FARM AND STATION

Press, Volume C, Issue 29680, 25 November 1961, Page 6

FARM AND STATION

Heavy Canterbury Lambs Win British Award

T. P. Lowe and Company of Windermere in Mid-Canterbury were recently awarded the British-New Zealand Meat Company Ltd.’s challenge cup for the best line of New Zealand lambs to be marketed by the company in Britain last season.

At a time when many lambs are being killed in this part of the world at around the 251 b mark and the export schedule is heavily weighted in favour of the very light lamb, readers will be interested to know that the British-New Zealand Meat Company, which sells lamb at Smithfield, selected for last season’s award lambs which averaged 37.371 b.

The Windermere farming company sent 3197 lambs to Britain last season. The light, est draft went 35.681 b (these were off the mothers) and the heaviest (off feed) 39.851 b. Overall tire average was 37.371 b. Commenting on a draft averaging 37.331 b the British company said: ‘‘A very good run considered most suitable for the London trade.’’ And there were other comments too that underlined the fact that these lambs, though heavy, were ideally suited for the trade. Few Seconds And of all these lambs shipped to London only 76 were graded as seconds. “I can never understand how it is you manage to ship so few second quality lambs but, if I may say so, all credit is due to you.” wrote Mr Austin Kingwell managing director of the British company, notifying Mr Lowe of the award. Questioned this week about his success Mr Lowe put a good deal of the credit on his Dorset Horn rams for their ability to produce “a fleshy lamb without excessive fat.” And though processing and freight charges are greater for the heavier lamb "that he produces Mr Lowe still feels that it is returning him some, thing extra. In June this year while his lambs under 281 b were bringing 44s in London his 371 b to 421 b lambs were making 52s and his 431 b to 501 b lambs 565. The Lowe property at Windermere totals 1728 acres and includes a homestead block of 888 acres of light to medium country and 840 acres of light country about four and a half miles awav on the Maronan road which was taken over in the autumn of last year. It is in a dry part of the world and is susceptible to drought. In 1960, 2890 halfbred ewes were put to the ram and in addition 412 stud ewes, mainly Dorset Horn, were mated. With 1574 dry sheep including replacement ewe hoggets and studs, 4876 sheep were wintered. It is the policy on the property to buy in the haifbred flock replacements as ewe lambs and these are bought privately

mainly from one source and are selected for constitution and wool quality. The aim is not to over-emphasise the lamb producing characteristics at the expense of the wool and the success of this policy is borne out in that at the Ashburton show this year the farm won the Eskdale Cup for most points in the wool section and earlier in the year won the halfbred and Corriedale section in the flock ewe competition of the Ashburton. Methven and Mayfield Agricultural and Pastoral Associations. Mr Lowe does not believe in doing his ewes too hard in the period between weaning and mating for the reason that he thinks that once their lambs have been weaned the ewes are preparing for the next crop of lambs. The main part of the flock is put out with the rams on April 1 with the seven, eight and nine-year-old ewes going out a week earlier. The ewes in the flock on average do eight lambi ngs. Shearing The main lambing is about August 26 to 28 with the older ewes beginning about a week earlier. The ewes are shorn in October, “about the time that you take off your winter clothes.” says Mr Lowe. They are brought in with their lambs in small mobs of 120 to 140 and with a gang of four shearers on the job they are in the shed for only a few hours and with the lambs then fairly young and the ewes heavy in milk little difficulty is experienced in remothering. The flock ewes clip about 101 b of wool with the mutton breed studs doing only about 61b. Last year a total of 3939 lambs were tailed from all the 3302 ewes put to the ram. giving a lambing of around 120 per cent. The first draft of 307 was taken on November 23, and these weighed 37.331 b on an average. By Christmas the tally drafted was up to 1227, and by January 20 it had reached 2093. Altogether 2306 were taken fat off the mothers by midFebruary. Apart from ram lambs, which are weaned about now, the main wean-

ing is done about the end of January and in February. Mr Lowe feels that one of the strong points of the halfbred ewe, apart from its long iamb producing life, is its ability to milk right through, and he feels than so long as it is producing milk it is giving the lamb a valuable natural food. Selenium has been used with some success on the property. Mr Lowe says that it seems to have put the young sheep right. Some of the two and four-tooths were given it before tupping, and six and eight-tooths before lambing. Carry-over lambs showed a favourable response last season, and hoggeits recently treated have given every sign since of good health. The basic feed on the property is oft-condemned perennial ryegrass. The pasture mixture used includes up to 301 b of perennial, 21b or 31b of cocksfoot. 11b of crested dogstail, 21b of white clover, sometimes up to 31b of red and 21b of subterranean clover. On the lighter country grass is sown with turnips, and on the homestead block sometimes with a little rape or oats. A good many pastures have been down seven to nine years, and they are up to 14 years old. A good deal of lime has been applied over the years, but now it is the practice to use a ton when ground is broken up again. On all pastures the practice is to use li to Ijcwt of serpentine superphosphate to the acre annually, with D.D.T. being used on new pastures and periodically thereafter. Supplementary crops last year included 50 acres of turnips, 20 acres of choumoellier and swedes, 108 acres of turnips and grass.

20 acres of rape, and 20 acres of rape and grass. Slightly more than 100 acres are in Marlborough lucerne and the aim is to at least fill the 12 600-bale compartments in the three hay barns. Ryegrass straw is' saved for use of the 100 head of cattle which are wintered. The ewes are flushed on grass and from May and June they are fed out hay and given a taste of autumn saved grass of which the maximum area is saved. In July and August the ration is extended to include turnips and the ewes are lambed on saved grass, paddocks shut after the ewes have started to feed the turnips and on lucerne. The ewes and lambs are run on small paddocks with mobs of about 150 ewes and lambs with a fundamental aim being to avoid excessive fouling of pastures and undue baring to facilitate regrowth in the event of drought conditions. Emphasis is placed on good feeding of hoggets in the autumn and early winter and rape is shut up after use by the lambs for the ram hoggets. It is a matter of interest that while there has been no footrot on the place for a number of years an earlier outbreak was effectively countered by running sheep through a shallow footbath of power kerosene following

paring, with care being taken to ensure that they did not again come into contact with affected sheep or contami nated ground. Few came back for another treatment after that The Dorset Horn stud on the property is the largest of its type in New Zealand. It stems from the importation of 10 ewes from Australia made by the late Mr W. T. Lowe in 1936. Since 1946 top studs have been brought in from Mr W. J. Dawkins of Newbold. Adelaide, who has been concentrating on putting fleshing quality into the hindquarters of the Dorset, Last year a Poll Dorset was introduced and has this season left a very promising crop of lambs. Just over 100 head of beef cattle are carried. Some yearlings are bought in for fattening and sale after one winter and a line of some 42 or 43 yearling heifers were put to the bull in early October with the idea of selling their progeny after holding for one winter. The cattle run with the sheep except in the late winter and spring when they go on turnips to give the pastures a chance to get going. Perennial ryegrass is harvested as it is available in excess of feed requirements. Last season about 190 acres was closed for this purpose.