RYELAND NEWS Spring Edition September 2015 DIRECTORY Chairperson Helen McKenzie 06 372 7842 Email [email protected] Secretary Greg Burgess, NZSBA 03 358 9412 Email [email protected] Breed Committee Lloyd Falconer 03 208 1747 Robert Port 07 872 2715 NZSBA Councillor Vacant Editor Helen McKenzie 06 372 7842 Email [email protected] Website: www.nzsheep.co.nz Closing date for next newsletter is March 10th, 2016 This newsletter will also be available in the Ryeland section of the Sheepbreeders’ Association website www.nzsheep.co.nz The Ryeland Breed Society accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any published opinion or information supplied by individuals or reprinted from other sources. Items may be abridged or edited. Cover: UK Champions Photo: Ryeland Flock Book Society Starting from the left – Mr Rhys Morgan and the Champion Female,– Judge Peter Titley, and Mr Alan Parry with the National Champion Ram. 2 CONTENTS 02 Directory 03 Contents; Noticeboard – Royal Show entries! 04 Chairperson’s Report 05 Mihiwaka Ryeland Flock - Background 07 A Bit of History – ‘A Word For The Ryelands’ 08 Gold Tip Flock Report 09 Obituary – Dr Michael Ryder 10 HRM Flock Report 11 Charmwood Flock Report 12 Ryelands In Australia – Current Situation 16 UK News - National Ryeland Show 18 Strathgarvie Stud 1940 - 1999 19 Rosemarkie Report; Photo captions back cover NOTICEBOARD Royal Show, Hastings Entries close 18 th September. There are five Ryeland classes – Woolly ram, Shorn ram, shorn ram hogget, shorn ewe with lamb/s at foot, shorn ewe hogget. The Schedule is available on line. Just ‘google’ Royal Show Hastings 2015 and go from there. Breed classes ar e on Thursday 22 October and Interbreed classes Friday 23 rd October. “There are three C’s of life ‘Choices, Chances, Changes’. You must make choices to take a chance or you will never change.” Unknown 3 CHAIRWOMAN’S REPORT I hoped we would have a twice yearly newsletter but I find it very hard to source all the material on my own. It doesn’t take a moment to jot down a few sentences about how things are going with you and your sheep and hopefully supply a photo as well. It would be nice to feature a stud each issue as well so the newer breeders can become familiar with those who have been around a while. Thanks to those of you who have supplied info for this magazine. I would like to see a couple of unrelated ram hoggets (or semen) come in from Australia, particularly from Andrew Wilkens’ flock or Denise Humphries, whose sheep also descend from Wilkens’s. Andrew’s mother had some very typical older style Ryelands when Warwick and I visited several years ago not long before she retired. It is getting harder to find unrelated sheep in NZ with none of the more recent imported bloodlines. These modern sheep may have more scope and frame about them but I feel we are losing the Ryeland character a bit now. If there are any of you who would be interested in investigating this further please get in touch with me. It is not a cheap exercise! I reiterate that we really need more Ryeland breeders very badly, so please encourage anyone you know with 10 or more acres and a wish to own sheep to take up Ryelands. Stress their docility, good mothering instinct, versatile wool for handcraft use and of course, the sweet, great tasting meat; also the need to register them to keep them eligible for sale to other registered breeders and for possible export. There is also a lot of fun to be had showing a few sheep. Ryelands are still eligible for both the shorn and woolly classes at the Royal. We need committed breeders, not fashion followers! I welcome new breeders, Diana & John Mitchell, who are both enthusiastic about the breed. Remember if you’re in the Wairarapa we would love to see you. There is generally a spare bed or two available! Our phone is 06 372 7842. Helen 4 MIHIWAKA RYELANDS – HOW THEY BEGAN I have been farming Ryelands for 28 years now, starting with 8 ewes and a ram from the Biggar brothers who farmed deep in the Catlins. They were definitely old school and I was fortunate in my choice as they probably had some of the best sheep in New Zealand at that time. I still remember quite clearly the day I drove down with my father to inspect and take delivery of my foundation animals. It was a typical Catlins day, the rain sheeting down and I stood in their covered yards trying to give the