NEW ZEALAND SHEEPBREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION SUFFOLK NZ OCTOBER, 2016 Greetings Again Suffolk Members, Well we are nearly at the end of another year; I hope that everyone has had a reasonably successful lambing. The weather in the most part has been awful to say the least…. with drought at one extreme & floods the other. Parts of Canterbury are still feeling the effects of a prolonged drought & many South Island farmers went into winter with a shortage of feed again. The North hasn’t escaped either…In the upper North, we have had HUGE rain & MAJOR problems with Facial Eczema & Zearalenone (article further in this Newsletter). I am hearing from several breeders that say they have had a big percentage of ewes succumbing to the dreaded ‘lurgy’ or have not got in lamb. Of their ewes that have survived, many have had weak & puny lambs and they will not make the grade for replacement stock. Meat schedules remain stable, although lower than hoped. Prime ewes are in short supply in the North & are selling reasonably well. If you have any old girls that aren’t in lamb, market them as soon as soon as, to make way for your new lambs on the ground. Spring prime Lamb forecast $$$ values are looking pretty average in the short term; hopefully they will improve for the new seasons Prime lambs. I guess it will depend on how much Beef + Lamb can talk the UK & Europeans into NZ lamb following Brexit… It doesn’t look too promising with Scotland already saying NO to our off- season chilled lamb. GO BEEF + LAMB !!!! With November and December looming, I’m guessing everyone will be polishing up their finest animals for the Christchurch Show and the Ram Fairs will be upon us before we know it. Good luck to all the show exhibitors. I shall see you there. Cheers Debbie As stated in the last Newsletter: Due to rising postage & printing costs, all breeders will receive this Newsletter via email, unless the office is notified otherwise. Greg Burgess, General Manager, NZSBA BREED COMMITTEE NEWS: CHAIRMANS REPORT: I hope everyone has had a successful lambing with plenty of Suffolk lambs now growing like mushrooms. Here at Cave we are having the best Spring ever after a difficult Winter. We have been getting an inch of rain a week and the grass is growing and we have plenty of lambs on the ground and they are growing well. South Canterbury is looking good. Enough about me! Stu Morton has been busy putting together another run of Suffolk ads for the Farmer’s Weekly. I have seen the draft copies and they are very eye catching. Symon is investigating Suffolk Life Member badges and the proofs look good. SIL has made a major upgrade to its genetic evaluation. This is now called the New Zealand Genetic Evaluation NZGE. Evaluation will be run every Friday evening so reports can be run as required. From what I understand, there will be one standard Terminal Sire Index which will evaluate all flocks, Breeds and Breeders Groups. So, everyone will now be on a level playing field. (One Index, no confusion). The show season in now upon us and I wish all our members exhibiting Suffolk’s the best of luck. The show pen is a great shop window to show Suffolk’s to the public. Christchurch and Fielding Ram Fairs are just around the corner and I would expect there to be another line up of outstanding Suffolk Rams on offer at both the Fairs. I wish all vendors a successful sale and all potential purchasers successful buying. SIL Breeders – now is the time to consider what linkages your flock need to make your SIL figures more reliable. Maybe buy a ram or 2 in a syndicate with other like-minded Breeders or share a sire or 2! Food For Thought………… If the commercial farmer has to sell 10 lambs @$80 to buy a good Suffolk Ram = $800 Then a Stud Breeder should have to sell 10 rams @$800 to buy a top Stud Suffolk Sire = $8000 I hope everyone has a successful Ram selling season. If anyone has anything they would like to discuss, please don't hesitate to contact me. (03 6143330) Chris Hampton, Chairman, SUFFOLKNZ
Transcript
NEW ZEALAND
SHEEPBREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION
SUFFOLK NZ
OCTOBER, 2016
