TE WHANGAI NEWSLETTER SPRING 2025
Stunning Te Whangai sunrise
Welcome To The New Dawn!
After decades in the dark finally could we be seeing some light?
What a dramatic turnaround farming has experienced in 12 months but it must hold up now for a prolonged period as there is a huge ‘hole’ to fill in most farm businesses — how many buildings are badly in need of maintenance, how far behind has debt repayment got and let’s not forget the farmers who experienced dry conditions last year meaning destocking on a low and restocking now, or those affected by the shocking weather in Southland last spring. That’s a bitter pill for many.
My gut feeling is if we had 5 years with $9-$10 schedules, if rates, fertiliser, wages and interest can be contained then sheep and beef farms would be back on the wagon again, reinvesting in their businesses and rebuilding fertility.
The government coffers will swell like they haven’t seen for years and of course they will be patting themselves on the back claiming free trade deals are what is driving better prices but in reality we still see Aussie prices well ahead of ours plus they only have a 10% tariff into the US and we now have 15%. So what’s the plan there, Minister McClay? The US clearly don’t want a bar of the Paris Accord and the climate scam, nor do they want more GMO food so do you think perhaps they are telling us something?
Fortune Favours The Brave
At Te Whangai, like many, we were on a knife-edge pre-Christmas, our contract lamb finishing programme was under pressure because the dry had prevented crops being planted, we were drying up fast and prices were crap. Some people maintain that you can’t live on hope? But really we had to hope the old axiom that
December can be our second wettest month would deliver, so hope it was! If we sold store we were locking in a disaster but if we held on then at least there was hope… it rained and the rest is history, while the autumn was not flash, the year has turned out ok feed-wise.
The development of parasite-resilient sheep is a classic case of if we don’t apply the selection pressure under the trying conditions of a high sheep ratio and constant worm burden then we will never receive the reward. It is tough on the management team, running almost 90% sheep to cattle ratio, and knowing they could achieve results like other people that use Te Whangai genetics, but James and the team understand we are making a difference to many farming businesses and that is the encouragement to keep going.
We sold 27kg undrenched ewe lambs at weaning to a farmer west of Hastings who only ever had them on grass and never drenched them until pre tupping, even then only because he thought he should. They went to the ram at about 45kg and scanned 122%, that’s not an uncommon occurrence.
Further to that he has told me the four-tooth ewes, purchased as lambs, scanned 200%, are mud fat despite ‘cleaning up the gullies’ and they are all clean, while other ewes he has are very mixed in condition and dirty so I am certain we are on the right track.
Ewe lambs we sold at weaning to a challenging farm in the Marlborough Sounds in 2024 and run entirely with the existing homebred lambs right through to two-tooths just recently scanned 32% ahead!!
How Much Is Too Much
I have grappled with the conundrum of whether it’s better to have more lambs and take the weaning weight that you can or go for a higher weight of lamb weaned per ha and worry less about the percentage, well here is what the model says...
Overall increasing lamb weaning weight is more profitable than increasing lambing percent so at 133.5% lambing a 10% lift in weaning weight from 30kg for singles and 25kg for twins will lift your cash operating surplus (CAS) by $51/ha while an increase in lambing to 143% gives a $22/ha lift. At the extremes a 30% lift in weaning weight gives a +$153/ha CAS while a 30% lift in lambing percent (from 133%) equates to +$77/ha. Of course being Kiwis we want it all!
There is of course another dimension to the equation and that is our regime for the recorded flock which is not to have any aspirational production targets, rather just operate at the extremes of high stocking rate, minimal (or none) treatment and intervention and select from those animals that do perform. Far from crowing about our own performance we are happy to let others do it with their performance.
What Is The Perfect Animal?
I have had some thoughtful exchanges with Dr Mark Young former SIL scientist now returned to the UK, contemplating the use of Indexes to describe an animal’s qualities or merit.
What the discerning ram buyer needs to be aware of is what traits are actually in the index they are basing their decisions on. Don’t be fooled by high SIL Maternal Worth Index (MW) values if you already have a high lambing percent (more fertility may not be that valuable to you) and for example you have an issue with dags, parasite tolerance or many other traits that are not in the MW.
