To obtain good meat without sacrificing wool quality, INTA is working on the Dohne Merino, a South African sheep breed that could

The Dohne Merino is a sheep breed that is almost 100 years old, born in South Africa by the initiative of that country's Department of Agriculture and later perfected in Australia. Here, it is one of the many that populate the southern fields and is precisely the one that, from INTA, they are now seeking to consolidate as the productive base of that region. The reason behind this "mission" that today is directed by the Lower Valley Experimental Station is the potential offered by the breed, which is considered "dual-purpose" for providing both high-quality meat and wool of high value. That is what differentiates it from most intrinsically meat-oriented genetics, which usually produce coarse wool of low value. And vice versa, from the breeds that are valued only for their fibers, since in this case they are animals suitable for fattening that also have good productive indices for their meat. "This combination of meat volume and high international price fiber makes this breed a ...