25th Anniversary 2019 NZHCS Newsletter

New Zealand Highland Cattle Society Newsletter

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS www.highlandcattle.org.nz

President’s Report

Silver Jubilee Edition 2019

It is with great pleasure that the New Zealand Highland Cattle Society celebrates its Silver Jubilee. The Society was incorporated in October 1993 and has gone through many changes and stages in the 25 years of its existence. It began with a dedicated few and mostly bred-up Highland Cattle. Thanks to the hard work of the early breeders, Full-Blood cattle were bred through embryo transplants and straws from the UK, US, Canada and Australia. Today the quality and adherence to the International Breed Standard of this wonderful Heritage Breed of cattle being registered in the NZHCS herdbook has continued to improve to a very high standard.

The standard of the cattle has improved tremendously especially with the feet: poor feet used to be synonymous with “Highland” in New Zealand. Today’s breeders owe a huge debt of gratitude to the early breeders, and our own base cattle in 2005-7 came from some of the original and early breeders. We have had tremendous support from so many in the Society, and while we are all in competition with each other in the Show ring and in selling our cattle, we never appear to be in competition when it comes to being helpful with advice or in practical help. This is an aspect which again goes back to the early modelling in our Society as to how members behave.

While we have highlighted only two of the inaugural members, we have not forgotten the many other early breeders who have contributed in so many ways, in showing and judging, in their choice of quality cattle and registration of them, in serving on Council and/or assessing bulls, and helping other members where they can.

We have a Highland Register that is accepted world-wide, and we should be very proud of this. Over the past several years all cattle have been required to have DNA samples submitted with the registration, and every bull registered is DNA sire certified.

As we head into the future with excellent communication thanks to the internet with information freely available, with a diligent Registrar, Secretary and Financial oversight, we can be confident that the nuts and bolts of our Society are in good hands. It is now over the us, the members, to continue the tradition that has been set by those who have gone before, to breed for conformation, temperament and quality, and to promote and sell our Highland Cattle with pride.

Doug Sheldon Two of our legendary inaugural Highland Cattle Society breeders, both haling from Taranaki. Do you know which one is still breeding Highland cattle? The two stories are on the next pages.

YEAR LETTER

G 2019-20

Simons and Blanchards together 2018

Changing 1 June 2019 to “G” www.highlandcattle.org.nz

Check the NZHCS Website for information and contact details for Registrar, Treasurer and Secretary

STONEY OAKS HIGHLAND FOLD by Gail Simons My Passion for Highland cattle began over 36 years ago. My Husband Trevor and I had just purchased a 50 acre block of Land at Matau—East of Inglewood and needed some cattle to keep the grass down. A visit to the Inglewood Sale yards resulted in me purchasing 2 Highland x beasts 1 red and 1 black. They came running into the yards amongst a mob of Angus cattle with their hair flowing in the wind and this prehistoric look about them and for me it was Love at first sight. I had never seen anything like them and didn’t even know the breed existed. I just had to have them but they were sold as a line of cattle along with the Angus so I practically begged the new owner to let me buy them off him and he reluctantly agreed.

I researched into their whereabouts and found they had come from a local Scottish woman Hinny George. She had imported some Highland straws because she missed the cattle from her Home country Scotland and had been dabbling with them over her Dairy herd and was even milking several Highland x cows. She sold me a three quarter Highland heifer at 3 days old for 10.00. I was in 7 th heaven.

Buffy as I named her had my first home bred Highland calf a few years later—a bull I named McGillie. He was my pride and joy and for those who don’t know he went onto become a Live rugby mascot for our Taranaki Rugby team. I bought him a saddle and bridle and rode him around the Rugby field before each game.

Every one just loved him. He also attended A&P shows leading the Grand parade and Christmas parades around Taranaki. McGillie became a true icon for Highland cattle in NZ.

We had been breeding Highlands for quite a few years along with several other people in the Taranaki area and 25 years ago decided to all get together and form a Society and that’s how the NZHCS was formed.

