8 | RURAL PEOPLE » Fernleaf Romneys Concerned about growing drench resistance Both mobs of sheep are from the stud, so mostly never drenched. Kim Bowden The first question Justin Forlong asks many farmers at Fieldays isn’t about stock numbers, wool or genetics. It’s about worms. The King Country sheep breeder believes parasite management remains one of the biggest challenges facing sheep farming – a massive underlying problem he says still isn’t being fully acknowledged by many farmers. He is particularly concerned about growing drench resistance, where worms survive routine treatments and rams are effectively propped up by repeated dosing. He says some sale rams may have been drenched eight or nine times, leaving them with little natural resistance and farmers increasingly reliant on drenches that are no longer doing the job. “We’re asking them what their situation is with worms on their farm, are they getting any drench resistance, because most farms do have a problem with it now,” he says. For more than two decades, his family’s Romney stud - Fernleaf Romneys - has been selecting hard for worm resistance, building lines of sheep that can thrive with minimal drenching. Today, roughly 80 percent of the rams they put up for sale have never had a drench in their lives. The programme involves regular faecal sampling to see what’s really happening in the “worm breeding factory” of the gut, and selecting animals that naturally cope with parasite pressure. He’s blunt in his reasoning: “It is not very glamorous at all, but we figure it’s better than the CARLA test because worms come out their arsehole, not their mouth.” The distinction between worm resistance and worm resilience is important, he says. “A resistant sheep will actually kill the worm in the gut. A resilient sheep will have the worms in them but still be doing well, but she’s passing those worms back onto the pasture.” That focus on resistance, rather than simple resilience, is aimed at reducing the overall worm burden on the pasture, not just keeping individual animals looking well. The stud is also putting renewed emphasis on facial eczema tolerance, returning to intensive testing now worms are more under control. “The worms sort of took precedent over everything,” Justin says. “We figure it’s a bit of a trade-off against each other, really.” Facial eczema is notoriously hard to spot in its early stages, and the visible symptoms often only show up after significant internal liver damage has already occurred. “With worms you can drench them to fix the problem, if your drenches are still working,” he says. “The eczema is a bit of a hidden underlying problem that you don’t always see the outcome of straight away.” Fertility is the next major focus. The flock is scanning in the high 160 percent mark, with docking percentages consistently around 140 percent. While those figures would satisfy many farmers, Justin says there is still room to improve. [cell] 027 596 7181 [email] grant@dyerlivestock.co.nz Proud to support Fernleaf Romneys in servicing their livestock requirements Grant Hall Offices in Otorohanga, Te Awamutu & Taumarunui info@baileyingham.co.nz | www.baileyingham.co.nz PHONE: 07 873 7325 | FREEPHONE: 0800 482 928 Quality Service to Farmers & Businesses Bailey Ingham is proud to be associated with Fernleaf Romneys and the Forlong family PETERWYLIE M 027 473 5855 E pwylie@pggwrightson.co.nz Rural & Lifestyle Marketing Specialist pggwre.co.nz PGGWrightson Real Estate Limited, licensed under the REAA 2008. “There is work that needs to be done there, but the fertility is turning around really quickly now that we’re focusing on it.” The family aims to sell 150 rams each year through private sales, with customers stretching from Southland to Waikato, Gisborne, Wairoa and Taranaki. They run 600 stud ewes, 600 commercial ewes, dairy grazers and trading cattle on rollingto-steep hill country at Ohura, approximately 40 minutes west of Taumarunui. Justin, who returned to the family farm five years ago after running a fencing business, represents the fourth generation of his family to breed Romney sheep. His father, Melvin, 83, remains closely involved.
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