Tim Wilson is attending his first Sheep Breeders Forum this week, one of a group brought along on a Beef + Lamb New Zealand scholarship. The young sheep breeder from central Hawke’s Bay has been breeding Poll Dorsets since he was nine years old.

“I would never have been exposed to a place like this or an event; it’s been hugely important for my confidence, networking, and growth.

“I think they were meant to have two young people come along here and they’re like, ‘Stuff this, let’s bring a whole heap of them,’ about 18 or 20 or so, which is pretty special.”

He registered his stud with the breeders association in 2016, after starting the flock as a child on his family’s sheep and beef farm. Unable to attract regular clients early on, he listed rams on TradeMe and asked interested buyers to call on the home phone after school hours.

“I remember one time someone came with a handful of cash, and I was selling them for $300, and they just bartered me down to about $220.

“I went away from that thinking, ‘Man, I’ve just been ripped off here’, and I remember going back and saying, ‘Mum and dad, can you come help me in the yards? I need an adult presence here so these guys don’t take the piss out of me.'”

His parents told him it was his thing to figure out, and he had to stand his ground.

“I think that was awesome. 

“I learned a lot about standing up for what I believe in and a bit of bravery and confidence,” Wilson says.

He now has repeat business with a loyal base of ram clients.

“It’s less graft work and more just, ‘Hey mate, how many do you want this year?'”

In his breeding programme, he puts phenotype first, then uses genetic recording to inform decisions. Facial eczema tolerance is his current focus, after losing about a third of his flock to the disease a couple of years ago.

“I suppose it just reflects how brutal it can be from time to time, and there’s not much you can do about that.”

Wilson says he plans to take everything in at the forum. Outside the stud, he recently graduated from the University of Canterbury. 

“I’ve got a civil engineering job back in Hawke’s Bay, which is pretty good because it’s only 40 hours a week, so I’ve still got plenty of time left to work on the Poll Dorsets.”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.