An Inaugural Highland show was organised and everyone had to take their best calf to show. We entered Shanelle of Stoney Oaks and won First place which was very exciting especially as she had come straight off her mum and we only had a couple of days to teach her to lead.

I co-own and manage Stoney Oaks Wildlife Park in Inglewood Taranaki so haven’t been able to attend any other Highland shows as they are always held on the weekends and that’s our busiest time at the Park so impossible to get away. The NZHCS have been a wonderful Support over the years and I am proud to be a member I can’t get away to meetings but have done my bit over the years promoting the Highland breed via McGillie and Hand-rearing Highland calves so the visiting public can get a hands on with Highland animals feeding cuddling and brushing etc and also provided a lot of Cover photos for The Highland magazine and Calendars over the years.

I was surprised to hear that I’m the only Inaugural member still breeding Highland Cattle. I can’t imagine giving them up as they are the love of my life. I still have a small fold which includes 8 cows and heifers plus 1 bull—all colours.

I find it extremely hard not to become emotionally involved with each and every one of them so I concentrate on the Pet market selling to Lifestyle Farmers who want to enjoy the Sheer magic of owning their own Scottish Highland animal.

Valentine and her new heifer Valena (photo Gail Simons)

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018

The Blanchie/Braco Story A visit to a cousin living in Braco, Scotland, and seeing the photogenic Highland cattle in their natural environment, roaming the hills with their long hair blowing in the wind, was the start of a long association with these amazing creatures. Not long after, we had the opportunity of purchasing a first-cross cow and two of her second-cross heifers, and, in 1987 the Braco Fold was established.

At this time the only contact with other owners of Highland cattle in NZ was through the Rare Breeds Conservation Soc. of NZ and so we became members. In the late 80’s Highland cattle had become out-of-fashion in the UK and the numbers had got down to a low level and were now on their Rare list. This, along with the fact that the UK was going through a bad and sad time with Foot and Mouth Disease and Mad Cow Disease, encouraged us and the RBCS to do something about making sure that Highland cattle genetics survived in a disease-free country. Thus, in 1993 the NZHCS was formed and the Herd Book and a registration system was started.

Through advertising and word-of-mouth other breeders of Highland cattle were found and their animals registered.

It turned out that there were only a small handful of full-blooded Highland cattle, the rest had come through a cross -breeding programme using the little Highland semen that had been available. Consequently, most animals had the same Highland sires. By this time we had purchased the small group of fullblood Highlands that had resulted from the original female brought into NZ from Canada and were keen to progress with our breeding programme. So, what could we do about this to improve the quality of animals in NZ, in our Fold, and widen the genetic pool available to other breeders?

One of Ian’s special interests has been pedigrees and we are great travellers so it seemed logical to go overseas and see what we could find. Because of the disease problems in the UK at this time, all of the Highland semen being used in NZ had come from Australia, so this seemed the place to start. On seeing the AI bulls that NZ breeders had been using, in the flesh, and seeing their dams and progeny, we realised that we had to strive to do better if we were going to improve the Highland breed in NZ. Ian has always believed that it is important to look at a bull’s dam. There are no guarantees but this can give an indication of what any female progeny could look like, whether their udders, feet and horn shape are well shaped and sound. After all, we all have a preference, whether it be colour, horn shape, short faces or big hairy dossans, and we wanted a Fold full of animals that we liked.

Over the years we had fun visiting more than 50 Highland Folds in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA, attending two International Highland Gatherings, all in the aim of researching and seeking new genetics. We met some wonderful people, many of whom are still friends today, and saw many animals that we would have been happy to have standing in our paddock or looking over our fence.

Consequently we were lucky to be able to work with breeders that we respected and felt comfortable with, and personally selected sires and dams which resulted in importing embryos from Canada and Australia. In fact, both parents of the ones from Australia were born from embryos that the breeder had imported from the USA. Amazing what travels around the world in test-tubes! We also found semen in Australia and the UK that gave us more new bloodlines. The different colours of Highland cattle also intrigued us and we made a point of sourcing all of the six colours for our Fold.

