2007 Newsletter
Not being a natural writer, I find every year without exception I’m having to factor in a “sorry – late again” excuse for our newsletter. I guess, it’s easy to get side tracked with the onset of spring happening, warmer weather, lambing and a greater desire to be outside amongst it, than in the office!
In trying to get some inspiration I normally read previous newsletters to see what’s been done and said previously.
Last year I covered the 70’s, this year I look back over the last 10 years.
1997 was all about breeding flock management at Turnberry - the focus on getting the 100 day rule right. That year we drafted 62.3% lambs prime of mum, averaging 15.47kg off the hills with weaning % over 150%.
1998 we talked about our East Friesian results and comparisons (gladly long gone now!) and the exciting new Landcorp Lamb Supreme Terminal Sires.
1999 started with “What a wonderful spring” also crossbreeding was all the talk. Our advice was: forget the genes focus on genetics. Yield grading and its importance for the future was also a hot topic.
2000 the newsletter seems to be missing in action. Not sure whether the Millennium computer bug erased it or I started celebrations a bit early!
2001 “Bright Future for NZ sheep meat – good news for sheep farmers just seems to get better!” (Dominion newspaper Sep 3rd).
We discussed genetic improvement and the impact it’s had on the dairy industry and what’s possible in the sheep industry.
2002 Turnberry Australia was purchased – embryos were exported and a new breeding venture across the Tasman evolved.
2003 farming was still booming, everybody was flat out developing, a lot of new breed genes were being used.
2004 mother nature reminded us of who’s in control and the vulnerability of our farming business’s. We learnt our sheep were extremely good swimmers when they needed to be! Furthermore, their ability to perform in less the desirable circumstances vindicates our tough breeding philosophy.
2005 identified the top maternal ram in the ACE reports was a Turnberry sire, we had a successful NZ client tour to Australia and the first Australian workshop. Also set out a detailed genetic pathway we are following with our genetics.
2006 “New Zealands leading Genetics – Carthew Genetics – ranked 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th High Performace Maternal Sires – ACE report 2006”- quite a highlight. Also introduced Suffolk Supreme into the fold as a black face Terminal Sire alternative. Also trialling Romney genetics. Re-branded to Carthew Genetics.
Airlifted 600 ewe hoggets to Australia, the largest ever consignment of sheep into Australia by Air.
That’s probably enough nostalgia for the moment – what about the present?
Coming down off the previous financial heights has been a pretty bitter pill to swallow for most of us reliant on sheep.
Especially when external factors out of our control have been the cause (which has always been the case).
Going back to 1987 farming wasn’t pretty either, I was at Lincoln University and we had a lecture by a guy Pita Alexander, a Rural Chartered Accountant who made quite an impression on me at the time with his thoughts on what makes/drives successful farming business’s. I believe, his views are still quite relevant today, so would like to share some of his observations from 20 years experience:
His top operators
1 do the simple things well, but are always trying to do them better
2 have persistent patience. They mark time if necessary, sometimes a key element towards achieving their objectives.
3 are always experimenting on the fringe of their enterprises but make few drastic changes once they settle on what works best for them. They concentrate on limiting the loss making activities not killing the enterprise if they are geared up for it physically, financially and experience wise.
4 aim for optimal production rather than maximum production.
5 develop their winning potential: listen to the beat of their own drum – run with their gut instincts.
Other observations:
- Job satisfaction - it is always worth spending an hour with someone who is really getting 110% job satisfaction and who is working in the same industry sector that you are to see just how and why – almost invariably you won’t need to see their figures as they will be running parallel to the amount of job satisfaction they are obtaining – just listen – experience, enthusiasm and enjoyment are portable if you want them to be.
- take small steps – winners reinforce their own small successes
- be willing to fail – winners fail a great deal, often as high as 70% but the other 30% winning streak gives them the edge.
- be kind to yourself – when winners lose they obtain experience and move on to try again only smarter.
- Those who fear the future are likely to fumble the present. In crisis type situations some people see only danger while others see opportunity.
Danger orientation Opportunity orientation
Avoid change Accept change
Adheres to old perspectives Develops new perspectives
Protects the status quo Acknowledges uncertainty
Denies uncertainty Mobilises resources
Blames and/or attacks others Takes action
- The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it back in your pocket!
So what’s new at Carthew Genetics?
Ewe Burnout
Earlier this year we participated in a study to determine the carryover effect of high litter size on subsequent litters (referred to as “burnout”).
Our flock 689 came through showing below average levels of burnout (following all multiply lambings) which was not surprising but always reassuring that we’re on the right pathway. The results indicated that multiple lambing ewes under our flock management are not suffering from the detrimental effects of large litter size and are therefore able to maintain the genetic drive for prolificacy.
