Hill Flock Lambing "A National Problem”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31835, 13 November 1968, Page 24

Hill Flock Lambing " A National Problem”

Low lambing percentages are a serious national problem. They are holding back improvement, and it is essential that they be raised.

Stating this in the annual publication of the Perendale handbook, the founder of the breed (Sir Geoffrey Peren, of Palmerston North) writes that “if one looks into the extent to which very low lambing percentages are a regular experience on the poorer hill country in both the North and South Islands, it is driven home that more steps have got to be taken to tackle what is, in fact a serious national problem.

“Only those who are familiar with the real back country districts of both islands appreciate the large amount of third-class country there is in the Dominion on which percentages In the eighties and even the seventies are a regular occurrence, year after year. “For that matter, even the percentages being obtained on our better class of country, and in many of our stud flocks, are nothing like as good as they should and could be.

“How often have you heard it said: ‘I don’t like that sheep but we cannot throw out any more; we’ve got to keep our numbers up.’ That is the everyday story of the common bottleneck—not enough sheep to make efficient culling possible; not enough lambs to start with.

“And yet as a result of investigational work on the sheep' and its fleece, a farmer is exhorted to cull for this, that and the other thing. How different is the position of a flock whose average is, say, 120 per cent compared to one with 85 per cent, when .t comes to putting out sheep which the owner knows should be culled.”

Sir Geoffrey Peren says it must be obvious that if New Zealand farmers are going to raise the fertility

and production of their sheep, the ability to cull more heavily for failure to breed, and those characteristics more strongly inherited, is one of the essentials. "Looked at from another angle, if we are going to increase our sheep population, as we are exhorted to do, we must have more lambs to work on, or we shall have to lower, not raise, our present standard of culling which, in so many cases, is too low as it is.” “A Minimum” Sir Geoffrey Peren poses the question: What lambing percentage can be regarded as the minimum compatible with essential culling on a hill property. “One hundred per cent?” he asks. "It is low enough. Farmers whose figures used to be in the nineties, but who have slipped into the high eighties In recent years, have complained that they can see their flocks slowly, but surely, slipping. “Anything below 95 per cent year after year is making if virtually impossible to maintain a satisfactory standard, let alone an improvement. If this assumption is correct, we are left, it should be noted, with an alarmingly large number of flocks in the 70 to 95 per cent group—at a

guess, 30 to 35 per cent of the flocks in the Dominion. “The fact is that far too many farmers confine their efforts to improve percentages largely to indifferent attempts at flushing; the rest is left to nature. And nature is handicapped too often by such practices as doing ewes too hard after weaning, and basing the selection of two-tooth rams and ewes so much on size—large single lambs in preference to smaller twins, which in point of fact would have made up the leeway in size by the time they were four-tooths —and giving dry two-tooths and dry older ewes another chance, which perpetuates shy breeding. “And so we carry on year by year; here and there a man is worried at the figures he gets; there is no general outcry—no alarm at a serious source of national loss. No Range “The ofiiclal lambing percentages for the counties are published each year, but it canpot be said that they .stimulate much interest To the average farmer the figures appear to be much the same year after year. As far as he can recollect, they have never varied much. “Of course, everybody would like to see higher figures, but the general impression one gets is that the great majority are not particularly worried at the position the figures disclose.” Sir Geoffrey Peren says the trouble with these official figures is that they are only averages, and it is rather doubtful if a lot of

farmers stop to think what that means. The figures don’t show the range for a county—the number of flocks with similar percentages from Hie lowest to the “They do not give, therefore, a picture of the true position in a county, since the low percentages are hidden in the average which is bolstered by the high percentages—the figures for properties on first-class hills and lamb fattening country. In other words the extent of the low lambing problem on poor country is obscured.”

Sir Geoffrey Peren states that if the number of flocks with similar percentages in tabular form, starting with the lowest figure—and occasionally this would be in the sixties—and continuing to the highest, the numbers of flocks in the seventies and eighties would, in a number of cases, be quite startling, and draw attention to the problem. “It would be better still, if the results were shown in graphic form, and the importance of the subject warrants sueh treatment. It cannot be said that the figures as now presented have very much value from the point of view of focusing attention on a serious matter.

“If, annually, the figures were set out in a form in which the time position could be seen at a glance, and more attention were drawn to the improvement already obtained by some farmers with the help of departmental and university officers, there would almost certainly be an increase in interest, in requests for assistance, and in efforts to improve percentages.” Sir Geoffrey Peren says the problem, must, of course, be realistic. “While some of the steps which

can be taken do not involve any additional work, others definitely do. The latter run up against the labour problpm and may be beyond the capabilities of many already trying to handle more sheep than used to be considered enough for one man. “Again, the kind of property determines to a certain extent what is feasible —whether it be a large station embracing a lot of difficult country, a small easilyhandled front-country place, or a stud farm. “As things stand at the moment, the steps which can be taken to improve lambing percentages fall into two distinct classes: one embraces improvements in the various aspects of stock management, and the other the selection of breed. “The second line of attack on this problem is through the breed one is running; a weighing up of the pros and cons of changing to a hardier and more fertile breed. If such a breed is at the same time suited to your country, this is a move which will give a major lift more quickly than any improved management, as has been demonstrated in many cases in recent years. “Even if breed and management are right, there is still a weak link in the chain which may be continually offsetting a man’s best efforts, and that is the influence of the rams he buys. Ram Selection “Unless a stud breeder is selecting for prolificacy, the progeny of the sale rams he breeds will tend to offset the management in the flocks in which they are used. “As tilings are at the moment, all that buyers

can do is to bring pressure to bear on all breeders to select for twinning by showing a strong preference, other things being equal, for rams with the right backing—a question of supply and demand. “Some breeders need no pressure; they are already working along these lines, and are quite ready to supply details of a sheep’s backing. Others look on the procedure as too much of a handicap to selection for other features. “But when it comes to the improvement of the country’s hill flocks, the ability to cull efficiently is fundamental, and clients cannot cull as they should unless they have got the numbers to work on.” Sir Geoffrey Peren predicts that the demand for rams with a twinning background will grow Into a regular practice. Many younger men, he says, have already adopted this principal. “When it will be possible to select a sheep not only on the basis of its own performance, but also on those of its near relatives, fertility will be safeguarded, and the estimation of a way a sheep will breed will be greatly simplified. “The principal is so logical that the practice must come, and the sooner the better. We cannot afford to fall behind in the raceothers are adopting more intensive methods, and so must we. “It is clear, however, that whereas records indicating the likelihood of a ram maintaining or improvinz the fertility of a flock will be of tremendous benefit to the industry, the use of the right breed and correct management will always be essential.”