Van Rooy: a highly economical sheep farming option

The Van Rooy sheep breed, developed by South Africans for South African producers, is a treasure trove of genetics and has proven itself time and time again as a decidedly economic choice. Pieter Wiese, owner of the Kasteel stud in the Northern Cape, spoke to Annelie Coleman about the value of the breed.

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Pieter Wiese, chairperson of the Van Rooy Sheep Breeders' Association of South Africa, describes the breed as hardy and adaptable.

“The Van Rooy represents all the genetic traits needed to excel in even the most challenging conditions in South Africa. The breed is also known for outstanding meat quality, high fertility and extreme resilience under the harshest of environmental conditions, such as the semiarid Karoo.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT

The development of the Van Rooy started early in the 20th century through the crossbreeding of breeds such as indigenous Ronderib Afrikaners with Rambouillets and Blackhead Persian sheep. This resulted in a robust, hardy and very adaptable breed.

In 1906, Senator JC van Rooy of Koppieskraal farm in the Bethulie district of the Free State started experimenting with sheep breeds for slaughter lamb production. His objective was to breed a strong and resilient breed that could endure the regular South African droughts. The sheep had to be highly productive to maintain optimum production and needed to exhibit first-rate conformation.

FAT RUMPED-TAILS

Van Rooys are medium to large-sized animals with a well-developed, well-muscled body. The animals are uniformly white with woolly hair on the upper part and short hair on the head, legs, and lower body.

The introduction of polled Wensleydale genetics added to the breed's conformation, with as little as possible fat localisation on the body and some fat on the rump. The animals have fat-rumped tails that serve as an energy reserve, allowing them to thrive in low-nutrition environments.

HARDEMANS KAROO

Wiese runs his Van Rooy flock in the so-called Hardemans Karoo near Loxton in the Northern Cape on the farm Kasteel.