Twinning repeatability BV
We can now generate a breeding value for twinning based on 4T and older lambings. It has a similar heritability to other fertility traits of approx 4% (low – which means slow progress!). So this means, we can select for more consistent twinning with less triplets (ie will reduce overall scanning percentages). My views are, triplets are an opportunity to push the boundaries. However, if your own farming system dictates they are a negative, I would suggest there are more direct ways to influence triplets with management techniques ie reduce ewe liveweights, reduce flushing (high opportunity cost on this valuable feed) and/or select more heavily on other traits other than fertility at ram selection time.
In conclusion, we can incorporate a twinning BV in this years ram selection list – although we have a limited number of headings we can fit on one page.
Parasite resistance/resilience
Over the last 10 years we have firmly been in the worm resilience camp ie not drenching our sheep and constantly making them perform in an undesirable highly contaminated environment. This has in some instances had quite a detrimental effect on our ram hoggets, especially because the constant high worm exposure can damage their immune system and cause permanent internal scarring to their gut and intestinal lining. So individually they have suffered but genetically we know we’re making significant progress with their progeny moving forward.
This year we also began resistance testing our ram hoggets using “Wormfec”. This process entails taking 2 faecal samples 2-8 days apart and individually testing each sample. You aim to get over 600 eggs per gram average – we were over 3500 (clinically most sheep should have been dead!).
We believe we can now incorporate both parasite resistance and resilience functions to breed better, tougher sheep into the future. Hence, an accurate BV for Wormfec is also now available on our selection lists for those with a strong interest in this trait.
We believe drench failure in the future is going to significantly impact on our livestock enterprises, hence the importance we are placing on it within our breeding programs.
Facial Eczema
Last year we also poisoned our stud ram team with Sporidesmon ie gave them a facial eczema challenge. Not a particularly nice process but again, a condition that is only going to become more prevalent in the future.
All rams were given 0-20mg and all except one had no elevated GGT levels, meaning, it didn’t affect them and they didn’t mount an immune response. So a great result.
The aim now is to keep increasing the challenge/dose whilst also being mindful of the animal welfare of the ram.
The Turnberry Team
We’ve had a few new changes and unfortunately two close Turnberry friends passed away.
In this newsletter we would like to acknowledge and remember:
Bruce Gaskin
Bruce was our neighbour at Turnberry, a close personal friend, mentor and a very passionate member of our team. He will be sorely missed.
Bill Morrison
Bill has been our wool adviser, consultant, woolshed designer and classer from day one at Turnberry. His common sense approach and immense knowledge has been a significant factor in the direction we’ve taken our breeding programs.
Our thoughts are with Bruce’s and Bill’s families.
Jed Murphy
Jed finished up with us in March this year after 4 years at Turnberry. He is currently pursuing a career in banking. We would like to thank him for his efforts at Turnberry and wish him and Anna all the best for the future.
Richard Gavigan - General Manager
Richard is married to Katrina. They have two children, Bridget (8) and Joseph (5).
Richard was born and raised on the family sheep and beef cattle farm at Pori, approximately 8 km up the road from Turnberry.
He completed a Master of Agricultural Science Degree and Post Graduate Diploma of Agricultural Science at Massey University.
Richard worked for 15 years as a field officer for the organisations that were a forerunner to Meat & Wool New Zealand.
He was a financial partner in and fully involved in the day to day running of a large Wairarapa-based shearing contracting business for 4 years. Joining the Turnberry team fulfils Richard’s long-time ambition to return to farming.
Katrina grew up in Blenheim, Wellington and Masterton. She is a primary school teacher. Although she has not lived on a farm previously, Katrina is loving the rural lifestyle.
Richard and Katrina enjoy spending time with family. Richard is passionate about the land. He enjoys shooting when he finds the time and writes for the farming publication Country-Wide on a part-time basis.
Michael Duncan - Stock Manager
Michael is married to Deanne. They have three children, Paige (9), Hailey (6) and Cody (3).
Michael’s family have a long history of farming involvement. Michael grew up on farms and has been farming most of his working life. He has worked in the Waikura Valley on the East Coast and was previously employed at Kimbolton on one of the Meat & Wool New Zealand Monitor Farms where he was involved in farm monitoring and reporting to community group members.
Deanne grew up in Palmerston North. She is currently studying business administration and computing.
Michael and Deanne enjoy family activities. They love the outdoors and Michael is a very keen fisherman.
Summary
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”
An old cliché but one that I think sums up how our genetics are performing in tough environments.
As land use and climate continues to change, I think you’ll see sheep pushed ever more into more challenging environments – hence the need to breed sheep that will cope with this.
Nothing has changed to dampen our enthusiasm for the future of New Zealand sheep products. We know the standard of living is increasing dramatically in the big economies and the protein requirements will increase accordingly.
Our competitive advantage is our efficiency and the “green” factor which will generate premiums in the future.
So, remembering Pita Alexander’s thoughts, I think we need to focus on the simple things we do well, but try and do them better.
All the best from the Carthew Genetics Team – look forward to seeing you in December.
Cheers
Simon, Pascale, Bill, Di, Richard, Katrina, Mike and Deanne
