Robin and Pip Wilson have been refining one of New Zealand's first sheep breeds, the dual-purpose Corriedale, for over thirty years.

The Wilsons founded their Corriedale stud,  Wilfield, in 1992 near Kirwee with a focus on breeding what they have dubbed Corriedale 2.0- the sheep of the future.

"We always had a passion for Corriedale sheep, but some breeders were on a different wavelength than we were.

"We wanted more money from our sheep," Robin Wilson said.

North Otago farmer James Little initially bred the Corriedale sheep in the late 1860s by crossing Lincoln and Leicester rams with Merino.

In 1903, the breed was officially recognised in New Zealand as Corriedale, named after Littles' sheep station.

With its mid-micron wool, drought resistance and quality carcass, the versatile breed took off globally, eventually being farmed in Australia, North and South America and Central Europe.

The breed had its issues, though.

Falling wool prices saw the breed's popularity drop off as the finer-wooled Merino took centre stage.

The breed also had a tendency towards wool blindness and a susceptibility to foot rot.

Careful breeding by the Wilsons, using a scientific approach, has virtually eliminated those issues.

Using Sheep Improvement Ltd, the performance recording and genetic evaluation database, and gene marker technology for extra muscling, cold tolerance, worm and foot rot resistance, Wilfields Corriedale is taking the breed into the future.

"We have introduced foot rot resistance through DNA testing at Lincoln University with Professor Jon Hickford.

"It's the best use of science in the sheep industry we have seen here."

Footrot resistance is a win-win, Wilson said.

"The good thing is that all sheep farmers benefit from it because they don't have to put their sheep through a footrot trough, which is incredibly hard on animals.

"The sheep don't want to go through it, so it's hard for dogs and farmers.

"Putting that gene in your flock costs bugger-all.

"We charge a premium for sheep with a 1:1 score here, but when you work it out over all of their progeny, it's less than a dollar per sheep."

Wilfield Corriedale is known for being open-headed, fertile, meatier, and finer-wooled, qualities that paid off at the recent Corriedale World Congress in Peru.

"About nine countries were represented at the conference, and around eight countries had sheep there. Part of the conference is a show.

"The best wool sheep of the show was a ram born and bred here and exported about 12 months ago. And the best sheep of the show was a ewe whose father was born and bred here."

The Wilfield property is 140 hectares, with the sheep stud income supplemented by cropping.

"We are very intensive, around 18 stock units per hectare. And we grow a bit crop, primarily radish for seed."

Wilson said with the challenges facing the agriculture sector, it's a tough time to be a stud breeder.

The Corriedale stud is complemented by a Suftex ram stud, which was introduced to the business ten years ago when the Wilsons began crossing Texel rams over Suffolk ewes, which Wilson said has been "going nicely".

Despite the success of the Corriedale and Suftex studs, the current economic climate in the agriculture sector remains challenging.

"It's a difficult time to be involved in the sheep industry with it being down.

"If it stays down for another twelve months, people won't want rams.

"It puts our business in jeopardy," Wilson said.

By Claire Inkson