October 2015 Client Catch Ups Keith Adams – Waimate Territory Manager - Donna Hamilton On farm – Currently busy with calvings, lambing, fencing, and cutting fi rewood. The hoggets are due to be shorn and tailing is sometime in October when the family dairy farmers have days off Ewes News and the rellies from Dunedin arrive. Beef Cow Outlook – Pleasant weather, not too wet at the moment, 10mls of rain every fortnight would be ideal, otherwise we will have to farm Feeding post to whatever the weather brings us. Next few months – Working with the Canterbury Land and Water Calving regional plan is creating major problems for sheep and beef farmers The most important for the future. Currently stock prices are holding well at this stage. time to feed a beef cow is 2 to 4 months Jeff Spillane, Animal Health - BVD all young stock with two injections. Bulls, after calving. This Commercial Manager breeding cows and calves all get an annual booster. Scabigard determines how fast vaccination for all lambs (hopefully it will work and there will not be her calf grows and Tailing time is a great a recurrence of last years issues). how soon she gets tradition where sheep back in calf. Cows farming communities need to be gaining Michael Lilley get together and help Stu Moore - Manager weight when they BVSc each other out. Aside Gem Lakes Station, Ettrick are with the bull to from all the debate optimise cycling. In a trial performed and banter that goes In this issue Territory Manager - Ashleigh Edmonston Spring Lambing where the only difference between on, it is a time when Gem Lakes Station is a beef breeding and fattening groups was high (20kgDM/day) versus farm operators assess operation on hill country in Ettrick. It also has 4000 low (8kgDM/day) the empty rates were Velvetting Reminders the farm and stock 0% and 22% respectively. In reality odd breeding ewes. Product Notes we want to be feeding somewhere condition. Before you On farm – There are 800 odd R1 steers and there around 12kgDM/day from calving to set the production Fine wool lamb fi nishing case are R2’s that have been on fodder beet all winter mating. Any reduction in this and the line in process, make studies and through to the start of spring. They have done cow will sacrifi ce her body weight fi rst sure you talk to our well. to maintain milk production. With only experienced veterinary Client Catch Up’s Outlook - Things are sitting not too bad with the 85 days for a cow to get back in calf team as to what Beef Cow feeding post calving grass starting to poke through and enough moisture to maintain a 365 day calving interval products are going to cows need to be cycling when the bull to hopefully help it kick along. protect your seasons Timely Reminders goes in. Make sure selenium levels are lamb production and Animal Health – The beef come off fodder beet and go onto pasture adequate. Yearlings and 2 year olds can maximize growth rates that is high in clover. Historically, there has had a big issue with bloat benefi t from a drench. The great NZ tradition – tailing in the this year. 1970’s verse the 2010’s. Has much changed? and signifi cant losses. They have used Rumensin capsules since Stu has been there and have not had the issue since. No other bloat TIMELY REMINDERS treatments have been required. • Cows, heifers, and bulls should “the leading light in Stu said the steers do seem to pick up really well with the capsule. receive their BVD booster (This is expected due to the improved feed conversion effect of the vaccination. animal health” monensin in the capsule.) • Capacity testing of bulls should The young stock are drenched regularly after weaning. They are be carried out prior to mating. Veterinary Centre Oamaru Ph 03-434 5666 given Eclipse PO when they go from crop to pasture to give them a • A selenium boost should be given Veterinary Centre Waimate Ph 03-689 7213 good clean out as well as tend to any lice present. They also get a to cattle prior to mating if not Veterinary Centre Palmerston Ph 03-465 1291 Rumensin capsule. Stu has made the most of the Eclipse PO buy 5L already administered. get 1L free, due to the good price but also because they wanted to Veterinary Centre Glenavy Ph 03-689 8118 • Scabine vaccination should be treat for Cooperia as well as have lice killed. Eclipse PO covers both Veterinary Centre Kurow Ph 03-436 0567 given to lambs at docking on of these options. Veterinary Centre Omarama Ph 03-438 9868 infected properties. Veterinary Centre Ranfurly Ph 