30 | Worm tolerance became the cornerstone Karen Phelps Undrenched ram hoggets. RURAL PEOPLE » Te Whangai Partnership No ewe should need to be drenched is one of the convictions driving more than half a century of ram breeding at Te Whangai where worm tolerance has become the cornerstone of the entire operation. “We haven’t drenched a ewe since 1990 so genetics is everything when it comes to this issue,” says Hamish de Lautour. Te Whangai was taken up in 1956 and developed out of scrub by Hamish’s father Bay de Lautour. Now the breeding block of 1500ha is managed by James Brennan and his team of three permanent staff while Hamish and wife Wynne run 120ha where the two tooth rams are sold from. Perched high in southern Hawke’s Bay 37km south of Waipukurau on low-fertility argillite soils, battered by persistent westerlies and the occasional winter snowfall, Te Whangai is no soft option for sheep. With over 12,000 sheep and under 300 cattle, a sheep-to-cattle ratio of 85 percent, there is nowhere for internal parasites to hide and that pressure is precisely the point. “All we want is a clean, fertile, high growth, low maintenance animal,” explains Hamish. “To make genetic progress, selection must take place in an environment which puts pressure on the traits you want to improve. Ewes get one pre lamb five in one and a dip, that’s it. None of the 2000 recorded ram lambs are drenched at weaning.” The resilience selection programme, developed with AgResearch back in 1991, involves regular weighing of undrenched ram hoggets to establish which ones can go the longest and gain the most weight, with ewe hogget replacements judged on their ability to remain undrenched from birth until they become daggy or start losing condition. Much of the industry has pushed breeding for low faecal egg count, on the assumption that fewer eggs on pasture produces a healthier animal. The data from Te Whangai tells a different story. Evaluation of more than 3200 ram hoggets from the 2007 and 2008 years found the average of the top 200 animals ranked for resilience carried a live weight breeding value four kilograms ahead of the top 200 ranked for low faecal egg count. “From the research and studies we know it’s not the quantity of worms in the sheep that affects its production, it’s the sheep’s immune response that matters.” The genetic resilience in Te Whangai ewes is already paying off for clients. “Being able to use undrenched ewes to ‘mop up’ worm larvae well ahead of finishing lambs has been a real positive for many clients. It’s an example of what a tolerant or resilient flock can help you do.” At Te Whangai there are a couple of unique options FAMILY-OWNED AND LOCALLY OPERATED PROUDLY SERVING OUR FARMERS. RURALAIRWORK.CO.NZ 06 8568070 0272759050 Josh & Suzie Calder Owner Operators The power of resilience Over 50 years of intensive selection with scale and grazing pressure using... ...Try them, you will not regret it! • Good science • Common sense • Total integrity Hamish de Lautour | 027 447 2815 hamish@tewhangai.co.nz James Brennan | 027 635 4567 manager@tewhangai.co.nz www.tewhangai.co.nz Reliable motorcycle, engine and engineering services biketechltd@gmail.com 12 Kyle Road, Waipukurau 4200 biketech.co.nz 027 873 0026 Fully equipped workshop On Farm Servicing & Repairs All fully qualified Technicians On site parts for clients seeking their genetics. “We establish clients’ breeding objectives through an order form then we show them the animals that suit their specific requirements. It gives clients the ability to be very specific about what they select if they want to. New clients can ask about our generous ‘try before you buy’ option. That’s how confident I am in the genetics we are producing here.” Mixed age ewes. Docking.
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