Greetings Again Suffolk Members, Well we are nearly at the end of another year; I hope that everyone has had a reasonably successful lambing. The weather in the most part has been awful to say the least…. with drought at one extreme & floods the other. Parts of Canterbury are still feeling the effects of a prolonged drought & many South Island farmers went into winter with a shortage of feed again. The North hasn’t escaped either…In the upper North, we have had HUGE rain & MAJOR problems with Facial Eczema & Zearalenone (article further in this Newsletter). I am hearing from several breeders that say they have had a big percentage of ewes succumbing to the dreaded ‘lurgy’ or have not got in lamb. Of their ewes that have survived, many have had weak & puny lambs and they will not make the grade for replacement stock. Meat schedules remain stable, although lower than hoped. Prime ewes are in short supply in the North & are selling reasonably well. If you have any old girls that aren’t in lamb, market them as soon as soon as, to make way for your new lambs on the ground. Spring prime Lamb forecast $$$ values are looking pretty average in the short term; hopefully they will improve for the new seasons Prime lambs. I guess it will depend on how much Beef + Lamb can talk the UK & Europeans into NZ lamb following Brexit… It doesn’t look too promising with Scotland already saying NO to our off-season chilled lamb. GO BEEF + LAMB !!!! With November and December looming, I’m guessing everyone will be polishing up their finest animals for the Christchurch Show and the Ram Fairs will be upon us before we know it. Good luck to all the show exhibitors. I shall see you there. Cheers Debbie
As stated in the last Newsletter: Due to rising postage & printing costs, all breeders will receive this Newsletter
via email, unless the office is notified otherwise. Greg Burgess, General Manager, NZSBA
BREED COMMITTEE NEWS:
CHAIRMANS REPORT:
I hope everyone has had a successful lambing with plenty of Suffolk lambs now growing like mushrooms. Here at Cave we are having the best Spring ever after a difficult Winter. We have been getting an inch of rain a week and the grass is growing and we have plenty of lambs on the ground and they are growing well. South Canterbury is looking good. Enough about me! Stu Morton has been busy putting together another run of Suffolk ads for the Farmer’s Weekly. I have seen the draft copies and they are very eye catching. Symon is investigating Suffolk Life Member badges and the proofs look good.
SIL has made a major upgrade to its genetic evaluation. This is now called the New Zealand Genetic Evaluation NZGE. Evaluation will be run every Friday evening so reports can be run as required. From what I understand, there will be one standard Terminal Sire Index which will evaluate all flocks, Breeds and Breeders Groups. So, everyone will now be on a level playing field. (One Index, no confusion). The show season in now upon us and I wish all our members exhibiting Suffolk’s the best of luck. The show pen is a great shop window to show Suffolk’s to the public. Christchurch and Fielding Ram Fairs are just around the corner and I would expect there to be another line up of outstanding Suffolk Rams on offer at both the Fairs. I wish all vendors a successful sale and all potential purchasers successful buying. SIL Breeders – now is the time to consider what linkages your flock need to make your SIL figures more reliable. Maybe buy a ram or 2 in a syndicate with other like-minded Breeders or share a sire or 2! Food For Thought………… If the commercial farmer has to sell 10 lambs @$80 to buy a good Suffolk Ram = $800 Then a Stud Breeder should have to sell 10 rams @$800 to buy a top Stud Suffolk Sire = $8000 I hope everyone has a successful Ram selling season. If anyone has anything they would like to discuss, please don't hesitate to contact me. (03 6143330)
Chris Hampton, Chairman, SUFFOLKNZ
NATIONAL
RAM FAIRS
CHRISTCHURCH SALE
Friday,
25th November, 2016
12 NOON
***ALL BREEDERS***
The Suffolk section will be sold after lunch.
Breed Committee meet at 4pm straight after
the sale at Yaldhurst Tavern. A social get
together - Drinks & Dinner, will then be held
at approximately 5pm after the meeting.
For more details, contact Norm Carr
03)3036134 / 0274701068
FEILDING SALE
Tuesday,
13th December, 2016
UPCOMING SHOWS
WAIKATO
29th-30th October, 2016
Show Secretary: 078554776
CHRISTCHURCH
9th – 11th November, 2016
Show Secretary: 033433033
BREEDER PROFILE:
‘PAHIWI’ Flk. 761 – ROB & DAVID TENNENT
Pahiwi’s Sheep farming operation comprises three
separate flocks - Romney, Suffolk and Suftex. Our
recorded ewe flock tally, 300 Suffolk and Suftex ewes,
plus mated hogget’s, and 900 recorded Romneys.