03-444 1020 Sheep Production Velvetting Fine Wool Lamb Finishing Feature - Dave Robertson BVSc, BSc Back in the Autumn I wrote an article about fi ne wool lamb fi nishing. Animal Health Reminders I thought it fair to look at what really happened this season. With October already upon the stags will have cast their buttons Steve and Jan Ambler Tailing to Weaning - Limeview, North Otago importance of good worm control for - Dave Robertson BVSc, BSc and some of the early stags will be ready to have their velvet Steve and Jan Ambler at Tokarahi, fi nd fi ne wool lambs. This year Steve gave With the dry mild spring harvested. the winter lambs fi t well with their system. all lambs an Extender SeCo capsule. conditions, reports of very good Lambs are exit drenched with Matrix lamb survival rates are out When velvetting stags we need Over a traditionally dry summer, the farm 130 days post capsuling. there. It is amazing that when to remember it is considered to is stocked with cattle and deer, and green you remove wet conditions from be a minor surgical procedure. feed crops are established for wintering The contracts for these lambs do not the lambing equation, things the fi ne wool lambs. come out until July either, this year Steve and Ryan Ambler Maintaining animal welfare like watery mouth, navel ill and they were around the $5.80 /kgCwt dipping merino trading lambs. and hygiene standards during Luke Smyth BVSc Green feed oats and annual ryegrasses general peri-natal death are a net. For feed consumed this returns 25 dairy grazing. 20% of the income is from non-event. velvetting has a direct economic benefi t through enabling are the main feed for half bred and merino lambs that arrive in March from Omarama cents/kgDM eaten, which is up there the wool, for which prices have improved With respect to animal health this October, those continued market access for velvet products. store sales. The early draft in August with most other trading options and recently. cross-bred farmers standing in the tailing pen One area where a number of velveters are coming up short is the averaged around 130g/day, those fi nished might consider the following: handling of the velvet after removal. Velvet is still an expensive in October about 85g/day. What is the parasite challenge in these food commodity. At about $100 a kilogram it is many times more paddocks? If the ewes haven’t had a long acting expensive than a kilogram of back strap. (Pity we don’t get the The benefi ts of sowing oats is that they drench, lambs should benefi t from a pre-weaning $300 a kilogram that we did a decade or more ago). After cutting are hardier in the dry and guarantee tape drench. Tailing at 4-6 weeks is too soon for off the velvet it needs to be placed cut end up in a clean container some early green feed. There were some any drench. If ewes have had long acting drenches or plastic bag. Too often the velvet is placed on the fl oor. The velvet issues with high nitrate levels in the green take the opportunity to collect 10 samples from ewes to check egg counts. must be tagged and placed in a special dedicated freezer. The GIB feed oats in early winter, and again when requires the freezer only to be used for velvet and not for storing grazing regrowth oats. Overall losses were B12 boost to lambs: Some properties are low in dog food at the same time as the velvet. cobalt and if ewes have not had a boost of B12 pre- minimal this year at less than 1%. Yersinia, lamb, it can be of benefi t to top-up B12 levels at Annual supervisory visits for accredited velveters need to be sore feet and pulpy kidney were not an tailing in lambs before they become defi cient. completed by the middle of December. Ideally, we need to be doing issue at all this year. Steve does see the Fly Prevention: The best fl y protection product supervisory visits early in the season rather than waiting to the end. to apply at tailing is Clik, especially for fi ne wool. If there are any issues it makes sense to get them corrected at the Andrew and Nadia Wright It gives 4-5 months protection. Clik has a 35 day meant that was not an issue this year. A They have contracted with Merino New start of the season. For the velveter it ensures the visit is complete – Cressbrook Farm, Dunback. meat with-hold for cross-breds and 56 days for fi ne and processed, allowing them to focus on other important farming solid preventative worm control program Zealand Silere® at $6.60/kg Cwt (less Andrew and Nadia Wright of Dunback, wool.