TE WHANGAI NEWSLETTER SPRING 2022

14 March 2022 saw Bay leave the party. He was rising 89 and felt he had many good years ahead, on his bulldozer and with his trusty thistle grubber (on head number two and handle number three!)

Where have the 66 years gone since he began the Te Whangai journey, it brings home the reality that we need to grab every opportunity and, as he would say, make every post a winning post.

He has certainly left us a legacy and we will not falter in upholding the principles of integrity and effort that he instilled in us as we continue to try and make sheep farming ever more relevant and profitable.

Among his other passions were, calling out poor government and tirelessly researching climate science, two things we all need to focus hard on as we move ahead.

Well it certainly hasn't been hard to find a wet day to get in the office and write a newsletter this year!

Once we put the, best forgotten, spring of 2021 behind us we have been delivered copious amounts of rain at timely intervals through the summer and autumn with the early winter being pleasantly dry until July but it's been a bog ever since! Certainly not grizzling and feeling deeply for everyone affected by serious flooding.

The lush summer came with its share of lurgy's, crop failures and animal growth rate challenges but when the sun shone and the grass hardened up (before the next big rain) we experienced lamb weight gains you would not believe.

The FE flock lambs that have been living down here averaged 402 g/day between 26 February and 12 March, but nature is a great leveller and just as compensatory growth will lift an animal dramatically after a tough spell, so it also seems to curtail those super growth rates so that we end up with a good, but maybe not super, animal six months down the track.

Having said that those lambs are now up to 70kg! even running around these hills at 13+ su / ha (that's counting the ewes scanned at 191% as 1su).

Big, or just heavy?

There is plenty of debate about ewe efficiency and SIL have a negative weighting on greater adult ewe weight, but without knowing what that ewe has eaten to achieve her weight, what her condition score or frame score is the whole thing seems a bit academic to me.

Te Whangai has a reputation (apparently) for having small sheep but part of James Brennan's (Te Whangai Manager) mission to gather more data on the recorded sheep, all the ewes were weighed and condition scored pre lamb and I shudder to report that the heaviest ewe I saw go over the scales was 93.5kg!

Of course she had a belly full of lambs but even so that's getting up there and she was still only a moderate framed sheep that has been grovelling around the Te Whangai hills trying to clean up the old feed that resulted from the great summer, is that so bad? I think maybe weight and size get mixed up in people's minds.

The climate change dilemma

There has been a great deal of head scratching and thinking going on about how we deal with some of the nonsense being thrown at livestock farmers, while still being innovative, positive and striving to breed more productive animals, ones that cost less to run and ones that tick more boxes for both the farmer and the consumer.

Part of the dilemma is that now having been properly informed, with real science, as to how it is physically impossible for methane from our livestock to have any discernable influence on global temperature, how do we counter the political blackmail that says we will be blocked from key export markets if we don't comply?

We must all get properly informed and stand up to the constant propaganda that says we are ruining the planet and should be punished with taxes for our sins.

Steven Koonin was Obama's chief science advisor, and his book 'Unsettled' is compulsory reading! No more said - read it.

At present the only mitigation measure we sheep farmers have to lower methane emissions (which will make no difference anyway) is through genetics. Now a whole industry is building around the concept and soon commercial farmers will be shelling out their hard-earned

dollars for lower methane-emitting rams ...To do what?? Make you pay less extra tax! Nothing to do with the planet. The whole thing is a scam. It does not fit with our three principles of Good Science, Common Sense, and Total Integrity so we will not be doing it.

So what are we going to do that is more intelligent and productive?

Research funding

I have mentioned in previous years that the sheep research funding model in NZ is a demonstration of market failure... Currently, farmer funding comes from the meager scraps of B+L levy funds left over after everything else sexy is paid for and a bit from the 'Meat Board'.

I am amazed at how little research is still happening, and that on closer examination the high cost of science is mostly in obtaining the animals, the land to operate on and the labour. Obviously, as breeders we have all those components covered already so we can get far more bang for our buck from research that we can do on the farm.

A potentially far more effective model would be where the commercial farmer informs the genetics provider (ram breeder) of traits that are of the highest value to them, the breeder makes the serious R&D investment and produces those genetics, with assistance from the scientists on trial design and data analysis, so this way the benefits are directly sheeted back to the commercial farmer and the funding is reflected in the price of the stud stock he buys.

The genetic gains that were made in the 1960's and 70's with the development of basic performance recording were massive and have laid the foundation for where we are today... with the same national sheep meat production as 30 years ago but from 45% less stock.

