An insight into N.Z. farming

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33355, 13 October 1973, Page 16

An insight into N.Z. farming

Delegates to the Royal Agricultural Society’s Commonwealth conference were given a contrasting insight into New Zealand farming conditions when they visited Lincoln College yesterday. After hearing Professor J. D. Stewart and Professor I. E. Coop, they were left in no doubt that New Zealand is not entirely a country where lush green pastures grow for the full 12 months of the year. A party of 160 visitors inspected a project on heavy land, where lambs are being weaned on to lucerne at four to five weeks, which is in contrast to common farming practice of weaning at 12 to 14 weeks. The college also put on display its stud sheep flocks, which, after a season noted for drought, have put up a high performance. While fat lamb flocks in many districts of Canterbury

have struggled to reach 100 per cent lambing this year, the college’s four stud flocks have averaged 139 per cent. The figures were: Border Leicester 154, Dorset Down 148, Corriedale 143, Romney 134 and Southdown 117. Professor A. E. Henderson told visitors that all sheep were selected on a productivity index and, as an example, | this had raised the daily j weight gain of the South- ' downs from 0.431 b to 0.551 b and as much as 0.61 b. I On calling at the college’s i light land property at AshHey Dene, Professor Stewart (explained that this was once country which carried only a [sheep to the acre, but after the establishment of lucerne iwas now supporting five to the acre. The lambing there was 120 [per cent. Professor Coop 1 told the visitors that, this was not high by United [Kingdom standards, but it i was good in view of the proIlonged drought over the [summer and autumn. [ Professor Coop said that [ the breeding ewes were firstcross Border LeicesterI Corriedales. When mated with a Dorset Down sire, they gave a three-way cross which put up a first-class performance. United Kingdom visitors, he said, would be well aware of this system in breeding, but he had been trying for 20 years to “put it across” in New Zealand with only limited success.