Breeder credits late uncle for hair sheep success
Southland breeder Tim Gow attributes the success of his Shire breed of hair sheep to the expert guidance of his uncle, the late Dr Scott Dolling, who was a prominent Australian animal geneticist.
Waimate farmer Tim Mehrtens says he has been pleasantly surprised at the Wiltshire's mothering ability and pre-weaning growth rates.
Continuing poor returns for crossbred wool coupled with the emergence of triple drench resistance is driving an increasing number of sheep farmers to consider making the shift to low-input, no-shear Wiltshires.
Aside from shearing, the costs of crutching, dagging and flystrike are all eliminated with these shedding sheep. Meanwhile, Wiltshires are said to be more resistant and resilient to internal parasites than their wooly counterparts.
Will Pears, stud manager at North Canterbury's Mt Cass Wiltshire stud, says last year's inaugural sale exceeded all expectations in terms of price and interest. He is expecting the same at this year's sale on January 19.
Pears says last year more than 100 buyers from around the country competed strongly for both rams and ewes and feedback from purchasers has been overwhelmingly positive.
One of those buyers was Waimate farmer Tim Mehrtens. He admits it took a leap of faith in buying Wiltshire ewe lambs and rams at the Mt Cass's sale but was rewarded with a good lambing percentage and very good pre-weaning growth rates.
Mehrtens, who farms 215ha of rolling hill country, says the shift to Wiltshire genetics was driven by frustration with poor returns for wool. While he has been buying very good composite ewe lambs, in 2020 the difference between shearing costs and the wool cheque left him $3,500 out of pocket.
The first crop of pure Wiltshire and Wiltshire cross lambs, born last spring, exceeded expectations. Mehrtens says he was pleasantly surprised at the pre-weaning growth rates and their mothering ability.
Forced to wean early due to limited processing space, he says 220 twin male lambs killed out at 17.5 kgCW and a line of Wiltshire cross lambs averaged 17.7 kgCW.
Mehrtens has also noticed that a lot of the first cross lambs have started to shed.
"I'm stoked with the results," he says.
According to ASB, Fonterra's plan to sell it's Anchor and Mainlands brands could inject $4.5 billion in additional spending into the economy.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.

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