Afrino

Afrino is a South African dual-purpose sheep developed to combine white wool, useful meat production, and dry-country hardiness. The breed draws on finewool and indigenous South African influence, often described through Merino, Ronderib Afrikaner, and mutton-breed ancestry. Unlike many hair or fat-tailed regional sheep, Afrino is a managed composite with a more defined production aim: a sheep that can raise lambs and produce a marketable fleece under extensive conditions.

Producers use Afrinos where a straight finewool flock may need more resilience, but where wool income still matters. Selection commonly weighs fleece weight and quality against fertility, lamb growth, udder soundness, and ability to perform on veld grazing. Buyers should look for flock records rather than assuming every Afrino line carries the same balance of wool and carcass traits. The breed sits between Merino-type fiber systems and hardy meat production, which is exactly where careful selection becomes valuable.