Glendemar MPM October Newsletter

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Glendemar MPM October Newsletter

Glendemar MPM Open Day Friday 3 October 10:00-4:00

Glendemar MPM On-Property Ram Sale Wednesday 8 October – 10:00 till late

Glendemar 336 Glendemar Rd KANYA Vic 3387

Ewe lamb joining’s – I have previously written about the opportunity of joining ewe lambs to increase production.  Having the ability to do it successfully is the key and below are some wise words from Jason Trompf on how to make it more successful.  I am glad I chatted to Jason about this as I have always promoted 40kg as the goal liveweight for joining.  I do know that the higher the liveweight the better success, so we need to now aim for 45kg as the minimum join weight for the greatest success.  Over to Jason to explain.

New rules for engagement with ewe lambs

More Lambs from Ewe Lambs is a comprehensive MLA research project that sheds new light on the management of ewe lambs for joining, lambing and recovery for second joining. Principle investigator Jason Trompf, believes industry emphasis must shift beyond seeing scanning rates from ewe lambs as the focus, to live lambs weaned from ewe lambs as the end game. The outcomes from this R&D will drive production and profit from this cohort while significantly reducing wastage and improving welfare outcomes, with a series of new rules for engagement with ewe lambs.

While the measure of success was getting ewe lambs pregnant rather than live lambs this has led to lax disciplines around ewe lamb joining weights and pregnancy weight gains.  The sheep industry talks about target weights for ewe lambs at joining, whereas the beef cattle industry has tighter disciplines, embracing minimum critical mating weights.  More Lambs from Ewe Lambs research has found significant wastage from lighter ewe lambs at joining (<45 kg) that get pregnant, with high levels of lamb and even ewe loss, particularly when pregnancy nutrition is limited, like it has been on many farms this year.  The primary cause of lamb loss from ewe lambs is low birth weights and the biggest driver of birth weight is the ewe lamb’s joining weight, and then the next big driver is pregnancy weight gain.  In a nutshell, with a change in focus to live lambs weaned from ewe lambs, success rates improve significantly by employing minimum joining weights of 45kg and pregnancy weight gain of 15kg, so the pregnant ewe lamb weighs 60kg plus at pre-lambing treatments.

The research also found that ewe lambs are 3-4 times more sensitive to the impact of lambing mob size on lamb survival than adult ewes.  With for every 100 extra single bearing ewe lambs in a mob at lambing reducing lamb survival by 4% compared to around 1% in adult singles.  Whilst, for every 100 extra twin bearing ewe lambs in a mob at lambing reducing lamb survival by 6.5% (13% lambs marked) compared to 2.2% in adult twins.

This new research on behalf of MLA also contributes new understanding to the responsiveness of different genotypes to weight gain during joining on scanning rates, and recovery to second mating.  Further work will be undertaken to express the growth targets for ewe lambs as a percentage of adult weight, which will further aid the adoption of minimum critical mating weights across different genotypes like the beef cattle industry.  For further information on this R&D feel free to reach out to Jason Trompf on 0408 211864 or email jason@jtagrisource.com.au.

Sire 220155 – Is the sire I said in the last newsletter that could be our next super sire. 182 progeny in our flock when he was joined in a syndicate of 2 rams to 221 ewes.

What I like about 220155 is his great balance of ASBV traits. He is in the top 5-10% of all the key traits we look for.  The big muscle is a bit of a surprise to me for this ram, and shows the benefit of measurement, as like always you can’t pick it by eye.

220155 has about 30 progeny in this years sale plus a couple of keepers.  With his very good Reproductive traits and growth traits with high MWWT I am excited about the daughters he will breed. Carcase and structure are very good on his progeny and I already have a couple of rams I am keen to put over his daughters.

The owners of his twin brother are the Robertson Family from Edenhope.  I am keen to call in and have a look at him.

4 Rams from this years joining that I am keen to see progeny of are - 23 0696, 23 0803, 23 1148 and 23 1545.  If you are a breeding nuffy jump on to Sheep Genetics and have a look at their traits. We will look to join sons of these to our ewe lambs next year.

How good is great service #1 – Shelley Jenzen of SB Print has been doing our Ram Sale Catlouge, Pen Cards and other work for a long time now.  Now many of you would know that I am not the most orgaised person.  Ram Sale season even worse, but the great service that Shelley and others provide, allows me to get away with it.  Tuesday was me sending ram sale catalouge and Pen Card information  to Shelley.  Drafts sent back and forth and agreed upon, printing done and should have them either Wednesday or Thursday. Bloody brilliant service I say.  If you ever need professional printing and graphic’s work done contact Shelley at SB Print info@sbprint.com or phone Shelley on 0438 018 36

How good is great service #2 – Sally Martin and Bridget Parkman of Sheep Metrix handle all of our data for the sheep stud.  Again I am very limited in this area so rely on Sheep Metrix to do all the work. Pen Cards and Catalouge with all data sorted in a day, fantastic service. All other data work we do is done by Sheep Metrix and I can highly recommend them.  For NSW or SA clients looking to get into EID Sally and her team are the ideal place to start sally@sheepmetrix.com.au or phone Sally on 0400 782 477

How good is great service #3 – Chloe Frank, Central Stock Health has a mobile Worm Egg Count business. Tuesday we had some sheep in the yards and I was wanting a WEC ASAP.  Rang Chloe around about 12:00, she got to Glendemar at 3:00 and results by 3:30. Next level service by young, keen and professional people, you cant get enough of this and the enthusiasim these young people have for their work and business. Highly recommend Chloe. Central Stock Health chlfrank@icloud.com

How good is great service #4 – Jason Smith JS Photography does all of the wool photos and videos of our sale rams.  Again my limited ability and concentration don’t allow the hours of time seeting up frames and editing ram videos and wool photos.  150 odd rams videoed and wool shots in 7 hours.  I remember when it used to take 2 days to do that amount.

I could go on and on with others we deal with that have great service. It really is the key to rural and ag business’s like ours to keep us moving in busy times.

It is around now that I really need to give a shout out to the team (ageing) here at Glendemar.  To Ken (the old man) and Dave Smith (everyone know ‘s Dave) I can’t thank them enough for the effort and commitment they put in to our farm.  When I am off doing my side hustle (fighting the government) they continue on and just get the job done.  Having such loyal and reliable team members is just one less worry that I am very grateful I don’t need to put a lot of time into.  

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