Results of Drysdale, hogget comparison

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33774, 21 February 1975, Page 6

Results of Drysdale, hogget comparison

An interesting comparison has been made of Drysdale and Romney wether hoggets fattened for the winter market. The Drysdales grew faster than the Romneys and were heavier at sale but brought less money in the Addington market, but this was offset by the greater production of wool of the Drysdales and also its higher value.

An increasing number of farmers in Canterbury and indeed in New Zealand have begun breeding Drysdale sheep, a breed whose wool commands a premium proi duct price from the carpet ! industry, says a supplied ' report on the trial. Many Mid Canterbury cropping farmers regard the breed’s ability to grow considerably more wool than the traditional breeds as an advantage the breed can offer them when purchasing lambs for fattening for the winter and spring markets. Three Drysdale breeders and a Methven cropping partnership last winter ran a co-operative trial to measure what the comparative production of Drysdale and Romney wether lambs retained for the winter market would be. Messrs F. and J. Ridge, of Highbank, who had fattened in excess of 2000 lambs for the Addington market in recent years, grazed a trial group of 60 wether lambs, 30 of which were Drysdales provided by Messrs T. L. Withers, C. A. Schikker and H. R. Clark, of the Staveley and Mount Somers area. At the beginning of the trial Mr M. A. Collins, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Ashburton, who recorded liveweights throughout the trial, reported that the average liveweights of the two groups * were (both groups had been | summer shorn): — Drysdales: 31.2 kilograms. | Romneys: 32 kilograms. » The hoggets were weighed again in mid-winter when the group averages differed & again by 0.8 kg. and follow- * ing shearing in the last < week of September, when g the Drysdales had a weight j advantage of 0.6 kg, which | meant that their growth § rate had exceeded that of < the Romneys by 1.4 kg or 11 per cent. The Drysdales then weighed 45.5 kg and . the Romneys 44.9 kg. Notwithstanding this weight advantage the net return for the Drysdales at 1 Addington market was 9 per cent less than for the Rom- ; neys; indicating that other than traditional breeds of sheep may suffer the same ' resistance from local buyers as do the new breeds of cattle, although other experiences outside of this trial ■ have never indicated that hoggets of this breed are .*-■ discounted by buyers. The Drysdales netted S $8.69 and the Romneys ? 59.54.

The Drvsdale hoggets, however, shore 4.00 kg of wool compared with 3.79 kg from the Romneys, and the Drysdale wool sold for 113.06 c per kg net in comparison with 85.85 c for the Romney wool. The Drysdale wool was sold to Carpet Wool Developments on a nominated sale basis to ensure

that the price was based on the same sale as that in which the Romney wool was sold. The net return from the wool from the two groups is shown in the following table: Wgt per head kg Drysdales 4.00 Romneys 3.79 This table shows a net advantage to the Drysdales on a revenue per head basis of 39 per cent. “This trial — although i only a small number of < hoggets (60) were involved ; —indicates that additional : revenue from wool is avail- ;