AginEd | September27, 2021

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AginED

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FOR E FUTURIA G R R S! U PR EN E

Volume 75 I September 27th, 2021 I email: agined@globalHQ.co.nz I www.farmersweekly.co.nz/agined

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! y a t D e P

This graph shows the total NZ beef exports to all countries.

Feed them properly and make them grow well: • Make sure you have milk, hard feed suitable for your animal, hay and water available at all times. • Make sure they have shelter available from wind and rain. • If they refuse a feed, get electrolytes into them as soon as possible - tube if necessary. (It is important you have an experienced adult to help with this). • Covers help them keep warm which helps them grow faster. • Dock lambs early (and vaccinate and drench as needed).

show ready: Here are some fantastic tips for getting your lambs and calves ready for pet day from Clancy (10), Aurelia (9), Ran (7) and Wyatt (4).

• Lead your lamb and calf every day if you can. • Lead somewhere other than the home paddock. • Lead the calves alone if you have other calves. • Walk beside their shoulder, never in front of them.

To make them your friend: • Never ever chase them. • Get animals as soon as possible and feed them colostrum. • Spend lots of time just with them, sit with them, pat them. • Call them to every feed.

• Calves need to be brushed every day. • A hessian cover can make the calf shiny. Keep this under a waterproof cover. • Have a practice set of halter and lead and a show day version so that you can be spick and span on the day.

• Put a halter on before you feed them so they associate the halter with good things.

• Transport the calves with hay on the floor and their covers on.

• Feed calves with individual feeders not a big feeder which lots of animals can feed off.

• Take food and water for the calves on the day.

• Arrive early with all your cleaning gear.

THICK SKIN CAN BE BENEFICIAL (AT LEAST IN LAMBS)! Neonatal lamb mortality is an important welfare and economic issue in New Zealand sheep flocks, where lambing occurs outdoors. Increased litter size (more twins and triplets) further aggravates mortality rates, but lamb survival has very low heritability, so it is hard to improve by genetic selection. Indirect selection, based on an easy-to-measure trait of higher heritability that is genetically correlated with survival, is an alternative. Studies at Massey University estimated genetic variation for ultrasound-measured skin thickness (heritability 26%) and its genetic correlation with survival of Romney lambs (27%). Also, skin thickness was found to have a significant role in thermoregulation in new-born lambs. Thin-skinned lambs were found to lose significantly more heat through skin compared to thickskinned lambs, and consequently had to produce significantly more heat to maintain body temperature. Skin thickness could potentially be considered as a supplement to direct selection for lamb survival in genetic improvement programs. Currently, skin thickness variation in other sheep breeds is being explored. 1 What is heritability and how does it influence selection for a trait of interest? 2 How would high frequency of triplets in sheep flocks contribute to increased neonatal lamb mortality rate?

Have a go: 1 How many tonnes of beef was exported in August this year? 2 In what year and month have exports been at the highest level on this graph? 3 In what year and month have exports been at the lowest level?

STRETCH YOURSELF: 1 How do August 2021 exports compare to the previous season and the five-year average? 2 If export volumes through September-October follow typical trends, would we expect volumes to increase or decrease compared to August? 3 Over 52% of August beef exports have headed to North Asia which has been hit hard by African Swine Flu. What is African Swine Flu and why might this be boosting demand for NZ beef?

WeatherWatch with Phil

DOWN UNDER SHOULD BE UP TOP! As weather forecasters we sometimes look at a map of NZ and think - hmmm, why do we look northwards when the bulk of our weather comes from the south west? The energy maker for the bulk of NZ's weather comes out of the Southern Ocean - but this is partially cut off from most of our maps. Imagine if we reversed that, so Southland was at the top of the map and Northland at the bottom. Apart from looking a little confusing, this does actually make more sense when it comes to the weather.

So let's prove our theory. Using RuralWeather.co.nz take a look at the four corners of NZ (Milford Sound, Blenheim, Whangarei and Gisborne). The biggest rainfall totals should be in Milford Sound. Here's the next task - If you take a look at our rain maps https://www.weatherwatch.co.nz/maps-radars - take a look at the next 7 days of weather and see how much of it comes from the Southern Ocean compared to the area north of NZ. So when earth is a ball suspended in space - which way is technically the right way around when it comes to tracking weather!? Next time you see a weather map in the newspaper or online...maybe turn your head upside down to get the full picture for New Zealand!

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION? Check out the Bachelor of Animal Science www.massey.ac.nz/bansci

Got your own question about how the weather works? Ask Phil! Email phil@ruralweather.co.nz with your question and he could answer it on the Weather Together podcast!


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