Classing Ewes । Two-Tooth Halfbred Ewes at Whalesback Station скачать в хорошем качестве

Classing Ewes । Two-Tooth Halfbred Ewes at Whalesback Station

Welcome, and thanks for watching our video about classing ewes at Whalesback Station in Canterbury, New Zealand, and two-tooth halfbred ewes. This video covers the following: ● Selecting two-tooth ewes for a maternal half-bred flock ● The challenges of running fine-wool sheep in a high-rainfall, high-altitude environment. ● How to manage the impact of the climate on sheep health and fleece quality. What do you look for when selecting your ewe replacements? What are the biggest challenges in your farming business? ******* In this video, we meet George Northcote from Whalesback Station in Canterbury, New Zealand. Whalesback Station is a 4,000-hectare breeding unit within a wider family farming business. George is the fourth generation of his family to farm here and has a passion for breeding fine- wool sheep. Whalesback is a hill country property, with only about 100 hectares of improved pasture. The annual rainfall is around 50 inches a year and the property reaches an altitude of about 900 meters, so a significant amount of snow is a feature in most winters. Mark Ferguson and Emma Stackhouse from neXtgen Agri are classifying this year’s rising two- tooth ewes. Mark and Emma are looking for ewes that are handling the climatic conditions well, especially in their wool. With high rainfall, fleece rot can be an issue, which also increases the risk of flystrike. The ewes are being drafted in three ways: the top 15 percent will join the property’s elite breeding flock, the bottom 15 percent will be mated to terminal sires and the remaining two teeth will replace older ewes in the main breeding flock. By taking out the bottom line of ewes, and mating to a terminal ram, the aim is to reduce the susceptibility of future generations to issues with a genetic component. The goal is to have a flock that continues to improve how it performs in this environment. This includes lambing performance, wool production and animal health. Both management and breeding changes are reducing the incidence of footrot. The next step is to test for dryness resistance and minimise the impact of worms. Dag score is also on the radar at Whalesback. Watch the video to hear more from George about the different aspects of the breeding objective at Whalesback and how Mark and the team at neXtgen Agri are helping them achieve these goals. ****************************************** Have we covered what you wanted to know about classing two-tooth halfbred ewes at Whalesback Station in Canterbury, New Zealand? Let us know what you would like to hear more of! Please feel free to share your thoughts, questions or suggestions in the comments below. We’re keen to hear your perspectives on selecting two-tooth ewes for a maternal halfbred flock, the challenges of running fine-wool sheep in a high-rainfall, high-altitude environment and how to manage the impact of the climate on sheep health and fleece quality.