We had some great successes but it wasn’t all a bed of roses. There are no guarantees with embryo transfer rates or AI. Occasionally we had 100% success with what we were doing, there were also times when there was a very expensive zero success, and mostly we had to count on anything in between. It is also a long waiting game to see if we got it right. It takes a few years from selection of animals, collections, imports, transplants, to calving and then see the animals grow.

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Check the NZHCS Website for information and contact details for Registrar, Treasurer and Secretary

.......continued from overleaf

But we had a lot of fun going through this exercise. It enabled us to not only improve our Fold but supply good quality bulls and females, with a wide variety of genetics, to other breeders so that they could breed animals that they liked and were proud of. The Highland breed in NZ needs someone to carry on with this research, so if you are innovative and enthusiastic about the breed then give it a go. The rewards are great.

Another thing that we found is that if you want to breed your cows and have gorgeous little calves running around then you have to be able to sell some animals. So promotion of your animals and the breed in general are important.

These days the internet is a great selling tool but we spent many hours getting our animals ready to face the public. It is surprising just how many we could pack onto our trailer. The best way you can judge whether your animals are improving is by putting them up against someone else’s. Over the years we attended lots of shows all over the North Island and we must have done something right as we had more than 150 Championship ribbons hanging on our wall when we retired. At present showing is not an option, but some of our most enjoyable days out with our animals were when we took them to Highland Games, Celtic Games, school events and fundraisers, Mystery Creek Field Days, etc. The public love them and you don’t have to take your best looking animals, just the quietest one that can stand being brushed all day. You just never know where your next buyer might come from.

Over the years we had lots of animals that we were proud of, and many more that we spent lots of time with. Braco Chardonnay was our bomb-proof cow that we could take anywhere. Mathilda was a Purebred cow that won our first Royal Show Championship ribbon, and then two further generations from her were also Royal Show champions. Just goes to show that a good animal is a good animal regardless of their pedigree or grading.

But it has to be Braco Black Sambo that we will remember with fondness. He was the result of one of our imported embryo transfers and had the temperament and structure that we had been trying to achieve. Sambo was a winner of the NZHCS Winter show and three of his progeny also won this prestigious show, all for other breeders. We could count on his progeny, he put his stamp on them all, and we can’t recall any that didn’t come up to standard. Must say though, whilst he was a character he was also a gate bender, an electric fence stretcher, a water trough shifter and most days the lazy fellow could be seen sitting down in the paddock on his bottom.

Highlands gave us an immense amount of pleasure during our 23 years of breeding and has continued on with the many friends we made. We wish the same for you.

Ian—as so many of us have experienced him at Shows since his and Shirley’s retirement.

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Ian Blanchard’s Involvement with Highland cattle and the NZHCS Highland cattle breeder •

Ian became interested in Highland cattle after a visit to Scotland in the early 1980’s.

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He purchased his first Highland cow, a ½ cross, and her two ¾ bred daughters in 1987.

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By the time the society started in 1993 he owned some Highlands that had bred-up to Purebred grades

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In 1996 he purchased his first Fullblood cattle.

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At this same time he gave up his off-farm employment and became a fulltime Highland cattle breeder.

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In 2005 he sold his last 2 Purebred cows which enabled him to have a full Fullblood fold with all cattle having complete pedigrees which traced back to the UK.

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Ian’s real interest was in the genetics. Over the years he travelled overseas and privately selected and imported semen from Australia and the UK, and embryos from Canada and Australia. These new bloodlines were made available to NZ breeders.

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Over the years Ian has visited more than 50 Highland folds in the UK, Canada, USA and Australia, let alone the many throughout NZ.

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After 23 years of breeding Highland cattle the Braco Fold was dispersed in 2010 upon Ian’s retirement.

NZHCS Involvement •

It was through Ian’s involvement on the Executive of the Rare Breeds Conservation Soc. of NZ that the NZHCS was started. They could see a need to record pedigrees of Highland cattle in NZ and encourage breeding of this heritage and diminishing breed.

