The New Zealand Hereford Association Member Newsletter - August 2009

Issue 101

Contents this issue:

1. Presidents Message
2. Beef Expo 2010
3. Herd of Excellence 2010

 

1. President's Message

I can’t believe its time to write my second President’s report. Winter is still with us in all places either as snow, ice, frost, fog, rain, or wind, Anyway a break in the weather would be good before most Hereford breeders start calving.

So far this winter at Locharburn there has been a tremendous ice build up in the creeks, bogs and any wet spots due mainly to frosty nights followed by foggy days.

When moving the cows it has left me in some pretty average situations as they slide on ice and snow and sometimes require a bit of pushing. It got me thinking what a great temperament advantage Herefords have over other breeds.

We have used the Hereford docility well in our posters and advertisements and know what a big OSH issue temperament has become. The second part of the bull selling season has been a bit mixed and this hasn’t been the quality of the bulls, but mainly due to a big cow kill on the East Coast, the swing to dairy cows, dairy grazing and the popularity of Angus.

Council received a very good letter from the Central Districts Hereford Breeders Club at our meeting in early July. It started; - “There is a big black shadow steadily swallowing the beef cow heartland. Most beef breeds struggle for registered population and the benefits of some critical mass. Herefords don’t - with over 15,000 registered cows, we possess critical mass, however, we are being left in the dust of a momentous Angus machine.

In 2007 the national beef breeding cow herd numbered 1.13 million. Angus cows - 23% while Hereford cows - 11% and the 2-year-old Angus bull sales dominate. Why are we being left behind by Angus? As Hereford breeders squabble over in-house trivia we are loosing market share. Many Hereford breeders seem more intent on “kicking the next guy “ and taking their clientele, rather than working together to grow Herefords total market share.

Many are quick to condemn Hereford Prime, Dairy Bulls, The show ring, the Herd of Excellence, Tru-Test Super Sires and EBVs, without contributing or offering practical solutions. One type of Hereford does not fit all. The strength of our breed is its diversity – its adaptability to different environments, management regimes and markets. We do breed a range in animal types for a wide range of production systems and markets. We must begin to celebrate and encourage these differences, or we will continue to lose market share.”

Their letter went on to propose the implementation of The Hereford (Ranfurly) shield an all encompassing inter-club competition. Details on this idea are available from the club. Great thoughts Central Herefords, I cringe every time I hear somebody knocking EBVs or Indexes as we know they are not perfect but are still by far the best system in the world.

Philip Shepherd is now Chairman of the NZHA Technical Committee and has a very good grasp of EBVs and Indexes, so don’t be frightened to talk to him. If Philip can’t help he has good back from Laurie Paterson and/or ABRI.

I am available any time and if you’re going past you’re welcome to stop for a cuppa. I’ve had to do this report early as we are off to Busselton, Australia, to visit Doug (our son) and family were he manages a 1000 cow Angus herd!!

Cheers Geof Brown.

2. Beef Expo 2010

Dear Hereford Membership,

The NZ Hereford Association Council wishes to host a class for unled two-year-old bulls at the Meat & Wool NZ Beef Expo 2010.

Council envisages the unled class will be subject to the same basic eligibility criteria as that of the current led class and all entries will be subject to the selection process. At least 15 entries in this unled class will be needed to make it viable.

The Tru-Test Super Sire concept will remain as will the class for led two-year-old bulls, led yearling bulls, led heifers and Starter Pack heifers. An invitation is also extended to NZHA members to submit their suggestions for sustainable Beef Expo Hereford classes to Council for consideration.

Any ideas put forward will be tabled for discussion at the November meeting. Groups of like-minded breeders are encouraged to formulate a plan for their breeder initiated class (BIC) preferably including a marketing plan.

These submissions should be provided to the NZHA office by Wednesday October 21st 2009 for inclusion in the November meeting agenda. Members are also reminded that Beef Expo needs your support for its continued success.

As one of the major beef breeds in NZ we have a responsibility to support the sale, particularly our own auction. For the Meat & Wool NZ Beef Expo to be viable NZ Herefords needs to have at least 50 head entered – if it is not supported there is a very real risk that Expo will dissolve.

However, it is more than a simple numbers game. The entered animals need to be the very best we have to offer and be backed up by buyer support to justify the standard of entry. Your ideas for Expo classes are welcomed.

If you have any questions, please contact a Councillor or Natalie.

Yours sincerely NZHA Beef Expo Committee & NZHA Council.

3. Herd of Excellence 2010

The NZ Herefords Herd of Excellence is again open to nominations from clubs or individuals for the 2010 round. Breeders, will in this the third round, notice one significant change.

There will be a class for herds of 51 cows or more and a class for breeders with 50 cows or less. A Herd of Excellence from each category will be identified and announced with an overall Supreme Herd of Excellence being selected from the two category winners. The winners will be announced in conjunction with Beef Expo 2010.

A panel of judges will be invited to review all entrants in both categories based on the written farm profile submitted by all entrants.

Two finalists from each category will be identified and then visited on-farm to identify the winner for each of the categories. The supreme winner will be one of the two category winners.

Nominations:

All financial NZHA members are welcome to make a nomination. A nomination can be undertaken by an individual, syndicate or affiliated Hereford club. Breeders are also welcome to nominate themselves. A nomination form has been included with this edition of the RedRag for convenience.

If nominating another party, it is crucial the nomination form be signed by the party being put forward. When considering breeders for nomination please keep in mind the following aspects; quality of the Hereford herd, performance of the herd, marketing, overall farm performance, farm presentation, sustainability (both financially and environmentally), the breeders’ contribution to Herefords and their own community.

Once nominations have been received by the close off date, October 30 2009, (see time line) all nominees will be provided with and asked to complete a written farm profile within a given time frame and return it to the NZHA office.

The judging process:

The judging panel, appointed by the NZHA Council and office will be provided with copies of all written profiles from which they will select the herds and properties to be visited in person in late summer/early autumn. That same judging panel will visit all those finalists in consecutive visits before making their final decision for the category winners and the recipient of the Supreme Herd of Excellence title.

Public Event:

A public event recognising and celebrating the achievement is to be hosted by the recipient/s of the Supreme Herd of Excellence title. All entrants are asked to indicate an approximate time of hosting such an event at time of entry.

TIMELINE:

August 2009 : call for nominations.

30 October 2009 : nominations close.

2 November 2009 : : written profiles sent to entrants.

1 December 2009 : deadline for return of written profiles.

2 December 2009 : copies of written profiles sent to judging panel for consideration.

22 December 2009 : judges lodge list of herds to be judged with NZHA office.

Late January 2010 : all entrants to be notified of outcome from first judging round.

February-April 2010 : judging panel to visit finalists at a time convenient to all parties.

April 30 2010 : judges to have lodged final decision with NZHA office.

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