27 February 2018 Shelterdale, Hororata, Central Canterbury

Central Canterbury Farming for

Profit
Hororata farmer Gavin King hosted a Central
Canterbury Farming for Profit field day at his
“Shelterdale” farm on 27 February.

Attracting around 90 farmers and agribusiness

professionals, topics covered during the
afternoon included pre-mating ewe nutrition,
feeding fodder beet to pregnant ewes, the
economics of irrigation, winter feed crops and
new pastures under irrigation.

Shelterdale- an overview

This 377ha farm is run in conjunction with the

King family’s two other sheep and beef
properties; Halls totalling 195ha and Round
Top, a 416ha dryland hill country farm at
Windwhistle.

Shelterdale and Hall’s both have large areas

under irrigation, drawing water from the
recently-developed Central Plains Water (CPW) scheme. Out of Shelterdale’s 377ha, 202ha is under
irrigation with the first water going on three years ago.

Sheep

The farm carries 2350 mixed-age Coopworth and Coopdale ewes, 650 two-tooth and 800 ewe
hoggets. These ewes scan 170-184% and lamb 145-150%. Weaning weights average 27kg. Hoggets
scan 103-117% and lamb an average of 72%.
Cattle

Shelterdale winters 250 cows, 300 R2 dairy heifers, 250 R1 dairy heifers and 43 carry-over cows.

Crops: This year’s winter crops are 134ha of fodder beet and kale and 25ha of triticale. Cash crops
grown are 50ha barley and 15ha of wheat.

Pre-mating ewe nutrition-Charlotte Westward PGG Wrightson

 Nutrition is one of the factors that contribute to the improving lambing performance. Other
factors include ewe age, genetics, pre-mating shearing, latitude, parasite burdens, shearing
stress, vaccination profile and the ram effect- introducing teaser rams early in the season.
 Determining the kilograms of lamb weaned per hectare starts at mating with the
development of the embryo(s), placenta and continues through to birth and weaning.
 Hoggets are most vulnerable to poor nutrition.
 Body Condition Scoring gives farmers the opportunity to identify and separate lighter ewes
before mating and priority feed them.
 Liveweight and body condition are correlated in that typically, the heavier the ewe the
better the body condition score. Liveweight is a factor of frame-size and body condition.
 Body Condition Scoring is a better indicator of a ewe’s energy reserves. Roughly, it takes a
5kg lift or drop in bodyweight to change one Body Condition Score. As a rule of thumb every
extra kilogram at mating is worth 1.5-2% of twinning ewes and a 1.3% improvement in
overall lambing percentage.

Learn how to Body Condition Score. As well as running Body Condition Scoring workshops, Beef +
Lamb New Zealand offers a number of how-to BCS resources on www.beeflambnz.co.nz

Ideally, ewes should maintain their body condition between weaning and mating.

At mating, ewes should be at a Body Condition Score of 2.5-3. Any heavier and it becomes the law of
diminishing returns.

Flush ewes by feeding them on a rising plane of nutrition three weeks before the ram goes out. Aim
for 0-5-1.0kg liveweight gain/week. The benefits of flushing carry on for three weeks after the ram
goes out.

Aim for a daily energy intake of 17-19MJME eaten- divide by 11 to get the kilogram of drymatter or a
sward height of 4-6cm. That will provide 1.5-2kg DM/eaten provided they graze no lower than
3.5cm.

Tip: The top of the toe of a Red Band gumboot is about 4cm

When flushing doesn’t work- Troubleshooting

- Didn’t flush for long enough. The effect is diminished if it is under three weeks.
- Not enough or poor-quality feed or extreme stress in the 21 days after conception. The
embryo may not implant.
- Poor fertility in rams. Rams should be on a rising plane of nutrition for two months before
going out. It takes two months for the sperm to develop.
 - Trace mineral imbalances. Central Canterbury is an iodine deficient area and this can be a
problem with ewes on a grass-based system. Ryegrass and clover pastures are good at
pulling up iodine out of the soil – poor quality pasture species are not. Summer and winter
brassicas accentuate the risk. Selenium-New Zealand is the most selenium deficient country
in the world. Extreme deficiencies will cause ewes to resorb the pregnancy within 28 days of
conception. Cobalt/B12 deficiency is more of an issue in lambs where it causes ill-thrift.

