The Wairere Farm
Environment
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Wairere has been described as “The worst climate I have ever worked in!”
Wairere is situated 38 km northeast of Masterton, in the Wairarapa. It has an effective area of 1080 hectares, rising to 532 metres above sea level, and is classified medium to steep Hill Country. Only 2% of the land is flat. The climate is variable, with cold wet winters and dry summers with strong winds.
Average rainfall is 1100 mm, although our records show an average summer rainfall (November to April) of only 370 mm per annum.
It's a thorough testing ground for sheep, and part of the reason why our rams shift so well to other areas. |
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Brief History
The Wairere story began over 70 years ago when Len Daniell set up a registered
Romney stud, breeding rams for his own use. In 1967, his son, John Daniell, challenged the accepted sheep
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policies of the time and, in a radical move, shaped the future of sheep farming in New Zealand. Frustrated by the type of stud Romneys available, he mated the best of his unregistered ewes to his top stud rams. This breeding programme gave him a large population base, enabling rapid gains in fertility, mothering ability and growth rate. Ewes were run under high stocking rates and big mobs, as well as exposure to East Coast droughts and wet winters. As a result, only those sheep with exceptional constitution and longevity were retained on the second class hill country. By 1985, the 5500 ewes were tailing 144%. |
The Wairere success story had begun.
In the 1990's, Wairere continued to built on these foundation blocks. The ram breeding flock was expanded to 25,000 ewes. Joint breeding ventures were set up in Otago, King Country and Gisborne.
Since 1996, Wairere has also sourced the best East Friesian genetics available. In addition to our Romney operation, we now offer a range of composites, some on the East Friesian Romney cross, and bred to suit different environments and customer requirements .
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