| 7 Two summer-dry, winter-wet farms Paul body condition scoring ewes. Aimee Wilson For over 20 years the Central Progeny Test overseen by Beef + Lamb New Zealand has given animal breeders the opportunity to contribute towards the genetic improvements of New Zealand’s sheep industry. Run under commercial conditions, the CPT operates at two sites; Glenside Farm - a commercial hill country property in the Wairarapa, and at AgResearch’s Invermay research station. The purpose of the CPT is to create genetic linkages across breeds that would not happen naturally in industry. These connections underpin the New Zealand Genetic Evaluation (NZGE) – the across-flock and across-breed evaluation that provides indexes and breeding values (BVs) to industry. Every year breeders or breeder groups nominate their flocks to take part in the CPT and the successful flocks are selected based on the benefit their connections will provide to industry. Nominations for CPT open in late spring and the successful flocks are named in December. Breeders have the summer to select rams which have been widely used to best represent their flocks and semen is collected for the CPT’s Artificial Insemination (AI) programmes. Arahura Genetics (Glenside Farm) is run by Paul Crick and Dayanne Almeida, and they also lease the neighbouring Arahura deer farm. Glenside is an 850ha sheep, beef and deer farm southeast of Masterton, Wairarapa, wintering 5000 sheep, 270 beef cattle and 750 red deer. Both Glenside and Arahura are summer-dry, winter-wet farms that receive between 9001000mm each year. Glenside was formerly leased and managed by Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre. The couple took over most of the stock with the leases, plus the 520-head Central Progeny Test hill flock, which is one of four under the control of Beef + Lamb Genetics. This is managed alongside the couple’s own livestock. Paul has an extensive 35-year background in agriculture and education both nationally and overseas; from working and managing large-scale properties in New Zealand’s North and South Islands to farm consultancy in Chile and Brazil, along with developing the next generation of New Zealand farmers in his previous executive role of Director of Farms for Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre. RURAL PEOPLE » Arahura Genetics (Glenside Farm Ltd) He’s been involved in various agricultural and social research projects in conjunction with Massey University, AbacusBio, Alliance Group, Beef + Lamb Genetics and AgResearch. Being familiar with the stock on Glenside has given him an advantage as they pursue their aim of finding the most productive animals to suit Wairarapa’s summer-dry conditions and their management. All of the 1400 ewes available across both testing sites (Glenside and Invermay) are allocated a sire. The technical team go to great lengths to ensure each ram is mated to an even range of ewe ages, sizes and body conditions. Lambs are born in September and while the data recording starts from birth at Invermay, it begins at tailing at Glenside. Call Arron Cook on 027 498 7104 Proud to support Glenside Farm Ltd Agricultural Contractors The sheep progeny test has been a long-standing and critical component of New Zealand’s sheep genetics system for many years. Beef+Lamb New Zealand then launched a beef progeny test in 2014 and a dairy-beef progeny test the following year.
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