Mating on pure stands of red clover and lucerne

Old-fashioned varieties of red and subterranean clover have been associated with infertility in ewes
because they produce compounds which can mimic oestrogen. New varieties have much lower
levels of this compound and can be safely used as a forage over mating.

Strong, healthy stands of lucerne can be safely used for flushing and mating. Problems can occur in
damaged or diseased crops as the lucerne responds to fungal infections by producing the
oestrogenic compound coumestrol.

Farmers should be cautious about mating ewes- and particularly ewe lambs – on lucerne this season,
as warm humid conditions have been conducive to fungal infections in lush stands of lucerne.

Ewes should be removed from at-risk lucerne stands 10-14 days before going to the ram,but can be
put back on immediately after mating.

Ewes on fodder beet.

While fodder beet can be a valuable feed crop for wintering a large number of ewes within a small
area, there is unlikely to be sufficient leaf available on fodder beet to meet the protein requirements
of heavily in-lamb ewes in the latter part of pregnancy.

While the leaf on fodder beet crops contains 22-25% protein, by the end of winter, most of the leaf
has typically disappeared. In late pregnancy ewes require 16-18% protein and yet the protein in the
bulb only contains 7% protein.

In absence of a protein-rich supplement, ewes will mobilise their own protein reserves which can
result in low birthweight lambs.

Another issue with fodder beet is that it contains low levels of phosphorus. To compensate,
phosphorus is pulled out of ewes’ bones which, over consecutive years, can cause metabolic issues.

Caution is required when transitioning ewes onto fodder beet, particularly in the vital 21-days after
mating.
Ease ewes onto the crop carefully and ensure they have access to baleage. Ewes should be given
two-days breaks on fodder beet to ensure they are getting sufficient protein through the leaf and
bulb.

Similarly, ewes should be transitioned off fodder beet crops gradually, ideally onto strip-grazed
pasture.

Even dry hoggets require a diet containing 12-14% protein and while their dietary requirements will
be met if the leaf is healthy, if the leaf is decayed they will require a protein-rich supplement to
avoid sub-optimal growth rates.

Making irrigation pay

The water that Gavin applies to his farm costs a total of

$910/ha. While expensive, Gavin views this water as an
investment and as the scheme runs alongside his farms,
it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“We just need to survive for the first few years, then
we’ll be ok.”

As to how he is going to pay for it- Gavin was unclear. A

separate farm owned by the family has been converted

to a dairy farm and Gavin won’t eliminate of the possibility to converting Shelterwood to a dairy
unit- however under CPW requirements, he would need to be mindful of a requirement to reduce
nitrogen-losses by 30 % by 2022.

At this stage, Gavin says they will just be intensifying their lamb and beef finishing, dairy support and
cash crop operation.

John Gilbertson from Westpac says changing a business from dryland to irrigated requires a
significant shift in mindset. Dryland farmers often focus on minimising costs while under irrigation,
farmers are looking at maximising income. Management goes from survival to maximising the farm’s
potential every year.

“With irrigation farmers need to be more aggressive with their management decisions and will often
have a lot more debt relative to dryland.”

Gilbertson recommends farmers thinking about installing irrigation get good advice and that they
think about whether irrigation fits with their personal and business goals.
Irrigation typically requires:

- More stock
- More debt
- Increased income
- Increased costs
- More staff
- Increased workload
- Requirement for planning at development and management phases
But it does increase profitability, equity and wealth by increasing the value of the land. It
creates more opportunity for future generations and helps keep rural communities vibrant.

Having carried out the development, which included removing a lot of shelter trees and shifting a lot
of dirt around, Gavin says he would never go back.

“If I was given the option of putting the farm back together, I wouldn’t go back to dryland- I would
stick with what I’ve got.”

