DEVELOPED in South Africa, the Van Rooy is the Border Leicester of shedding sheep, offering maternal traits of fertility and milking ability.
The Van Rooy also lifts frame size and has a dominant shedding gene.
"It takes the wool off in one cross to give a cleanskin meat sheep," convert Bill Kingwill said.
Although the breed was established in South Africa in the early 1900s, the Van Rooy is still in its infancy in the Australian prime lamb industry.
With its tendency to deposit fat easily on its rump, neck and brisket, the Van Rooy is exceptionally good at converting feed in low rainfall zones.
The Kingwills are using a blend of Van Rooy and White Dorper breeds over Merino and plan to infuse Australian White (an Australian-developed cleanskin composite) to develop their own open composite to suit their environment at Adjungbilly in NSW.
Bill Kingwill admits running cleanskin meat sheep in such a high-rainfall area has its disadvantages, especially in terms of feet problems.
But he has been impressed by the lack of bodystrike in the flock despite last year's rainfall of 1425mm.
