Sheep Breeders and Industry Pause to Celebrate Excellence
THURSDAY 15 AUGUST 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sheep Breeders and Industry Pause to Celebrate Excellence
New Zealand’s top-performing ram breeders have been celebrated at the second annual Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Sheep Industry Awards.
More than 300 people attended a dinner in Invercargill last night, where 10 genetics-based awards and five sector excellence awards were presented. Results of the genetics-based awards were calculated based on ram breeders’ performance in SIL-ACE (Advanced Central Evaluation) – the large-scale, across flock and breed genetic evaluation of more than 300 ram breeding flocks.
The Blackdale Sheep Industry Supplier of the Year Award was presented to Hugh and Judy Akers of Broadlands Station, suppliers to ANZCO. Dr George Davis is recipient of the Silver Fern Farms Sheep Industry Science Award. The AgITO Sheep Industry Trainer of the Year Award goes to Kevin Smith of Middlemarch, while Animal Breeding Trust general manager Clare Callow was presented with the Allflex Individual or Business Making a Significant Contribution to the New Zealand Sheep Industry Award. Finally, Alliance Group Limited takes home the B+LNZ Sheep Industry Innovation Award for 2013.
Within the genetics-based categories, two gold
awards were presented. George and Kathryn Smith of Tamlet
stud receive the Alliance Group Limited Terminal Sire
Overall Award for their Texel stud, near Wyndham. While
the Telford – A Division of Lincoln University Dual
Purpose Overall Award goes north, to Edward Dinger and
his Cambridge-based MNCC Coopworth stud.
B+LNZ Chairman
Mike Petersen says it is great to see the sector embrace the
awards so enthusiastically. “Last year’s awards were the
result of a great idea from within the Southern South Island
Farmer Council. We thought it was important to carry on
celebrating the outstanding progress by breeders and
commercial farmers in pursuit of sector excellence in the
sheep industry.
“However, we didn’t predict just how popular the awards would be. The awards have been calculated using the results from B+LNZ’s SIL-ACE evaluation. SIL-ACE is all about breeding for profitable traits and this work is the envy of sheep breeders around the world. It is fantastic to see so many of our top breeders jostling for these awards.”
Judging of the genetics-based awards was simplified this year and made on the basis of individual animals with the highest rating or index. For each of the 10 categories, the top three rams were identified using results from the SIL-ACE evaluation and SIL standard indexes. Animals had to be in the top 25% for a “basket of industry valued traits” and have a top ranking for the highlighted trait, as well as minimum levels of accuracy for these ratings. The awards were presented to the breeders of these animals.
GENETICS-BASED AWARDS – FULL RESULTS
GOLD AWARD: Alliance Group Limited Terminal Sire Overall
Recipient
Tamlet, Texel – George and Kathryn Smith
The Terminal
Sire Overall Award takes into account genetic performance
for lamb growth and meat yield. George and Kathryn Smith’s
Tamlet stud, near Wyndham, is made up of 300 recorded Texel
ewes, as well as 500 recorded Coopworth and 500 Romney ewes.
Their Texel stud has two lines – terminal sire and dual
purpose – and Tamlet sires feature regularly in the top
band of the Texel Dual Purpose list. Smiths are actively
involved in the Central Progeny Test.
Second
Mount Linton, Suftex –
Hamish Bielski
Third
Kepler Farm, Lamb
Supreme – Focus Genetics
GOLD AWARD: Telford – A Division of Lincoln University Dual Purpose Overall
Recipient MNCC,
Coopworth – Edward Dinger
The Dual Purpose
Overall Award takes into account genetic performance for
reproduction, lamb growth, adult size and wool. Edward
Dinger’s MNCC Coopworth Stud is based in Cambridge. Edward
has owned the stud since 1983 and was its flock master for
the previous eight years. MNCC runs 300 performance recorded
ewes and aims to breed highly productive sheep suitable for
the warmer regions of New Zealand. Reflecting this, MNCC has
selected for facial eczema tolerance since 1984.