appearance of someone who knew what they were about. After the deal was concluded they pointed out to the greenhorn that one of the ewes had a black hock! Away back home through the rain we went with my first Ryelands only to have the axle on the ute break. Fortunately we were close to home and could offload in a convenient paddock and return for them the next day. Most of those ewes were cast for age so it wasn’t long before I needed a top up to keep my embryo flock growing. Ian Muldrew from North Otago offered me a ram and 4 ewes which gave me the additional boost required. The ram had won at the Royal Show in Invercargill against the Biggar’s sheep and they had been keen to purchase it but there was a great rivalry between these two breeders so Ian preferred to sell him to me to keep him out of their clutches. Ian’s woolshed was a sight to behold, being literally papered with the prizes he had won in a lifetime of showing his Ryelands, Southdowns and I think Suffolks. At the time I was still a youngish fellow and I was a little intimidated by these crusty and vastly more experienced breeders. Time has sped by and now I am one of the old fellows and near the top of the flock book but sadly the overall numbers of Ryelands are steadily trending downwards. This is a great pity as they have some unique attributes and great character - I am constantly reminded of this when I bring in my Ryelands after the Perendales, and find that rather than piling up three deep in the race they are stamping their foot at the dog, or when they look over your shoulder as you tag their newborn lamb. I sometimes feel I don’t get full value from my Ryelands as the demands of running a full time commercial flock take precedence, but they are an ideal type of sheep for anyone looking to stock a small block. They’re hardy and 5 less rambunctious than most modern breeds and have a ton of character, often bringing a smile to the face on a busy day. The picture is of some Ryelands from the 90’s, the ram in the centre was a triplet. Cheers, John Chapman ‘Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.’ Winston Churchill 6 A BIT OF HISTORY NZ National Library ‘Papers Past’; Wairarapa Age, 4th October 1920 A WORD FOR THE RYELAND In a very appreciative article of the good qualities of the Ryeland sheep in a recent issue of the Live Stock Journal, the experience of two prominent New Zealand breeders is instanced. Mr T A Stephens (Canterbury) stated: - “While Ryeland rams are unsurpassed for the production of fat lambs, it must be remembered that if by reason of an unfavourable season it becomes impossible to fatten all the lambs, they are much superior to Downs for holding over, as the cross is generally a first class sheep with a good clip of wool.” Mr B B Chambers, of Hawke’s Bay, says: “ I found here that Ryeland cross lambs invariably were freezers off their mothers long before other breeds, as Romneys, Border Leicesters, or the Down breeds, and they stood out on their own compared with other breeds, being always fit from birth. I imported a few ewes and a ram or two to breed from to use for improving the wool of the coarse cross ewes through their progeny, but noticing the lambs were such splendid freezers I used all the rams I bred for getting fat lambs.” Mr H C B Withell’s Champion Ryeland ram, Canterbury Show, 1952. Photo: Meat & Wool magazine 7 GOLD TIP FLOCK Hi, I’m Janice from the ‘Hell of all Hells’ (Mount Bruce) in the Wairarapa. I have a 100 hectare ex Dairy Farm just past the Pukaha/Mount Bruce national native bird reserve. I milked a herd of pedigree Jersey and pedigree Ayrshire cows up until four years ago. I then went to dry stock due to work related injuries. I now calve 26 ex pedigree Hereford cows, milk 20 odd dairy cows (the pets) once a day and rear about 100 Hereford cross calves to take through to Local Trade. I also take in a few dairy grazers to eat the extra grass. One of my hobbies is pigs. I have three sows and one boar. I decided to add to my interests a few Ryeland sheep and half a dozen Dorset Down ewes and have run them with a Ryeland ram. The lambs are well framed and seem to be growing very fast. I have had more twins than singles and at the moment have 5 pet lambs in the wash house. I’m very interested to see how my new interest in rare breeds develops with a view to having a rare breeds stud to add to my interests.