Southdown Sheep Society, NZ

Sheep farmers feeling the pinch are keeping on old rams rather than replacing them this season, southern breeders say.

Merrydowns Romney and Southdown Stud owner Blair Robertson at his 15th annual on-farm ram sale in Waikoikoi last week.

However, farmers buying rams this season continue to invest in genetics proven to perform.

Merrydowns Romney and Southdown Stud owner Blair Robertson said despite offering his best ever line of rams, prices were slightly down at his 15th annual on-farm ram sale in Waikoikoi last week.

“It didn’t go too bad.”

He had a full clearance of the more than 200 rams across the two breeds on offer, selling for an average of $1450.

The highest price paid for a Southdown ram was $4000 and a Romney ram $3800.

For both breeds, top and average prices were down on last year.

“A little bit back.”

He believed reasons for the price drop included the state of the economy and farm budgets being cut.

“Everyone is buying bare minimum at the moment, whether it be fertiliser, grass seed or rams.”

No matter what the economy was doing, he never “skimped” when buying rams, bulls and fertiliser.

“They are the economic drivers of farm profitability.”

Another reason for prices being down at his ram sale could be weaker prices for wool and lamb and mutton schedules.

Some of his clients bought fewer rams this season because they had kept on rams they would have otherwise retired.

“They buy a couple less and use the old boys.”

About 60 ram buyers registered at the sale, and more were active on Bidr, he said.

He was “stoked” many of his clients were repeat buyers.

Rams were sold to farmers between Bluff and Wairoa, he said.

“It was still a good sound sale and people got value for money and were real happy with their rams.”

Wharetoa Genetics co-owner Garth Shaw is set for his 23rd on-farm ram sale in South Otago today

Wharetoa Genetics co-owner Garth Shaw will offer 300 rams for sale on his farm in South Otago today.

He expected farmers to buy fewer rams this season, as many “try and make do with what they’ve got.”

“That’s all right — if they are still doing the job, what’s the point of replacing them?”

He expected demand would be strong for the rams with genetics that were proven to perform.

Any money spent on genetics should be considered an investment in the future rather than an annual cost, he said.

“The progeny of those rams will be around for nine years.”

One way a farmer could combat weaker schedule prices was to use genetics to put more weight on lambs so they could be sent away heavier.

“A farmer is in control of that destiny, 100%. He has no say on interest rates or the price of anything, but he has control of the genetic direction of his flock.”

The only commodity sheep farmers would make money from this season was lamb, he said.

A lamb being sent away at 17kg was an “absolute crime” when it could be kept on to put weight on for up to a month.

“There’s heaps of people doing it because they are in fear of the schedule going down. It might go down, but the arse is not going to drop out of it like [in] some years.”

Farmers need to look for opportunities to improve their flock to boost future production.

“Now is the time to implement some changes so in 15 years time you’ve got a flock which is worthy of the day.”

Private ram sales have been positive despite tough economic times for sheep farmers, Newhaven Perendales co-owner Jane Smith says.

Newhaven Perendales co-owner Jane Smith said orders for private sale of rams from their stud near Five Forks in North Otago had been positive this season.

Mrs Smith said when times were tough financially, a farmer focused more on making sure every sheep on their farm was performing.

“You should pay for the best genetics you can afford because you’ll get that return on investment.”

Alliance Group’s Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef has been voted the best grass-fed ribeye steak in the world.

Alliance Group will be deploying probes created by an Australian company to measure the marbling of beef and intramuscular fat percentage in lamb.

This, according to the meat processor, will provide consistent meat quality across the board. A higher intramuscular fat (IMF) percentage would equal a good outcome.

Alliance Group livestock and shareholder services general manager Murray Behrent said the probe will go in the 12th rib of the lamb and cattle beast, analysing how much IMF or marbling there was prior to going across the scales.

According to the company, IMF and marbling percentages were the two largest contributors to the sensory experience when eating red meat.

Farmers would benefit from the data by making informed decisions around their breeding programs, where they were buying from, and what feed would give them the best returns (a reticular feed enabled a higher marbling on the animal), Behrent said.

The probes, made by MEQ, had been trialled at the company’s Timaru and Ōamaru plants for the past nine months, and would be rolled out to other locations, including Southland, in the coming months.

“Once the probes are rolled out across all the lamb and beef chains, we’ll send the farmers data on how their animals have performed.

“Then, over time, we will be able to start telling farmers which animals have high intramuscular fat and what those farmers are doing to achieve those good outcomes,” Behrent said.

The probe would also help in detecting if the IMF was consistent across lambs from different mobs.

Alliance Group’s meat consumer – the retailer or the food service or chef – would get a consistent product, giving the end consumer the same experience with the food, Behrent said.

“It’s all about consistency of the product. That taste is really important for chefs when cooking the product,” he said.

In Southland, the first machines would be rolled out from December and the rollout would be finished by the end of March 2024.

“I do know that part of marbling or intramuscular fat is driven by genetics and feed. Southland is in a good space to provide animal welfare because of the abundance of feed. All animals always have surplus grass to eat, and that good quality feed will ensure a higher probability of marbling,” Behrent said.

The probe claimed to withstand “the extremes of the processing environment” and cause “zero damage to the product”, according to its website.