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Along with Shirley he visited Australia to see if it was feasible to join their society, or alternatively to see how they had formed the AHCS and graded cattle to enter their herdbook. A meeting held in Feb’ 93, attended by most known NZ Highland breeders, was unanimous that we form the NZHCS which was established later that year.

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Ian is a Foundation member of the society, was on the NZHCS Council for 9 years, 2001-2010, Vice-President from 20022005 and President from 2005-2007

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He was the society representative to the Royal Agricultural Soc. from 2003-2009 and attended their conferences.

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Ian was keen to improve the sires being used in NZ and introduced the Bull Assessment scheme as a remit at the 1996 AGM. It was passed and the scheme introduced. Over the years he has been part of the Bull Assessment subcommittees, Assessor training days, North Island assessment organiser, assessed bulls in every province in the North Island and taken part in one South Island tour which covered all areas from Nelson to Southland.

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He has attended and participated in the 1st International Highland conference held in Edinburgh in 1997 and the 2nd conference held in Sheridan, USA in 2006. He and Shirley were speakers at the 4th International Conference in NZ in 2014.

Showing and exhibiting Highlands •

Ian took Highlands to his first show, the Manawatu Royal in 1996, and came home with the Supreme champion ribbon.

Over the 14 years his Braco cattle have amassed over 150 championship ribbons for himself and many more for cattle that he has sold to other breeders.

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Some of his show highlights were:

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- Supreme champions at the Royal shows in 1996, 2000, and 2005 with 3 generations of the same family.

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- Supreme champions at the Royal Easter show 8 times in 11 years.

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- Braco cattle taking out the Supreme Exhibit at the NZHCS Winter show in 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2009.

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Ian has judged at many A & P and Royal shows throughout the North Island, and been proud to be a judge for the 2004 International Virtual show and the 2006 International gathering in the USA.

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He was appointed by the RAS as their Highland Tutor Judge in 2009 and currently holds that position.

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Ian has promoted Highland cattle at every opportunity including taking them out on display to Highland Games, Mystery Creek Field-days, Small Block and Lifestyle Expos and running show preparation field days until retirement in 2010.

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He is noted as being always being ready to help and support new breeders with advice.

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018 A Historic Record of Highland Cattle in New Zealand – by Cynthia Christie

Claremont Highland Cattle (circa 1902). Taken in the Claremont Station Yards.

Photo Courtesy of Mr Robert Rhodes.

As the milestone of the NZ Highland Cattle Society’s 25th anniversary is reached it is worth noting that Highland cattle were actually first introduced into this country in the late 1800’s.

A chance discovery of an oil painting of Highland Cattle in New Zealand in the early 1900’s (W Greene, Aigantighe Gallery Timaru) lead to the discovery of a detailed record of the breed in NZ. In the late 1890’s a South Canterbury landholder, Mr George Rhodes of Claremont Station, near Timaru was looking for a breed of cattle that could be used to improve the hardiness of his Shorthorn cattle. Cattle grazing had not been a great success in Canterbury and Rhodes determined, after reading an article about the success of crossing with Highland Cattle in Texas, that an injection of Highland blood would produce a hardier animal without sacrificing milking quality thus reinvigorating cattle farming in the colony.

He enlisted the help of colleagues to select some Highland cattle for importation to Claremont.

In 1892 four heifers and one bull (all recorded in the UK Highland Herdbook) arrived in Lyttelton, NZ, and after a time in quarantine they were shipped to Claremont Station where they became the foundation of George Rhodes’ Fold. The imported animals were:

Sgiathach IV of Ardtornish - a prize winning heifer at the Highland Show in Stirling in 1891, Bhanag II Bhan Muileach III Calum Mor of Camusericht.

Rhodes imported 3 more bulls between 1898 and 1903 but there is no record of any further female imports.

Highland Cattle (Calum Mor, Sgiathach IV and Ban Muileach III and her daughter Morach) were first exhibited in NZ at the Canterbury A&P Show in 1894.

