Merino breed improved’

Press, 13 November 1981, Page 8

Merino breed improved’

The Merino judge, Mr D. S. Vanrenen, of Victoria, said the breed had improved in the five years since he last judged at the Canterbury show. In 1976 the sheep he judged were an impressive lineup .but in some cases were not very well presented. The situation had changed now. The Merinos at this year’s show were both, of high quality and very well presented, Mr Vanrenen said. In a number of classes the quality was so even it was a very hard job separating the sheep, he said. Mr Vanrenen said he hoped the high standard of sheep entered would encourage breeders to continue this strong showing of Merinos. The size and scope of the leading sheep in each class was very impressive. They would be competitive in any Australian show, he said. Mr Vanrenen made special mention of the wool density on many of the sheep he

judged. It was impressive to find such wool density on sheep with about 10 months wool growth, he said. The grand champion ewe was hard to fault. She had a magnificent fleece. The grand champion ram, which was from the medium combing section, would be a very competitive ram in Australia, Mr Vanrenen said. Mr R. S. Thomson (Culverden) judged the woolly Corriedale rams aged between 18 and 30 months. He said the champion ram was an outstanding dual purpose sheep and made special mention of its fleece. The reserve champion looked equally good but its fleece was not quite as attractive, he said. Mr Thomson said the overall standard was very high and this made judging difficult. The improvements made in the rams offered, compared with previous years, was quite marked and this was very pleasing for the breed, Mr Thomson said.