Don’t be fooled trying to compare one breeder’s indexes with those of another breeder, without knowing what traits comprise the indexes. Simply by adding more traits to it the quantum of the index will grow and if breeders are operating in different environments and not exchanging significant amounts of genetics with each other then comparing indexes and breeding values is meaningless.
Indexes have worked well where only a few traits dominate merit - think milk yield in dairy animals 30-40 years ago but are less useful the more unrelated traits there are in an index. I feel that an animal’s ranking within the flock or within a desired trait seems a logical guide to make forward progress.
Meat Matters
A lot of talk is going on around the offer by Irish company Dawn Meat for a majority stake in Alliance. I feel that the options for existing shareholders either to invest more or to seek outside investment, will still require a change of strategy to be successful, after all just look at the other big Co-op which was debt free after re capitalising in 2016 but in less than 10 years is plagued with debt again.
Sooner rather than later, with the use of technology, a meat company will double production and halve labour costs… then we will be getting somewhere. I contend that a focused marketing company that has its supply committed in advance and toll processed efficiently is what is required.
Of course that also means the farmers need to be prepared to change, will that ever happen? There are already companies operating like this and their suppliers and shareholders are well rewarded, so it does work.
The last thing we need is more money wasted on woke emissions hand wringing and assurance programmes that actual consumers are not asking for and not willing to pay for.The marketing company we partner with for our lamb supply has been recording Intra Muscular Fat (IMF) on every lamb for 2 years while it builds a picture of the viability of a market opportunity for high IMF product.
There is clearly demand for the product and is expected to be lucrative. I was thrilled to see the last two lines of lambs ranked in the top 5 and 6% of all lines processed. Why is that? There is a lot that remains unknown about the prevalence of IMF but age and weight are two factors, the other interesting point is that we have never used the Lean Growth index in SIL to influence breeding decisions, that has been a major tool in the terminal breed selection hence the unsurprising lack of fat in many of those breads.
Te Whangai lambs finished by Kohatea Farming, a commitment to excellence by both parties.
Signs For Continued Optimism
For perhaps the first time ever in the US, beef ribeye at $28.99/lb is higher than lamb racks at $23/lb – boding well for lamb to retain or grow market share.
Sheep numbers in Aussie, the UK, and NZ are all under pressure, which will push prices up. Interestingly, across the ditch they see ‘structural issues’ in our meat industry as stifling returns – even they can see it. The potential for increased lamb sales into the USA is huge if we tap into their desire to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ with our nutritious, grass-fed, antibiotic and GMO-free lamb, high in Omega 3s for brain and heart health. US secretary for agriculture Brooke Rollins is strong on soil and food health, so it’s no surprise they’re backing their version of Regen Ag –essentially our rotational grazing grass-fed system.
Unfortunately, sadly the flip side of that optimism is that when I questioned both our Associate Minister of agriculture (or one of them!) and a Beef+Lamb director, neither of them had heard of Brooke Rollins nor the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign.
Wool
In 2024 Kainga Ora (state housing) refused to consider wool for use as floor covering but thankfully that decision has been reversed in a move which shows politicians can override the damn bureaucrats if they really want to, great news, and now wool must be used ‘where practical and appropriate’! hmm... still wriggle room for the synthetic lobbyists. The increased volume of wool required for this ‘new’ market is one thing but just the fact that consumers and commentators can see the government leading by example should also be a big help.
But oh the hypocrisy of government (controlled by bureaucrats) they talk about saving the planet yet 148 million kg of mostly plastic carpet are dumped every year in NZ, that is equivalent of almost 1.5 times the current national wool clip! And what is worse this plastic takes 200 years to biodegrade – simply shocking!
If government was really serious about growing the economy they could simply ban plastic carpet just as they banned plastic bags. That alone is obviously not the real answer, as I have said repeatedly, wool growers need to realise that if they want the true value of their product returned to them then at the very least they need to put in the effort to understand the spec of their wool clip and be prepared to supply it to a (preferably known) customer at an agreed time but further to that be prepared to undertake what is required to take your wool to a point no more than one step removed from the consumer, without losing control of the process.
