Northland
Model Description
The model represents a farm on easy rolling to moderately steep hill country. Cattle to sheep ratio is high, with 75% of total stock units made up of cattle. A breeding ewe flock with 20-25% ewe hogget replacements is run on the property. Lambing percentages are consistently 95-105%. Some lambs are sold store before Christmas. The rest are sold to the works at around 13.5-14 kg carcass weight over the summer. Most farmers try to sell as many lambs as possible before the onset of the traditional dry period in February.
A crossbred breeding cow herd is run, with all weaners wintered and replacements heifers bought in. Most beef farmers maintain a flexible cattle selling programme supplying both store and finished markets. Home-bred heifers are either sold as yearlings in the spring store sales, or as prime 14-24 month old heifers to the local trade market. Steers can be sold onto the spring grass market (14-16 months), or carried through to slaughter from 22-30 months of age. A number of friesian bull calves are purchased from dairy farms, hand-reared and sold the following spring at 16-22 months of age.
Table 1: The Model in Summary 1999/2000y
| Effective area | 300 ha | ||
| Closing stock wintered: | |||
| Breeding ewes | 555 hd | Breeding cows | 131 hd |
| Replacement ewe hoggets | 120 hd | R1yr cattle | 197 hd |
| Other sheep | 35 hd | R2yr cattle | 74 hd |
Key Points
- The favourable 1999/2000 season resulted in minimum stock losses, faster animal growth rates, and heavier carcass weights being achieved on Northland sheep and beef farms.
- Gross income from beef increased 20% in 1999/2000, following on from increased on-farm performance and an average 50 cents/kg lift in the schedule.
- Northland sheep and beef farms have raised expenditure on repairs and maintenance from $26 to $40/su. Fertiliser levels are still at only 75% maintenance levels.
- Ewe numbers are continuing to decline in Northland, but production from the remaining ewe flocks is increasing.
- Beef cow numbers are starting to increase again. This has resulted from the improved store cattle prices and the increasing need for heavy cattle to control Kikuyu.
Physical Factors
Climatic conditions have been favourable throughout Northland for most of the 1999/2000 season. The 1999 winter was mild and soil conditions were relatively dry in all areas except the Far North. All classes of stock were able to utilise pastures with minimal wastage. Winter liveweight gains of young cattle were 30-40% ahead of the previous winter and some 10-20% ahead of expectations. Except for a dry spell in autumn, cattle growth rates have been average. During the dry spell growth rates for weaned calves and finishing cattle were close to zero. By May growth rates were back to normal.
Spring conditions were very favourable for sheep production. The benign winter and spring ensured maximum survival of lambs born and minimal lambing problems in the ewe flock. Lambing percentage, which was forecast to rise by 4% to 104% in spring 1999, actually ended up at around 108%. Post lambing pasture covers were 300 kgDM/ha above the previous spring. Ewes milked better and lambs could graze pastures selectively. Lamb growth rates from birth to weaning improved by about 30-50 g/day compared to the previous spring. Farmers took advantage of the better spring feed supply and delayed weaning by up to two weeks. Farmers were able to draft up to 50% more lambs in their first draft. Lamb slaughter weights are about 1 kg/hd heavier than last year, averaging between 15 and 16 kg carcass weight.
Surplus feed which showed up in November and December was harvested as hay and silage. A number of farmers made silage for the first time, but it was not an easy season to make supplements. Analysis suggests much of the hay and silage is of only average quality. Some supplements were fed in the autumn to enable pasture covers to build up. This allowed break feeding to start earlier than would otherwise have been possible.
The dry autumn conditions were more pronounced on the western and southern areas of Northland. The far north, on the other hand, had a good summer. Clover growth was particularly good in Northland; some would say the best for many years. This meant that pasture quality has been better than for some years.
There have been few stock health problems affecting sheep and beef farms. Facial eczema has been almost non-existent. Autumn rains encouraged some internal parasite outbreaks with Heamonchosis badly affecting some flocks. Although ewes quickly recovered with early treatment, there may be some carryover impact on lambing percentages in the coming spring.
Ample feed during mating has resulted in good conception rates in beef cow herds. Non-pregnant rates of 5-8% are a vast improvement on the 15-17% often experienced last winter. Likewise, ewes were in good condition at mating. Northland sheep and beef farmers are forecasting a 2% increase in lambing percentage to 110% for spring 2000. Two factors are driving this confidence. Firstly, the reduced incidence of facial eczema and, secondly, the increasing use being made of finn cross rams in Northland.
| © MAF 2000 |  |
|
| MAFnet Help | Important Disclaimer |
Contact for Enquiries
Farm Monitoring Programme Manager
Monitoring and Evaluation
MAF Policy
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0623
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
Contact this person