Shelterdale beef cattle policy- separating the steer at heifer calves at birth.
At calving, the management team separate the steer and heifer calves by shedding the cows off into
separate paddocks. The heifer calves and their mothers are taken up to Round Top – their hill
country farm – while the steer calves stay on the flat paddocks. This strategy is seeing weaning
weights in the steers average 250kg while the heifer calves, which are retained are weaning at an
average of 217kg.

Winter feed crops

Fodder beet is grown for wintering beef and dairy heifers and twin- bearing two-tooth ewes. To
determine which variety best suits their environment and requirements, they have set up a trial
growing three different varieties in three adjacent irrigated paddocks.

Gavin is confident that they

will achieve 25t DM crops with
potential to grow to 27-28t.
Along with his agronomists,
they have calculated that it
costs the same to grow a 21t
crop of fodder beet as it does
a 16t/ha Kale crop.

Water does give them

certainty around yield –
provided they follow best-
practice at establishment; that
is correctly preparing the
ground and planting at the
correct time.
Yellowing leaves in fodder beet
crops?

Overt yellowing can be an indication

of magnesium deficiency. Herbage
tests can confirm nutrient
deficiencies- speak to your
agronomist.

Biosecurity- protecting your

business

The recent outbreak of Mycoplasma

bovis has highlighted the need to be
particularly vigilant about on-farm
biosecurity, particularly for farmers
who have dairy support as part of
their business. Know the history of
any livestock coming onto your farm
and take appropriate measures to
protect your business.

Kale

Kale crops are part of Gavin’s

wintering – and pasture renewal –
programme. New chemistry is soon
to be released which will allow beets
to follow kale crops. Up until now, the spray used in kale adversely effects beet and this has been a
limiting factor in crop rotations.

Under irrigation, Gavin is expecting his Kale crops to yield around 16 t DM/ha. Without irrigation,
yields vary from 7-12t DM/ha depending on the season, butt average 7-8t.

Given a good base fertility, kale is a straightforward crop to grow.

Pastures- Diploid or Tetraploid?

Gavin and the management team on Shelterdale debate the benefits of these ryegrasses which are
grown under irrigation. While Gavin prefers the diploids, other members of the team favour the
short-term, more vigorous tetraploids. Whatever they choose, Gavin is adamant that they contain
the novel endophyte AR37 to protect the plants from grass-grub.

A perennial pasture mix typically contains 12kg Diploid, 4kg of red clover and 3kg of white clover.
This is a relatively low rate of grass but this rate allows clovers to flourish – which is what drives
production.

These pastures receive 60kg of nitrogen annually and a fertiliser dressing in November or December.

“We are looking for the legume- not the grass.” Tom Fraser

When considering pasture mixes think about what you want from that pasture in two-three or four
years’ time.

What you want that pasture for and when do you want that production?

Identify where the shortfalls are and what pasture species will fill that gap.

Red and white clover

Stands of a red and white clover mix are proving to be valuable for growing lambs on Shelterdale.
Grown under irrigation, the lambs finished on this clover are yielding 3-4 per cent ahead of the
lambs finished on ryegrass.

Gavin says the lambs do take some adjusting to the feed and they have had some losses on it in the
past. While vets couldn’t identify exactly what killed the lambs, two 5-in-1 vaccinations- one at
weaning, the other a month later- seemed to have alleviated the problem.

These clover paddocks are used for set-stocked twin-bearing hoggets at lambing. The hoggets are
run onto covers of 24-2500kg DM/ha and stay on the crop until tailing.

After tailing they strip graze around the crops in what is a four-paddock system.

Gavin expects the stands to last three to four years after which time he will stitch ryegrass into the
paddocks to get another year or two out of them before they goes into crop as part of their rotation.

Such has been the success of the clover stands that he would like to grow more, but says it is
important to get a significant area of the forage to get a good grazing rotation going.

Californian thistles are a problem in these

paddocks so they are grazed up until May
and then sprayed with Galant.