SURVEY OF ILL-THRIFT IN ASHBURTON COUNTY

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28436, 16 November 1957, Page 9

SURVEY OF ILL-THRIFT IN ASHBURTON COUNTY

20,000 Known Deaths Last

Season

REPORT OF PANEL OF EXPERTS

Information gained from 60 per cent, of sheep farmers in the Ashburton county revealed that the known deaths directly attributed to ill-thrift in the serious outbreak last season were 20,000 lambs, and possibly half the sheep farms in the county were affected to some degree, representing a serious economic loss in the form of reduced live-weight gains,, said the report of the findings of four Department of Agriculture officers—Messrs R. C. Stuart (agricultural economist), H. 11. Toeker (farm management officer), 11. Evans and E. Slonyer (research officers in farm management). This panel of officers conducted a survey embracing 150 farms throughout the county in an endeavour to describe and analyse factors of pasture and livestock management and other data relevant to the outbreak.

The extensive survey undertaken by the officers comprised sending questionnaires to 1500 farmers in the county, a detailed field investigation involving personal visits to 150 farms, and a follow-up postal questionnaire to farmers for additional information on certain aspects of their farm management.

carry as much rank growth and the provision of short feed proved a practical way to avoid trouble.

“It is doubtful if winter stocking rates will ever be high enough to cope with the flush of growth, and there is a very strong case for the more widespread and constant .use of the mower in an endeavour to keep fast-growing feed at the short, sweet stage for fat lamb production,” said the report.

Of the 1267 sheepfarmers in the county, 800 returned the preliminary questionnaire, and complete and accurate information was obtained from all farmers to whom personal visits were made.

Other, recommendations based on the officers’ findings were: frequent regular inspection of all lambs; shifting lambs to alternative feeds immediately they show any reluctance to cat apparently attractive feed, and moving lambs immediately ill-thrift is suspected.

I Although the known figure of | at least 20,000 lamb deaths from j ill-thrift was not a high percent- : age of the total lamb crop of i about 1.200.000. a very serious j difficulty in fattening a large I proportion of the remaining lambs i was associated with the deaths, said the report. | It was revealed that possibly | half the total of sheep farms I in the county were affected to some extent by ill-thrift. The heaviest individual farm loss was more than 900 lambs—s 3 per cent, of total lambs tailed—and seven other farms had losses exceeding 20 per cent. The remaining lambs on these farms were affected by ill-thrift, almost without exception, and there were other farms on which no lambs died, but on which nearly every lamb was unthrifty. Losses on twothirds of the affected farms, however. were less than 5 per cent, above normal losses, and returns from sheepfarmers indicated that the minimum number of lambs lost was 20.000. or nearly 2 per cent, of the total lambs tailed. The ill-thrift was responsible for serious economic loss in the form of reduced live weight gain, and heavy mortalities in lamb flocks occurred throughout the county until early March, when there was an improvement. The problem was observed on all types of feed. The only consistent post mortem features were those associated with starvation, the report said. “There was constant evidence of the failure of lambs to eat readily the feed in front of them, and it is possible that the unpalatability of rapidly-growing crops may be a factor in the development of ill-thrift. The whole problem was aggravated by a sudden change to drought conditions after the wet spring, and the tremendous pasture growth until Christmas.” Pasture Growth Factor Records taken at the Winchmore irrigation research station showed that 8.03 in more rain fell in 1956-57 than in an average season, said the report. Very heavy rain fell at the end of September and the beginning of October. Pasture growth was exceptional on all farms and stock numbers were inadequate to cope with the flush, with the result that most pastures quickly ran to seed. Two inches of the 2£in of rain recorded in December fell in the first half of the month, and although evaporation and rainfall were about equal durihg the first 15 days, evaporation was considerably higher over the latter half of the month. “At this stage there was much surplus growth which had gone to seed. Large areas were being- made into hay Ijnt most stock were feeding on rank pasture.” ■ There was a rapid drying off of both pastures and rape early in January, and negligible growth throughout the month. The little rain did nothing to relieve the dryness and stock were existing on dried-off. stalky grass which a few weeks earlier had been lush, rank feed. About 3.3 in of rain fell in March and a rapid regrowth of pasture was apparent until by the end of the month pastures were again carrying an abnormal amount of feed. Losses first occurred about midDecember and reached a crisis between mid-January and midFebruary during a period of hot, drying winds not usually association with ill-thrift. Deaths ceased with the freshening of feed after rain in late February and early March but many thousands of lambs were still in a wretched condition in spite of their readi- ' ness to eat. 111-thrift occurred on a wide variety of feeds and- there appeared to be no relationship between species of feed and severity of the disease. More than one-third of the affected flocks first showed signs of ill-thrift on rape. Thrifty mobs in excellent condition until put on rape visibly fell off in condition in two or three days and the mortality rate was high. “A pasture management feature which appeared to be definitely associated with ill—thrift was the provision of rank and bulky feed. Where feed was kept controlled at the ohe inch to three inches stage during the spring and early summer flush, and continued that way through the summer, there was little or no trouble,” re report said. Significant Feature A significant feature was that nearly three-quarters of the farmers who had no ill-thrift in their flocks tried either by shutting up paddocks and concentrating stock, or by topping, to “keep on top” of their rapidly growing pastures. Pastures thus controlled did not

Freshly-irrigated pasture (not necessarily hardened off) was the only feed on which lambs in an advanced stage of the disease would consistently recover, or if this could not be provided lambs might also thrive on newly-sown pasture, lucerne or pure white clover.