal, not just because of the increased growth rates it produced, but also for the safety of the ration. According to Marius, a feed that provides complete feeding safety is paramount to the ram breeder. This attitude has been adopted by a large percentage of the Dorper breeders on the east coast, with EasyOne® now also a staple in their operations.
Fast forward again and Marius is in the Mt Barker region of WA. It is a zone that he always wanted to farm in as the spring is often prolonged, and the summers are cooler. With his core genetics secured through the drought and now shifted to WA, he has downsized a little and is selling 70-80 rams per year. Lambings are now every 9-10 months, which calculates to a lambing percentage around the 145% mark per annum. The commercial lambs are out the gate within 4-5 months, at slaughter weights which often yield 54%.
According to Marius, “EasyOne® is the best pellet in the world”. We couldn’t claim that – but he may well be right!