All of the Pahiwi flocks are farmed east of Dannevirke on
a hill country property at a high stocking rate. Prior to
this, the flocks were farmed in the foothills of the
Ruahine Ranges where my great grandfather started
farming after the First World War. With the national flock
being pushed out of intensive land use areas breeding
sheep to suit harsh conditions is paramount for us. We
conduct all ram sales from Pahiwi farm at Takapau, for its
central location and to grow 500 ram hogget’s through
from the start of winter to spring.
Pahiwi Romneys were established in 1956, with this year
marking 60 years of breeding for the Tennent family.
We aim to breed hardy and productive sheep well suited
to typical NZ hill country conditions, using performance
recording, modern science and strict selection regimes.
The Suffolk flock was
established in 1992, we have
placed selection emphasis on
the core traits of survival,
growth and meat while
maintaining good structure
and a body shape suited to
working on hill country. Utilising SIL breeding values
along with DNA profiling for footrot resistance has seen
solid progress made in our flocks.
We began breeding Suftex rams also from 2008, firstly
using Texel sires with a double copy of the MyoMax gene
over Suffolk ewes and now as a stabilised crossbred on
SIL. Growing demand
nationally for the Suftex is the
reality of an increasing
number of hill country sheep
farmers demanding a hardy
terminal.
This is not to say the pure bred Suffolk doesn’t have a
place as a hill country terminal! The focus for us in our
Suffolk flock is on producing rams to help farmers utilise
hybrid vigour, easy identification, plus the recorded traits
we are selecting.
At the last Breed Committee elections, I was nominated
as one of the Southern NI Breed Committee
Representative. I will be responsible for coordination of
SIL data, across flock analysis & CPT Trial.
Rob Tennent, Pahiwi Stud, Hawkes Bay
BREEDERS
PLEASE
NOTE
BOTH CHRISTURCH AND
FEILDING RAM SALE
COMMITTEES ARE
REQUIRING THAT ALL
SUFFOLK RAMS ENTERED IN
BOTH OF THESE SALES BE
TESTED FOR SPIDER
SYNDROME
NATIONAL ADVERTISING
Clubs will again be allocated $30 per member & $10 per
member going to a National advertising programme.
Stewart Morton is the SUFFOLKNZ National advertising
co-ordinator. He will be placing new ads in the Farmers
Weekly issues:
24th October, 2016
7th November, 2016
21st November, 2016
5th December, 2016
13th February, 2017
20th February, 2017
RAM SALE DATABASE
This has been very successful & is to continue. It was
also discussed at our last meeting, that if you are looking
for rams, please contact Sheepbreeder’s office.
WELCOME TO NEW FLOCKS
We welcome new breeders:
Flk. 1023 ‘Wensum’ Chris Hayward, Levin
ROYAL SHOW
The Royal Show this year is at Hastings 19th – 21st
October, 2016. We encourage you to exhibit your sheep.
NEXT BREED COMMITTEE MEETING
Will be held after the Canterbury Ram Fair
approximately 4.pm at ‘the Talbot’ Yaldhurst Hotel, on
25th November, 2016.
2016 NORTHERN SOUTH ISLAND CLUB
NEWS
The Northern (S.I.) Suffolk Breeders held a Spring Feature Show recently at the Ellesmere A. and P annual show at Leeston. One of our Suffolk breeders Paula McIlraith (Brookland Stud) is the Show President and many breeders turned out to support her. The Ellesmere show has 6 classes: Ram over 18 months, Ram under 18mths (hogget), Pair of Rams under 18mths, Ewe under 18mths (hogget), Ewe over 18 mths (Woolly) with lambs at foot & Ewe over 18 mths (shorn)with lambs at foot. Alasdair Lindsay from Otautau, Southland was the Judge.
The Northern South Island Club Suffolk Feature show classes results follow. The ram under 18 mth Class had 24 entries, and was won by Norman and Margaret Carr. Second was Stuart Sinclair and Guy and Denise Abbott third.
