Chathams sheep farmers keen to learn

Press, 19 November 1982, Page 24

Chathams sheep farmers keen to learn

A near total turn-out of sheep farmers on the Chatham Islands heard many things to their advantage at a recent sheep seminar organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the local branch of Federated Farmers.

“There was a great interest in all the subjects discussed,” Mr Lindsay Galloway, sheep and beef officer, M.A.F. Christchurch said this week on his return. Most of the farmers on the main island, Chatham, and. even four from the remote Pitt Island attended the first sheep seminar organised for the islands. The seminar was followed by a shearing and woolhandling school and the Chatham Islands Golden Shears, one of the most popular social and sporting events there.

A nine-strong team went from Christchurch and Wellington, for the seminar, organised by Lindsay Galloway.

Mr Norm Hart, senior farm advisory officer, M.A.F. Lincoln, outlined farming responses to the extensive land development which has occurred on the Chathams in recent years. He also spoke on pasture development and fertiliser usage and the potential for harming Chathams pastures by intensive grazing. Mr Alister South, M.A.F. Christchurch, gave an address on basic genetics and the Chathams farmers, with their black Merinos of which they are very proud, identi-

fied with the black sheep genetic principle. Mr Galloway spoke on indirect selection and the need to cull hoggets as soon as possible on body weights once an adequate wool grade had been achieved and could be maintained through the ram inputs. He said good progress had been made on the Chathams in recent years on wool grades and it was time to look at body weights. Mr Galloway and Mr Hart presented the M.A.F. liveweight target chart and stressed the importance of starting to put weight on sheep after weaning and not just before joining. Mr Bryan Bradley of the Wool Board spoke on the importance of fleece weight and the methods on increasing this characteristic through selection. He also gave one of the first addresses the islanders had heard on Supplementary Minimum Prices, the board’s adjusted weighted average sale price and its price support scheme. A three-man contingent from Wrightson NMA, Ltd — Messrs Brian Taylor, wool manager, Christchurch, Alan Sturzaker, wool manager New Zealand, and John Harris, machinery representative — also spoke on wool selling procedures and machinery for farmers. The wool men showed a film on objective measurement and reportedly did a great deal to make up for the islanders’ remoteness from the New Zealand wool

selling system upon which they depend. The two-day seminar was capped off by a fine dinner of local foods, prepared by Chathams women, including crayfish, paua and mutton birds.

The speaker at the dinner was Mr Ray Dunick, South Island shearing instructor for the Wool Board, who kept the audience enthralled with slides and commentary on his Peruvian experiences. Mr Galloway commented that the seminar organisers also made use of the discussion group technique, to which the farmers responded very well. The sheep and wool handling school which followed the seminar was also very well attended and the Golden Shears on the Saturday was attended by a capacity audience of 150 people.

Winner of the open shearing was Robert Holmes, a Chathams farmer and stud breeder who beat a top field, including good shearers from New Zealand who was working in the Chathams and last year’s winner, Bruce Tuanui. In the .senior event a young shearer, Philip Seymour, gained the top points for the best pen of sheep shorn in any grade. Mr Galloway said he wanted to thank all those who went from the mainland to the Chathams with him and also Mr Joe Tuanui, local chairman of the Federated Farmers, who was instrumental in getting so many Chathams farmers to attend.