The Angus breed was not exhibited at that show – how things have changed!

The NZ Highland Cattle Society was the first dedicated Highland Breed Society in NZ but it was not the first formal record of Highland Cattle pedigrees. Rhodes and others recorded their Fold pedigrees in the NZ Herdbook (for breeds other than Shorthorns). A search for copies of those early volumes has proved elusive so there is no means of eliciting pedigree details.

Highland Cattle were of great interest as attested to by the number of in-depth newspaper articles and photographic studies in the decade or so after importation.

Reports of pedigree sales detailed both animals, purchasers and sellers. A number were purchased by Mathew Holmes (Manager of Totara Estate in Oamaru and other NZ Land Company Holdings) and these went on to be sold to Mt Grand Station in Dunedin.

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Highland Cattle bred from Rhodes Fold were distributed around Canterbury, Otago, Southland and into the Manawatu.

Rhodes dispersed his herd in 1911 after the sale of Claremont Station in 1908. From about 1907 the number of articles and records diminishes and by 1919 Highland Cattle classes were removed from the Canterbury A&P Show catalogue.

Ban Mhuileach III – imported from Scotland in 1892, photo taken in 1902.

Courtesy of the Hocken Collections, Uare taoka o Hakena, University of Otago

The last brief record of descendants of the original imported animals is of Highland Cattle from Braemar Station being exhibited at an A&P Show in 1920 – after which no further information has been discovered to date.

It is thought that the breed, being superseded by other British breeds, quietly disappeared as they were crossed to other more productive breeds over time.

Moving forward to more recent times. The interest of Canterbury farmer and businessman John Reid in Highland Cattle is well documented and the animals he imported in the 1970’s went on to breed many of the first pedigree Highland Cattle registered in the NZHCS herd book at the time of the formation of the Society.

Due to the interest shown by our Society, W Greene’s painting has been restored and is now on permanent display at the Aigantighe Gallery in Timaru. If you have a copy of the 2014 herdbook you will find a reproduction of this painting on the cover.

If you are in Timaru please take the time to visit the gallery to see the original it’s well worth it!

Liz of Norgrove In 1979 a fullblood Highland heifer, Liz of Norgrove, was imported from Canada by Stan Schuler, Montrosa Fold, Waihi. By the time that the NZHCS was formed Liz was still alive and her family had increased through the use of semen from the UK. Whilst some records were kept on this breeding they were not complete enough to get all the cattle registered in our new Herd book.

The owner did not want to be involved in sorting out the pedigrees and sold the group of 10 females and 2 bulls, along with the breeding information that he had, to Ian and Shirley Blanchard, Braco Fold. At the time this was a huge risk, but one worth taking as there were so few fullblood Highlands in NZ at the time and they could play an important part in establishing the Highland breed here.

Back in 1993 the way to prove parentage was through blood-typing, done at the Queensland University in Australia. So blood was collected from all animals, including Liz of Norgrove, blood types were available from all the AI bulls, and these, along with the mating records that were available were sent for analysis. The biggest risk was that an animal had died or had been sold that would break the chain of lineage. Fortunately this didn’t happen and all animals had their parentage proven and were then eligible for registration.

Now the more modern technology of DNA has made this job much easier but it does show the importance of keeping accurate records, and the standard and accuracy of the NZHCS Herd book right from the outset.

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018

Society History 1992 to 2008 Extracted from the NZ Highland Cattle Register printed in 2008 to celebrate the registration of the 6000 th pedigree Highland animal.

The magnificent beasts known as Highland cattle have been around in numbers in the highlands and islands of Scotland for centuries. In the late 1980's their popularity and numbers had diminished to a point where they qualified for the 'endangered breed' list.

The NZ Rare Breeds Conservation Society was aware that some of their members had Highland cattle and crossbreds and felt that the pedigrees of these animals should be recorded just in case they were ever needed to assist in the gene pool of this ancient cattle breed.