The cost of financing a kilogram of wool through the value chain for 12 months, for example, would be 15c. Farmers who make their marketing decisions based on a few cents ofcharges at the farm gate need to think carefully (have their head seen to!) they should look behind the person or organisation that handles their wool clip and understand what the organisation is doing to change your future.
We don’t see dairy farmers giving the milk they produce every day to an agent or organisation to ‘flog off’ and get paid in 14 days! The product may be different but the principle is the same. Who is more prosperous dairy farmers or wool growers?
FE
Recently AgResearch announced that the fungus, Pithomyces chartarum, always thought to be producing the Sporidesmin toxin is in fact not the problem, it is a cousin now called Pseudopithomyces toxicarius which might explain why high spore counts did not always result in FE outbreaks and vice versa. In the meantime I see an application had been lodged in 2024 to try to remove the toxin production from P-Chartarum by genetically modifying it but turns out it wasn’t the culprit anyway! Just shows how much care needs to be taken with GE research!
Ram hoggets available with some FE tolerance remain limited but we expanded the programme this past mating so should have 1000 lambs born this year, some of which will be eligible to test at 0.57 so we are getting there slowly but remain focused on retaining the parasite tolerant attributes we have built up over 40
UK
It’s been an interesting year here at Trefranck. We have completed another embryo and AI program, giving us a good bank of strong Te Whangai genetics. We had an excellent lambing with extremely good weather. Usually ewes at Trefranck seek shelter from wind and rain up against our leylandii hedges; however, this year they were under them seeking shade! Something our shepherd Pete hasn’t seen before in April (not complaining!). Tagging and recording the lambs at birth was an enjoyable job out in the sun, but diving and catching lambs on the hard ground wore out the knees.
The bluetongue restrictions are back in place this year in the UK. To be honest there has been very little news coverage on the cases and a quick Google search shows 21 cases in England so far in 2025, but I have personally not heard of any farmers experiencing trouble directly.
Wales and Scotland both shut down their borders for any unvaccinated or untested livestock from England, which led us to send some breeding rams into these countries earlier than we usually would. The price of livestock in the UK is still holding very strong with new season lamb currently sitting at around £7.30/kg, and beef at around £6.40/kg for steers and £5.11/kg for cull cows.
Our ram lambs are certainly undergoing a reasonably high parasite challenge at the moment. While much of the UK is very dry, the weather down in Cornwall this summer has been perfect for growing a heap of grass – but with this, unfortunately, comes the perfect environment for worms to thrive, so plenty of pressure about for selection.
We have moved away from using Barbervax, the Australian vaccine against Haemonchus. This will allow us to fully select for resilient animals in our flock, and no doubt see some more drop out towards the end of summer; but this is all part of the process.
Resilient Romneys UK spreading the word.
What’s Winding Me Up
The horrific sight of beautiful productive farmland on the tar seal not 15 minutes from town, showing signs of all the taxpayer support the landowner has had over the years – pole planting subsidies, tax deductions for water reticulation and fencing, encouragement grants to develop the land, fertiliser, freight and production subsidies going back before Rogernomics – all should be paid back to the taxpayer when the land is lost to trees!
The looming prospect of being rewarded with carbon credits for breaching the perfection of your cattle’s rumen with a methane- inhibiting bolus or for using low productivity ‘methane-less’ sheep. This is what the Act Party Associate Agriculture Minister calls ‘choice’
The NZ Sustainable Finance Taxonomy!!! What the hell is that? Well, it’s about classifying businesses based on their contribution to climate change – and we know who’s getting the blame. Among other things it is about ‘helping’ businesses get access to capital – does that mean making it harder to get capital if you don’t use a bolus or low methane genetics??
Quit Paris – NZ is the laughing stock of the world, half of which is already pulling out or blatantly disregarding commitments because they can see the cost of ‘net zero’ will cripple their economies. We must quit Paris.
I got confirmation from a Ravensdown scientist and a methane bolus developer that livestock are not causing climate change! Wow. BUT the scientist says we still need the bolus to maintain trade, and the developer says farmers will want it once they see the carbon credit money. Really!
