OUR HISTORY

Our History

Motu-nui Rams was established in 1982 by John and Dianne Le Grove with the purchase of 215 recorded ewes and a ram 149/79 from John Daniell of Wairere. The objective was very clear – to produce thrifty sheep of good size and sound body which would perform under commercial conditions anywhere.

After initially breeding for size – which was what the market demanded at the time – the Le Groves soon realised that the smaller ewes in their flock were much better at handling the drought conditions typical of the hilly eastern part of Wairarapa.

With the very best Romney genetics available through the Wairarapa Romney Improvement Group, Motu-nui’s recorded flock grew to 1,100 by 1995 with a commercial flock of around 1,000 and ram sales of 250. Ram sales increased steadily during the late ’90s. During this time the Le Groves introduced eye muscle scanning of the ram hoggets to identify animals which better met John’s ideal conformation – sheep which were slightly shorter but with a deeper barrel and able to hold their condition during periods of stress.

In 2002, following client request, the decision was made to start breeding crossbred rams using the recorded Romney ewe flock as a base. Genetics were introduced from Finn, Texel, Coopworth and Perendale rams. By 2004 Motu-nui was selling around 700 rams, mainly in the North Island.

ICA Station, a well-known Wairarapa property 32km east of Masterton was purchased by Motu-nui Rams in 2007, comprising 610ha plus a further 65ha leased. The property is approximately 25% flat land and 20% rolling with the balance made up of rolling to steep hill country. ICA was the home of Motu-nui rams from 2007 until 1st July 2021, when Ben Morrison purchased the stud.'

In 2021 the stud ewes were transferred to Kai Tak, a 1000ha farm in Waione, the Tararua District. Kai Tak is a steep hill country farm, which will remain the stud ewes home for the foreseeable future. The rough terrain provides a solid basis for the team at Motu-nui to examine the stud ewe performance and select those that thrive then passing these animals on to our clients.