When you buy a ram, you’re buying the years of breeding decisions behind it. Here at Rosedale, we’ve stuck to a clear principle: sheep should be calm, tough, and productive without cutting corners. They should work for you, not make work for you!
Every ram that leaves here carries that history and that intent. Here, we lay out exactly what you’re getting when you put a Rissmerino ram to work in your flock.
Lot 42 (24-9024) in the upcoming sale
No Mulesing, No Compromise
We don’t mules, and we don’t make excuses for flyblown sheep. We haven’t used any chemical treatments for fly (apart from clik on the lambs’ tails at marking and on the rams’ poll for fighting) since 2019. We don’t provide crutches for our sheep. Anything that gets flyblown gets sold.
We’ve bred for fly resistance with white wool, plain breeches and strong immune systems. They are born with what they need to handle hot, wet, humid summers.
It boils down to trust. Our customers want to know the sheep they’re bringing home haven’t been put through unnecessary pain. RWS and non mulesing premiums are demonstrating that. Here at Rissmerino, the ethics are baked into the bloodlines. Breeding for welfare is a part of how we do the job properly.
Next Generation Fine Wool
There’s a reason people comment when they run their hands through it. Bright, white, soft! Rissmerino wool handles beautifully. We’ve chased both strength and softness, not one at the expense of the other. One of the things that differentiates us from other “Dual purpose merinos” is our focus on finer wool, with some sheep getting down towards 15 micron. We don’t have many sheep broader than 19 micron, but it’s also wool that maintains staple strength.
This is wool that buyers ask for. High-value fleece with market-preferred traits, grown off sheep that hold condition on pasture. Dual-purpose without the compromise. You don’t have to pick between meat and fibre because these sheep give you both.
Deep Bodies, Wide Frames
They’re easy to spot. Stand behind one in the paddock and you’ll see it straight away—length, width, depth. Built to grow out, built to last. These aren’t just rams that need camera angling to look good on paper. See for yourself that they look good from the back end.
We focus on a moderate framed, early maturing animal. We don’t want massive ewes that are hard to handle and eat you out of house and home. But we want their progeny to hit mature weight fast so you can turn your lambs off to the processor quickly.
We’re talking about doability, feed efficiency and structural soundness that holds up in a working flock. You won’t be trimming feet. Longevity means less replacements, more return. This kind of frame has been built generation after generation.
Fertile and Productive by Nature
A fertile ewe base is the backbone of any good system, and we breed rams that back that up. Good joining percentages (routinely 130+% lambs marked to ewes joined), strong lamb survival (approaching 85% survival in twins), and ram soundness that holds across seasons.
We have a client who has watched our ewes stand over their lambs protecting them from eagles. These are sheep that do the work. They raise lambs, bounce back, and stay in condition without needing to be pampered. Fertility is our baseline.
Wool off one of our lambs this year
Worm and Fly Resistance That Lasts
Our industry is at risk of running out of chemical options. Instead of breeding drench resistant worms and flies, we’re breeding worm and fly resistant sheep.
We’ve bred for natural resistance because we know the tough conditions that Rosedale paddocks can throw at a sheep. Genetics is not the only answer, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to run sheep in a future of failing chemicals. Plus who wouldn’t rather less time drenching or jetting and more time doing the jobs that really matter?
Bred for the Commercial Grower
These sheep are not just stats on a screen. We use the best data we can to ensure we keep the best genetics and make the best genetic gain.
But it’s all for the purpose of producing productive, working sheep in commercial conditions. They have to survive in big mobs, on native pastures, without receiving supplementary feed except when absolutely necessary.
These are paddock-tested, rain-hardened, and they still carry top-end fibre.
See Them Yourself This September
Come along and spend some time checking out these rams. Come walk the yards on September 24 and see for yourself what Rissmerino’s been building. Real-world genetics, practical frames, and wool that holds up.
Talk to the breeder (that's us!) Ask questions. Bring your list and pick sheep that’ll actually work for your setup. We’ll be here, same as always, backing what we’ve bred.