The gene tech bill – has stalled but has it stopped? Discerning markets want the chance to source quality GMO-free food. And I thought the consumer was always right? Apparently not when it doesn’t suit the big biotech boys.
A ministerial advisor recently told me: “If you want change you must keep messaging MPs. They only know what they know (and some don’t know much), and everyone is lobbying them. ” I say don’t leave it to the few to make all the noise!
Inflation – always talked about, never acted on properly. It’s very interesting how different the inflation levels are when comparing metrics since, say, 1970.
Fuel v Wages: down 40% – 1 hour’s wages bought 10 Ltr then, 14 Ltr now.
Fuel v Lamb: up 270% – 1 lamb bought 200 Ltr then, only 53 Ltr now.
Car v Wages: down 55% – a Falcon took 62 weeks’ wages then, 40 weeks now.
Car v Lamb: up 270% – 125 lbs then, 464 lbs now.
Computers v Lamb: since 1984 1 computer = 175 lambs, now just 13 lambs!!!
Inflation is created by too much money, created out of thin air, chasing assets that already exist and add nothing to GDP. The worst-hit goods are those easily substituted (price rises drive consumers elsewhere) and those with labour-intensive or long supply chains which can’t or don’t lower costs (think meat and wool).
The solutions may be complex, but understanding the problem is a good start – and knowing our industries must become more efficient. Think robots for meat processing and collar technology for sheep. A highly recommended author is Professor Richard Werner and his findings on the creation of money.
Quality food producing land sprayed out to be planted in pine trees
Note From James
Hi everyone,
Today feels like a good day to duck out of the weather for a moment and share a quick update from the farm. As many of you on the East Coast will know, the westerlies have been howling for the past couple of weeks – and they’ll probably hang around well into October yet! The flock ewes are well through lambing now, and the recorded ewes are just getting started.
After a good autumn and a relatively kind winter, the stock have come through the year in great order.
Our sale rams were shorn at the start of August. They looked pretty tidy freshly shorn and we are really looking forward to how they might look come sale time.
We’re lucky to have a great team keeping things moving here at Te Whangai. We recently said farewell to Tristin Peeti-Webber, who has been with us for 2½ years and is now off to progress his career. We’re pleased to welcome Lee Bennett into his role, as well as new team members Sam Twigley and Colin Beale.
You might have noticed we’ve started a Facebook page – thanks for all the positive feedback when I’ve been out and about. People often ask me who’s behind the posts – the answer is my wife Helen, so many thanks to her for keeping you all updated! If you haven’t seen it yet and want to have a look, type “Te Whangai Romneys NZ” into the search bar on Facebook.
It’s great to see plenty of confidence in the sector at the moment. I wish you all the best for the season ahead and hope things line up well for you to make the most of these strong schedules while they last.
Here’s a Thought
Look back to learn don’t look back to lament. Look forward and dream of what could be but remember dreams don’t become reality without actions. Let’s not lose control over our future through our inactions.
An opinion in a farming publication recently described being shocked at farmer apathy over the future of NZ’s biggest meat company. Ok, maybe, but what about the apathy, or worse, the complete lack of pushback from the media to the methane mitigation BS?
What is the future for the press as a result of this inaction? I and many others are declining to advertise in media that doesn’t support the truth and open debate about the climate.
Word of Mouth Marketing
We have become increasingly frustrated with media refusing to print the truth about ruminant methane – so why give them our advertising money?
Word-of-mouth marketing of a product that excels in performance and is 100% backed by service and support is the logical alternative.
Referral Discount – How It Works:
For every ram purchased through your referral, you’ll receive 10% off one of your own rams.
If you refer more rams than you buy, all your rams will receive 10% off, and the remaining referrals will each still earn you a further 10% discount.
If you refer fewer rams than you buy, you’ll get 10% off up to the number of rams you referred, and pay full price for the rest.
As James mentioned, we’ve started a social media presence on Facebook. Following us and sharing news or positive stories will help a lot.
All the best,
Hamish and Wynne, and all the Te Whangai team.