Repeat win in wether trials

Press, 30 September 1988, Page 21

Repeat win in wether trials

Repeatability was the most outstanding feature of the Central Otago Merino wether trials with the same teams of sheep as last year taking the top spots in the competition shearing event. The chairman of the trial committee, Mr Alan Paterson, said the success of the trial had exceeded all expectations. Although the public open days would cease, it had been decided to continue the trial to gain more information about the performance of the sheep as they grew older. He acknowledged that the dramatic lift in Merino wool prices had added to the interest and said it was gratifying to see farmers from the lower country attending the open day. These people were more than interested as several had already bought Merino sheep for what had been

considered Crossbred country. When the idea of a Merino wether trial was originally promoted, the aim was to create interest in an animal which had tended to be underrated. It was not meant to be a competition, rather a comparison of production from well managed Merino wethers. A competitive element had slipped into the trials as interest was generated and if another trial was set up, breeders would probably be more selective in their choice of animals. He said the trial was set up in 1984 by Central Otago stud Merino breeders and was modelled on similar trials in Australia. Along with animal production, the trial compared the performance of fine, medium, and strong woolled strains of Merino.

The 30 teams of 10 wethers came from high country stations in Central Otago, the Mackenzie Country, and the Waitaki Valley. There was a varied genetic background, which included most Merino strains and entries from two Polworth breeders. The production from the wethers exceeded expectations. Each year the gross revenue from the wethers was much better than the average returns from sheep of all classes on New Zealand farms. It was notable that fineness alone had not given a top return. It was a mix of fineness and weight. As hoggets, the average fibre diameter was 19.6 micron, as four year olds it was 22.8 micron. The average weight (clean) went from 2.6 kg as hoggets to 4.4 kg as four year olds. To get the final results on the day of shearing,

each animal had a wool sample taken in August and sent to Lincoln College for fibre diameter measurement and yield testing. A computer was on site to calculate the performance in dollar terms of each sheep shorn. The prices were calculated on the August 18 Dunedin wool sale, plus movements which had occurred. The prices this year had rocketed, compared with last year. The stronger Merino wools were up 200 c a kg with the fine wools up 400 c akg. The trial ended on a high note and the estimated 250 people who attended had a marvelous opportunity to see what could be achieved from the easy care animal, said Mr Paterson. The team which produced the best dollar returns was again Andrew

Jopp’s Leaning Rock Station which had an average return of $105.50 a head. The fleece was 20 micron with a 70.9 per cent yield and a greasy weight of 6.85 kg. Alistair Campbell’s Ernscleugh Station was second with an average return from his team of $97. The average micron was 20.8 with a 75 per cent yield and a 6.56 kg greasy weight. David Allen’s Benrose Station was third with an average return of $90.98 a head. The micron reading was 19.84, the yield was 71.8 per cent and the greasy weight average was 5.78 kg.

The award for the highest fleece weight went to Jerry Burdon’s Glendene Station with an average of 7.72 kg. The highest average liveweight went to David Allen’s Benrose.