Merino wethers return over $60

Press, 11 September 1987, Page 15

Merino wethers return over $60

Only $lO separated twothirds of the 32 teams in the Marlborough Merino wether trial after the results of the second competition shearing were calculated last week. The winning team of seven wethers from Mr Ewan Rentoul, of Wye Hills, earned an average of $68.74 a fleece, heading Mount Gladstone (E. G. Pitts) with $66.02 and Aschworth (J. W. and T. J. Wadsworth) with $64.97.

The next 14 teams averaged between $6O and $64.22 and another seven teams were within another $2. Only three teams returned less than $5O.

Almost 300 people attended the trial’s second shearing at Richmond Brook station, Seddon, where the 32 teams of Merino wethers are farmed.

The trial was started two years ago by the Marlborough Merino Breeders’ Association in conjunction with the Wool Board and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The trial teams represent all Merino strains and wool types in Marlborough. About three weeks before shearing, wool samples are taken from each wether for yield and fibre diameter testing, enabling the value of each fleece to be calculated

immediately after shearing. The prices established by Wool Board staff to value each fleece attracted some comment for their apparently optimistic level.

But Mr Bryan Bradley, a Christchurch-based wool production officer for the board, said the prices had been calculated a week before the field day and were based on those received at the most recent Christchurch auction and Australian sales.

Because the value of the New Zealand dollar had continued to strengthen the prices used for the trial were higher than more recent sales where prices had slipped in response to the dollar’s significant strengthening, said Mr Bradley. But the valuations for the trial were at a level which growers could have

realistically expected if their wool was sold at auction in late August, he said.

Teams with the highest average returns per fleece were generally those with microns in the 19 to 21 range and with high clean fleece weights. The average micron measurement for the whole contest was 21, compared with 20.7 last year, and 20 at the start of the competition. The clean scoured yield has remained stable at 71.5 per cent this year, 72.7 per cent last year and 71.3 in 1985. But the average clean fleece weight has climbed to 4.2 kg this year compared with 3kg last year and 2.lkg at the first shearing. Trials such as the Marlborough event showed the bulk of the price variations between sheep were controlled by fleece weight and fibre dia-

meter, said Dr David Cottle, a lecturer in the Wool Science Department at Lincoln College. He cautioned against comparing too harshly the performance of the various teams in the trial, particularly when the wethers had been selected on a different basis from property to property.

Most of the wethers had been assessed subjectively as some of the best sheep on their particular property — and jumping to conclusions about one team being better than the others was “fairly hairy."

A more important comparison could be made by comparing the average sheep on different properties, rather than the “best” sheep. A better approach was to have a random or an average sample of wethers, rather than a group of subjectively assessed “best” sheep. Results from the trial highlight also the variations between sheep from the same property. For the top seven wethers in the Wye Hills team, the fleece price varied by about $l6, and for the next two place-getters (Mount Gladstone and Aschworth) the prices between their top seven sheep varied about $3O. The highest price fleece in the trial was grown by

a wether from Rossmore (M.A. Westenra) and valued at $93.09. Its micron measurement was 19.1, yield was 72.1 per cent, and fleece weight was 5.7 kg.

One of the finest fleeces came from a- Glenarran wether (A. MacKenzie) at 16.2 microns which was valued at $62.95. Its yield was 75 per cent andt fleece weight 2.6 kg. Rossmore took the, award for the seven 1 wethers with the best average clean fleece weight (4.8731 kg followed by Richmond Brook station (4.8719 kg and Waihopai Downs (K. R. Baillie) with 4.7817 kg. Although there was very little variation between the average clean fleece weights of the top five teams, the range from the top team to the bottom was I.7kg.

The seven wethers with the highest bodyweight (60.47 kg average) came from Richmond Brook station, followed by Awapiri (G. M. and B. J. Black) with 57.6856 kg, and Haumoana (L. K. Pattie) with 57.4559 kg.)

Mr Graham Black, chairman of the trial committee, was very pleased with the condition of the wethers, which he attributed to the management of Mr John Macer. The trial will run for at least another two years.

The 12 top teams of seven wethers were:Average Average Average yield micron value Wye Hills 73.37 19.24 $68.74 Mount Gladstone 72.42 20.78 $66.02 Aschworth 73.98 19.77 $64.97 Dunbeath 71.30 18.68 $64.22 Ramshead 71.71 18.75 $64.15 Upton Fells 73.08 20.77 $63.86 Antrim 72.61 20.55 $63.61 Awapiri 73.14 21.60 $63.07 Gladstone Downs 71.00 20.52 $62.74 Waihopai Downs 73.30 21.40 $62.21 Glenarran 72.31 18.34 $62.20 Glenlee 72.80 21.11 $62.20