Crossbreds Interest Ashley Dene Visitors

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28415, 23 October 1957, Page 14

Crossbreds Interest Ashley Dene Visitors

Farmers attending the field day at Canterbury Agricultural College's Ashley Dene farm yesterday showed great interest in the big. upstanding Border LeicesterCorriedale sheep seen in the farm sheepyards, and the big shorn crossbred ewe hoggets they saw out in the paddocks. Professor I. E. Coop, head of the animal husbandry department at the co.'lege, told the visitors that compared with the purebred Corriedale ewes mated with Down rams. Border LeicesterCorriedale ewes would give a 20 pet cent, higher lambing, the lambs out of the crossbreds would grow faster, there would be more drafted fat off the mothers, and fewer would have to be weaned ,on to rape. He said the gain in lamb production was from 25 to 30 per cent.

The crossbred clipped an extra 11b of wool, but this was crossbred wool compared with the halfbred type from the purebred Corriedale, and it sold at aboui 5d to 6d a lb less. Taking price and weight into account, however, the return a fleece was about the same, so that an increase in lamb production was being secured without sacrificing the wool. The crossbred sheep were bigger, grew faster, and did everything in a bigger way, and although he had not tested it. Professor Coop said he thought it could be assumed that fewer crossbred sheep would be carried to the acre. Theoretically about 7 to 8 per cent, fewer sheep of this type would be carried on a farm, but farmers might in practice go on carrying the same old numbers and at the same time securing better utilisation of their pastures. Under both heavy and lightweight lamb production. ProfessoCoop said that the Dorset Down had given the best return of any ram tested, and with the crossbred ewe gave a gain in fat lamb production of about 35 per cent. Another Cross

Professor Coop said that Border Leicester-Romney cross lambs born 14 months had given lib more wool than purebred Romneys of the same age. It was hoped that this crossing would go the same way as with the Corriedales. Professor J. W. Calder, assistant director of the college and head of the field husbandry department, was asked to open the dav by the Director of the college (Dr M M. Burns), who said that this would probably be the last Ashley Dene field day that Professor Calder would attend as a member of the staff. He will retire at the end of next March at the end of 35 years’ service on the college staff Professor Calder said that he had been associated with the Ashley Dene field days since 1936, when subterranean clover had first been sown. Then 800 ewes were being carried on the 878 acres. Today the carrying capacity had been raised to 2.8 ewes to the acre by the combination of subterranean clover—a pasture plant that fitted in with the animal husbandry practised on this type of farm—and lucerne. Professor A. H. Flay, head of the farm management and rural valuation department, who had command of the day, said that the farm might go into next winter with 3 to 31 ewes to the acre. Although ewe numbers had gone up 600 this year he said with the recent bountiful seasons the farm had failed to live up to its aim of maximum utilisation. On present temporary plans he said it was intended to go on increasing the area of the farm under

lucerne or lucerne pastures from 315 acres at present to about 500 acres.

Discussing renovation of subterranean pastures and drilling in of short rotation ryegrass. Professor Flay said that this cost money and should be kept down to the minimum area to protect the green feed position. It did, however, provide very valuable greenfeed at a very critical time and then was an adjunct to pasture until lambs were drafted in December.

This season two paddocks of subterranean clover and short rotation ryegrass have carried 6.5 and 3.1 ewes and lambs to the acre respectively in August, 5.7 and 6.8 ewes and lambs to the acre in September, and 7 ewes and lambs to the acre in both cases in the first half of the present month.

Among members of the college staff who spoke during the day was Dr. I. D. Blair, head of the microbiology department, who said that the virus or diseaseproducing agent responsible for turnip mosaic was quite clearly in kale, chou mocllier and secondgrowth rape. The insects which carried it attached themselves to these carry-over plants and transferred it to rape, in which it did not have severe effects, and then in mid-summer to the turnip crop.

One of the possibilities for its control was the widespread use of aphid-resistant rape, which would help to break the cycle. Chemical treatment was. he felt, largely ineffective for aphid control, but if a treatment could be developed which would be absorbed by the plant and would be toxic to aphids then the chances of control would be good The farm wool shed was headquarters for the field day and vistors under members of the college staff ranged over a wide area of the farm, in addition to listening to short addresses.