In the ewe under 18mths Stuart Sinclair was first and third with Speed and Paula McIlraith second.
Penni Loffhagen was first and third in the ewe over 18mths (Shorn) with lambs and Michael and Chris Howie were second.
Special congratulations to our young breeder Claire Garrett who won Supreme Suffolk with her home bred Senior Ram. Many thanks go to Alasdair Lindsay for judging the sheep entered in the show; a very difficult job with the excellent standard of entries. Over all the feature show was a terrific advertisement for the breed – WELL DONE. Following the judging, breeders gathered for a shared lunch and a good catch up..
Penny Loffhagen, Nthn SI Suffolk Beeders Club – Chairman, Oct 2016
QUICK INDIAN LAMB PIES NEW IDEA
SERVES 4
Ingredients
I large Onion, finely chopped 500g Lamb Mince 420g Jar Rogan Josh Simmer Sauce 1 Cup Frozen Peas Salt & Pepper, to taste 600g tub Mashed Potato 1 Cup Tasty Cheese Method 1. Lightly oil four ovenproof dishes (1.5 cup capacity) Place on large oven tray. 2. Heat a lightly oiled, large frying pan over a medium heat. Add Onion. Cook stirring occasionally, until soft. Add Lamb. Cook, stirring occasionally, to break up mince, for about 5 minutes, or until browned all over. 3. Add sauce to pan. Bring to boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Remove pan from the heat. Stir in peas. Season with Salt & Pepper. Divide evenly among prepared dishes. 4. Combine Potato & half the cheese in a bowl. Season with slat & pepper. Mix well. Spoon evenly over the lamb mixture in dishes. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. 5. Cook in a hot oven (200°C) for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve.
DISCLAIMER: The Editor & New Zealand Sheepbreeders’ Association accept no
responsibility for the accuracy of any information contained in this Newsletter.
ANIMAL HEALTH
ZEARALENONE The Fungus Zearalenone (Pronounced zeer al en own) is a fungal toxin produced by the fungus Fusarium. It is also called F-2 toxin. Fusarium is the name given to a large group of fungi. They occur throughout New Zealand. The fungi have been found in numerous feeds including pasture, maize, barley & other foodstuffs. The Fusarium associated with ewe infertility is a saprophytic fungus, this means that it grows on dead material, that preferentially grows on dead litter at the base of the pasture. The maximum growth is during warm dry conditions, ie. late summer and the autumn. Spores are formed under warm dry conditions. High Zearalenone levels occur under a wide range of weather conditions so high risk times are difficult to predict. Spore counting is of no value. Effect on Oestrus Behaviour The toxin produced is oestrogenic, and results in ewes that absorb the toxin having changes in their oestrus behaviour (heat) and a reduction in ovulation and fertilisation rates. The ewes have a shorter cycle length and an increased duration of heat. Lambing percentage falls by about 5% for every mg of Zearalenone ingested per day. This occurs after 10-15 days of grazing Zearalenone toxic pasture. Exposure for a longer duration results in increased depression of lambing percentage. The oestrogenic effects also effect males, with reduced libido, testicular atrophy and reduced sperm production. The significance has not been proven in New Zealand. In cows enlarged mammary glands, and prolapse of the rectum and vagina are symptoms. This may have some relevance to prolapse in ewes. Diagnosis Suspect a problem if scanning or lambing percentages are inconsistent with mating weights after excluding other problems. Pasture sample will indicate the presence of Zearalenone. One ppm in a bulk grass sample appears it be a toxic level for ewes. Studies indicate 3mg/ewe/day is toxic. Urine testing for Zearalenone metabolite, Zearalenol is the best indicator. Prediction of the severity can be made, as urine Zearalenol increases with increased Zearalenone intake. Urine from 12-15 ewes should be collected and bulked together. Importantly an equal quantity from each ewe is bulked together. 0.5-1 ml each is sufficient. Methods of collection of pasture, urine & sample handling is best discussed with your Vet. The effect is worse the greater amount and length of exposure. No treatment or vaccination for Zearalenone is available. Resistance to Facial Eczema does not confer resistance to Zearalenone. Cutha Vets 2009
