28 | Dry autumn results in difficult decision Introducing halter collars and virtual fencing for the cattle has improved the Richards’ ability to manage pasture and provide the sheep more of the short, fresh, leafy grass they prefer. Virginia Wright Ross and Ruth Richards farm 700 effective hectares in Taumarunui known as Romani Farms. With a view across the paddocks to Mt Ruapehu the breeding and finishing operation with 8000 stock units runs around 60% sheep and 40% cattle. Despite an unusually wet summer the dry autumn that followed means they’ve had to reduce stock numbers when they would prefer not to. Recent scanning is nevertheless showing good results even though it took the flock a long time to recover from a severe shortage of feed due to the dry conditions last autumn and winter “I was scratching my head as to why the animals weren’t responding when I was feeding them so well over spring and summer.” says Ross. Body condition in the ewes was slow to improve and the lambs weren’t growing as expected given their feed. Introducing halter collars and virtual fencing for the cattle has improved the Richards’ ability to manage pasture and provide the sheep more of the short, fresh, leafy grass they prefer; and they were already including trace elements in the fertilizer thanks to investigative testing done in the past, so Ross thought that problem had been solved. But when they tested again they discovered the sheep were quite deficient in cobalt, iodine and copper, and once they supplemented the animals with the trace elements they needed their good condition was restored in time for tupping. The high scanning percentage is despite this being a surprisingly bad year for facial eczema in the Central North Island, which used to be considered free of it, explains Ross. “That’s changed in the 33 years that we’ve been here. We’re part of a Beef and Lamb New Zealand Facial Eczema Project and take poo samples every two weeks. They count the number of spores which indicates how much the sheep are ingesting. Twice our poo samples were over 2.5million spores per gram, ideally they’d be fewer than 90 000, and the high counts continued through into June which is really unusual. Up to the 3rd July the centre and west of the North Island still had high counts from over 100,000 to 600,000.” In Marlborough some flocks were devastated which probably explains why Romani Farms is selling increasing numbers down into the northern South Island as well as all over the North Island. Ross and Ruth have been genetically selecting for facial eczema tolerance for years. When facial eczema damages a sheep’s liver it doesn’t filter out all the chlorophyll from the grass which then leaks into the bloodstream where it tries to do photosynthesis, Ross explains. “So anywhere where there are blood vessels close to the skin that’s what causes severe damage to the skin. On a sheep that shows up on the face which isn’t protected by wool, but there was very little visible sign of facial eczema in our flock.” RURAL PEOPLE » Romani Farms Romani Coopworths Ross Richards, Taumarunui p: 07 895 7144 e: romani@farmside.co.nz Fully SIL recorded under true commercial conditions Selected for top growth and muscling, less dags, parasite tolerance, minimal drench. Not dipped since 2013 High performance with low inputs Excellent Flystrike tolerance Excellent Worm tolerance Less work. More income Romani rams were top performers in B+LNZ Genetics Low Input Progeny Test Search us on BLGNZ NProve and see how we compare to your current ram breeder Their high scanning rate means the flock handled the unusually high levels remarkably well, their livers presumably undamaged. That tolerance is just one of the attributes Romani Farm has selected for over many years with significant results. Now that they’re working with Next Gen Agri, who turn all Romani’s recorded data into a measurable index, the improvements they’re seeking happen within fewer generations. Five years ago they could have culled up to 25% for a physical fault. This year it’s down to 10% which allows them to concentrate on genetic gains in their production indexes with increasingly rapid improvements. Their bottom 10% now is what might have been average 10 years ago. Ross knows that it’s an animal’s production indexes that show what it will contribute genetically to a flock and so to the farm’s bottom line. At their next sale in November Romani Farms will have 200 rams for sale in the top 25% for maternal worth plus meat indexes. They’re aiming for the top 20% but meanwhile they’re confident their flocks are widely recognised as having some of the best physical structure available. WAITUHI CONTRACTING (2025) LTD. Proud to support Romani Farms Ltd. 027 354 7144 gopher.ag@gmail.com
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