Second Blackdale,
Coopworth – Peter and Marion
Black
Third
Waihora, Romney – Focus
Genetics
SIL-ACE Terminal Sire for Lamb Growth
Recipient
Mount Linton, Suftex – Hamish Bielski
Finalists Kepler
Farm, Lamb Supreme – Focus Genetics
Waikite Texel,
Texel – Focus Genetics
SIL-ACE Terminal Sire for Meat Yield
Recipient
Kepler Farm, Lamb Supreme – Focus
Genetics
Finalists
Glengarry, Poll Dorset – Ross and Ben
Pratt
Tamlet, Texel – George and Kathryn
Smith
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Reproduction
Recipient
Nithdale, Romney – Andrew and Heather
Tripp
Finalists
Hinenui, Coopworth – Brett and Lucy
Teutenberg
MNCC, Coopworth – Edward
Dinger
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Growth (Lamb Growth and Adult Size)
Recipient
Twin Farm, TEFRom – Russell and Pam
Welsh
Finalists
MNCC, Coopworth – Edward Dinger
Waihora,
Romney – Focus Genetics
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Wool
Recipient
Blackdale, Coopworth – Peter and Marion
Black
Finalists
Nikau, Coopworth – Emily Welch, Sam Welch & Kate
Broadbent
Tamlet, Composite – George and Kathryn
Smith
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Meat Yield
Recipient
Orari Gorge Romneys, Romney – Robert
Peacock
Finalists
Rosemains, Perendale – Howie Gardner
Waihora,
Romney – Focus Genetics
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Internal Parasite Resistance
Recipient
Nithdale, Romney – Andrew and Heather
Tripp
Finalists
ARDG – Makino, Romney – Ross and Gilly
Alexander
Hinerua, Perendale – Peter
Christie
SIL-ACE Dual Purpose for Facial Eczema Tolerance
Recipient
ARDG – Makino, Romney – Ross and Gilly
Alexander
Finalists
Marlow, Coopworth – Steve Wyn-Harris
Waihora,
Romney – Focus Genetics
INDUSTRY AWARDS – BACKGROUND BIOS AND FINALISTS
Blackdale Sheep Industry Supplier of the Year
Recipient Broadlands
Station Hugh and Judy Akers – supplying
ANZCO
Broadlands Station has been a consistently
high performing supplier to ANZCO for some time. The station
was the inaugural national winner of the Waitrose Supplier
of the Year award and has twice featured in the top five
suppliers for the North Island during the past seven
seasons. Broadlands Station’s contract hit rate was 90.4%
and 92.2% for 2011/12 and 2010/11, respectively. It
consistently demonstrates a committed focus to meeting
market requirements, through on-farm best
practice.
Finalists
Bill and Sue Garland – supplying Te Kuiti Meat
Processors
Brent and Bernadette Hodgkinson – supplying
Alliance
Horizon Farming Ltd – supplying Progressive
Meats
Barry and Julie Crawford – supplying Silver Fern
Farms
Silver Fern Farms Sheep Industry Science Award
Recipient Dr George
Davis
New Zealand has a significant
international profile in sheep genomics research and this
award acknowledges the contribution of Dr George Davis to
that profile. George was a pioneer in the field of new
technologies that saw animals selected using
laboratory-based genetics diagnosis. He discovered the
Inverdale X-linked fecundity gene and has contributed more
than anyone else to the breeding, international supply and
pioneering research on the Booroola fecundity gene. George
has more than 100 scientific papers to his name and has
guided many eager young scientists through their early
careers.
Finalists
Drs Chris Morris and Neale Towers
Dr Neville
Jopson
AGITO Sheep Industry Trainer of the Year
Recipient Kevin
Smith
Based in Middlemarch, Kevin Smith manages
three properties for corporate Greenfields Rural. For the
past 17 years, Kevin has employed a steady stream of
graduates from Telford, Lincoln University and AgITO
programmes. He has trained more than 30 young people as
shepherds, giving them critical time with their “feet in
boots”. Many of the young people arrive with limited
skills, but invariably leave a year or two later, confident
in pursuing the next phase of their career. Some are now
successful head shepherds and 2ICs within large operations.
Finalists Telford
– A Division of Lincoln University
Waipaoa Station Farm
Cadet Training Trust
Allflex Individual or Business Making a Significant Contribution to the New Zealand Sheep Industry
Recipient Clare
Callow
New Zealand Animal Breeding Trust general
manager Clare Callow has given a working lifetime of
dedicated service to the sector through her development and
delivery of performance recording programmes for sheep
breeders. She also runs her own SIL recording bureau and is
New Zealand Texel Society across-flock manager. Clare
consistently delivers fast, accurate and meaningful
performance data – and operates with a level of passion
that has not waned over the course of her career.
Finalists RJ
Alexander & Co
Dr Geoff Nicoll
AbacusBio
Beef + Lamb New Zealand Sheep Industry Innovation Award
Recipient Alliance
Group Ltd
Alliance Group has a long history of
building on incremental innovations at every level of the
value chain. Eleven years ago, the company initiated the
Central Progeny Test (CPT). Today, the test supports the
powerful across-breed comparison SIL-ACE and is recognised
as making a significant contribution to the industry’s
huge genetic gains during the past decade. Alliance Group
introduced “Market Choice” in 2002 – an industry-first
carcase quality-based payment system – and the associated
2-D imaging system, VIAScan. More recently, it co-developed
an environmental and farm performance benchmarking product,
“Hoofprint”.
Finalists
Chris and Jo Johns
Marcus Taylor and Leanne
Broadhurst
ENDS