The issue is, largely we are still doing the same thing but with smarter technology (scales and wands etc) and bigger computers. The next frontier is obviously in analysing DNA and finding the gene sequences and variations that are controlling the traits we want expressed in our animals, be that for production or for tolerance and immunity to disease. Obviously this is not simple for some traits but if we don't start looking we will never find them!

Technology is rapidly advancing in this field too and where a couple of years ago we were using DNA analysis using 5k (thousand) SNPs, now the base level is 60k - look up DNA, SNP, and genotyping to understand this!

Where to next?

We have already been compromising our commercial production hugely with the worm resilience breeding program although I have never previously tried to quantify the cost of that, but a simple estimate based on compromised weight gain in both males and females and the flow-on effect on reproductive performance of that takes me to a figure of $30 per sheep su across all our sheep wintered.

Now that we have embarked on full genotyping of all recorded sheep that will mean an annual cost of another $10 per SSU to have all progeny processed, on top of the initial outlay to get all the ewes genotyped. On top of that we expect to be investing another $6-8 per SSU on science trial design, genomic analysis and FE testing. Traits that directly or indirectly cost farmers dearly like dags, foot scald, embryonic loss and FE are obvious targets then consumer-facing traits of intra-muscular fat and eating quality would be on the list.

Ram pricing

To provide a return equivalent to the good commercial operators and recover the costs associated with recording and additional R&D I have calculated we need to pitch the ram price at an average of $1500 per head as a minimum.

We will still operate a three-tiered pricing structure at $1200 for 20%, $1500 for 60%, and $1800 for the top 20%.

As this is a big step up from where we have previously been we propose that for existing clients we will move prices over two years thus this year the pricing levels will be at $1000, $1250, and $1500.

All new clients will come in at $1200.

FE

Now that we have established a core group of about 400 females with at least 50% Te Whangai bloodlines and moderate FE tolerance we have decided to go looking in the entire Te Whangai sire team for higher tolerant lines.

With the full genotyping of the flock, we will capitalize on any genomic developments that

transpire from scientific work we have already got involved with and any future progress that will come with time and investment in the FE space.

Move over synthetics wool is coming back!

At last we are seeing some real kick back against synthetics, if you have seen the AWI (Aussie wool board - yes they still have one!) advert showing that the synthetic industry use an olympic swimming pool of oil every 25 minutes to produce their crap, you have to be impressed.

A court case Godfrey Hirst were taking against Bremworth, for basically stating that wool is natural and synthetics are bad for the planet, has been dropped, no doubt cutting their losses before they get anymore bad press!

Sales from the Wools of NZ carpet program are hugely encouraging, and by providing carpet at affordable prices, are helping drive the 1st reversal in the decline in wool flooring sales for 25 years, wool up 4% in one year, to 18% in NZ - the tide is turning which is great news!

Note from James

I have been at Te Whangai for almost 12 months now in which we have had a great season.

I realise there wouldn't have been many seasons as good up here but to be fair it has had its challenges, mostly maintaining pasture quality and stock thrift, a bit of salmonella, some aborts (although we never toxo or campy vaxed... Hamish's idea!) and dealing with the mud.

I am well aware of the background of the Te Whangai flock and am really excited about taking it to the next level with full genotyping of the recorded animals, greater levels of data capture, and all the technical challenges that will bring.

The resilience testing program certainly tested my nerves but I can absolutely see the sense in it and having magnificent ram hoggets is not one of my KPI's so don't worry, the pressure will stay on.

I am looking forward to gradually meeting clients as time goes on.

Cheers, James Brennan

Resilient Romneys UK

Matt and Pippa Smith are inspirational collaborators to have in the UK, the Te Whangai sheep are creating plenty of interest there and Matt has already got a research project going which is looking at resilience (growth rate

under parasite challenge) vs resistance (FEC) as no surprises, farmers over there have serious drench resistance issues.

Matt also has all his recorded ewes accredited for EU export, which was a big investment but means Te Whangai genetics could soon be turning heads in far flung corners of Eastern Europe.

Follow them on Facebook - Resilient Romneys UK. You will recognise the brand.

Demand for Te Whangai genetics

All surplus females are keenly sought after now and we had very few rams left last year which was a great sign.

We have had our first victim of the pine tree bogey but were easily surpassed by new inquiry this year and I am aware of some good lifts in sheep numbers replacing cattle as the profitability gap between them is so wide, just imagine if wool can lift before the shine comes off meat!

Enough for now. Please could you give your consideration to ram requirements for this year and return the order form in the most convenient way for you.

All the best,

Hamish and Wynne, Kate, Archie, Patch and all the Te Whangai team.