At this point in time, late in 1992, Bobbie O'Hara (Carterton) and Ian Blanchard (New Plymouth), both Highland breeders, were on the board of NZ Rare Breeds. The Blanchard’s volunteered to visit Australia and approach the Australian Highland Cattle Society to see if it was possible to register cattle with them, or as an alternative, to get information on how they went about setting up their society and grading animals ready for registration.

In February 1993 a meeting was called in New Plymouth and all known Highland breeders were invited to attend to discuss what direction they wished to take. Twelve people attended and several apologies were received. It was a unanimous decision that NZ should form its own Breed Society and the following six people were selected to put together a set of rules: Shirley Blanchard and Joel Aspinall (New Plymouth), Helen MacKenzie (Napier), Stan Schuler (Waihi), Drew Stein (Carterton) and John Reid (Christchurch). By May 1993 the NZHCS Constitution was finalised and sent off around the country to get the 15 signatures required to form an Incorporated Society, and membership and Herd registrations were opened. Word of mouth and advertising in farming publications had increased the membership.

The New Zealand Highland Cattle Society Inc. was registered with the Dept. of Justice in October 1993. The following were signatories: Joel Aspinall, Shirley Aspinall, Gary Faigan, Ian Blanchard, Shirley Blanchard (all New Plymouth), Gail Simons (Inglewood), Andrew McLachlan (Ohaupo), Stan Schuler (Waihi), Jock MacKenzie, Helen MacKenzie, Ken MacKenzie (all Napier), Lauril Stein, Bobbie O'Hara (Carterton), John Reid (Christchurch) and Tim Gow (Otautau).

Now that the structure and the membership had been put in place it was time to get the animals sorted out. It was known that some Highlands were direct descendants of imported Highland cattle and other animals had come from a crossbreeding programme, some with several generations behind them and others with just a few. A system had to be found so that an animal could be given a grade to enable it to enter the Herd Book with appropriate status. It was decided to follow the system utilised by the Australian Highland Cattle Society and give a grade for each generation sired by a registered Highland bull.

Eartagging cattle to get them ready for inspection and grading.

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In November 1993 the first Grading tour took place. Allister Stewart, an Australian breeder and Society Councillor along with Wrightson Stud stock agents David Bosomworth in the North Island and Kevin Ryan in the South Island travelled the country from Whangarei to Invercargill inspecting breeding records and animals. They travelled 3000km in 14 days, visited 30 farms and inspecting approximately 270 animals. Breeders ferried them from one place to another, provided accommodation and meals. Allister paid his own airfare and Kevin took annual leave. It was thanks to everyone involved that the Grading tour was completed at no cost to the NZHCS. There were now 57 Purebred females, 35 ‘A' grades, 37 'B' grades, 102 'C' grades and 20 Purebred bulls waiting to be registered. Further grading inspections took place over the next 2 years.

In April 1994 the Herd Book was open for registrations. The 5000th Highland animal in NZ was registered 14 years later.

The first NZ Highland Cattle Society AGM was held in New Plymouth in October 1994 and Ken Shaw of Stratford was elected as the 1st President.

The 1st International Highland Cattle Gathering was held in Scotland in 1995 and the NZHCS was invited to attend. At that time there were 40 members and 400 Highland cattle registered.

A photo from the first AGM

At the 2nd International Gathering held in the USA in 2006 our Society was contributing speakers and a judge and could boast 440 members and 4400 registered cattle.

The NZHCS was affiliated to the Royal Agricultural Society in 1996 and the first Highland classes were held at the Royal Show held in Palmerston North that year. Mathilda of Braco (NZ 1217) was the first Highland Supreme Champion. At the time of writing Highland cattle are being shown at A & P shows all around the country competing in both Highland and Inter-breed classes. This has assisted greatly in the development and the exposure of the breed.

By 2008 numbers have increased to a point where Highland commercial beef ventures are beginning to be viable. There is an old saying "If you want something to survive then you must keep producing it and find a use for it". How true.

The Yearling Bull ring from the first official show with a Highland Ring—Palmerston North, 1996

This old breed with majestic looks and great beef is well and truly surviving.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————— It is interesting to note the uniform at this first Highland ring. White coats over the day’s choice of clothing was to change to our snappy black trousers and footwear, blue monogrammed shirts and (if desired) black short-sleeved jacket and black monogrammed caps also optional. The man wearing a kilt is wearing a white jumper—maybe as long as it was white, it was acceptable? In the old photos of that show, the array of Highland animals in their stalls was quite impressive. It must have been a wonderful turnout and a real credit to the Society.

Members have been showing our cattle regularly until the M.Bovis issue was raised. Who knows if showing will return to the glory days?

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Check the NZHCS Website for information and contact details for Registrar, Treasurer and Secretary

Left: A snapshot of the Royal Easter Show in Auckland, with the Highland exhibit taking out the best dressed team, consisting of our uniform and the “Tindall� tartan on both cattle and leaders. We always asked for our Highlands to be on the edge of the ring, not the midst of all the other cattle to ensure they remembered their polite manners.

To date, there have been four Highland Cattle International Conferences, and NZHCS representatives have been present at all of them.

The first was in 1995 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the second in 2006 in Sheldon, Montana, USA, and the third in 2010 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The last Gathering was held in 2014 at home in New Zealand, where we travelled through many areas, taking in Rotorua, Wairarapa, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. People joined us from Scotland, England, Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, USA, Australia, and of course many New Zealanders attended. While we only had a relatively small number of international delegates, those that attended thoroughly enjoyed the people, scenery, atmosphere, conferences in Rotorua and Queenstown, the Fold visits and entertainment that was offered.

Piping of the haggis in Queenstown

It is clear that we can proudly stand among Highland Cattle breeders throughout the world in terms of our cattle, enthusiasm and international attendance and our farming.

The personal inspection of cattle during international travel by some of our members to Australia, Canada, USA, and the UK, resulted in the new bloodlines for New Zealand Highland cattle through the importation of both straws and embryo transplants.

We can thank our earlier members for their painstaking work as we benefit from what they did in the past.

The delegation from USA gave a special thank you song on our final evening of the Gathering

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018

The Contribution that members make to the Welfare of the Society "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." This is a business quote that could well be applied to this Society as it reflects on having reached its 25 year milestone birthday.

Ours is a Society of members who collectively hold a shared passion for the Highland breed and like many other Breed Societies it has grown hugely in member numbers and has shrunk in the same manner. All things evolve over time and this Society is no different but as we reflect on the past 25 years we can be extremely proud of having survived in a sustainable manner. There can be little doubt that this is due to the contributions that the members themselves have made and continue to make to the Society and to the Breed’s well being.

From the Society’s inception and incorporation, to the current Council of 2019, a group of members have always Governed the Society responsibly, ensuring ... * that the Constitution of the Society is applied, * that the Breed survives and the Breed Standards are upheld, * that Members needs are met and * that the Society remains financially viable.

Twenty five years on, we can be extremely grateful to the legacy of past and current presidents who guided the Council with wisdom and integrity. In order: Ken Shaw, Lyndsay Tregonning, Ross Fergusson, Colin McDonald, Ian Blanchard, Shane Laker, Judy Bruerton, Cynthia Christie, Stu McGrigor and Doug Sheldon, we thank you so much for your tireless commitment.

And what wonderful Secretaries and Treasurers and Registrars there have been and are. Shirley Blanchard, Jenny McDonald, Noeline Gallagher, Jane Stace, Doug MacLean, Cynthia Christie and Claire Yeoman, without your contributions, there is no doubt that the Society wouldn’t have remained sustainable.

As always, with the passage of time we can look back with the fondest of memories and gratitude to the members, themselves, who, at a provincial level have flown the flag for the breed in show rings, at Agricultural stands and to the public (in a mascot sense), tirelessly representing and promoting the Breed. Shirley and Ian Blanchard, Ross and Betty Fergusson, Netta and Errol Clark, Ginni Alexander, