Business sessions in city

Press, 21 February 1986, Page 22

Business sessions in city

Christchurch will be the venue for the business sessions of the Fourth World Red Poll Cattle Congress being hosted by the New Zealand Red Poll Cattle Breeders’ Association.

3 Delegates and visitors from many countries are attending the congress, which started last week in Auckland. The party has already toured Red Poll studs in the North Island and will arrive in Christchurch tomorrow.

The conference will be officially opened tomorrow afternoon by the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay. Mr Peter Elworthy, the Dominion president of Federated Farmers will address the gathering on "The New Zealand farming scene” followed by items by the Te Waipounamu Maori Girls’ choir.

Later that evening, overseas delegates will present reports on "How Red Polls best fit into their environment.” Reports are expected from the English association’s president, Mr H. Cheet-

ham, of Cheshire; Mr R. Baker, Ohio, United States; Mr H. Francis, Saskatchewan, Canada; Dr K. Wellington, Mandeville, Jamaica; Mr W. Hobden, Dandaragan, Australia; and Mr P. Fleming, Irwell, New Zealand. Sunday’s conference sessions have been split into four sections. . The theme of the first session will be “Beef production in New Zealand” and it will include papers from Mr Neil Taylor, Director of the Meat and Wool Board’s Economic Service, Mr T. P. Hughes, and Dr A. Nicol, of Lincoln College.

The benefits of using a pasture-based farming system will be discussed in the second session where Dr R. W. Brougham, Director of the Grasslands Division of the D.5.1.R., and Mr G. Sheath, President of the New Zealand Grasslands Association will present papers. They will look at the history of New Zealand grasslands, fertiliser, topdressing, inoculation, controlled grazing systems and management methods.

They will be followed by discussions on the growth rate and carcase data of beef in New Zealand, including a look at the slaughtering, processing and marketing of beef, costs, grading and carcase yields.

The third session will consider the problems of all grass feeding. These will Include papers on nutritional problems and remedies, presented by Dr N. R. Towers; mineral deficiencies and internal and external parasites, by Professor A. R. Sykes, of Lincoln College; and practical implications of cattle behaviour, presented by Dr R. Kilgour and Dr R. Holmes, of Massey University. The topic for the final session will be genetic progress. Mr James Innes, of Haldon station, will speak on recording beef cattle, and Mr E. Dixon will discuss developments in embryo manipulation. An open forum will wind up the day’s activities and delegates will depart on Monday for a seven-day tour of the South Island.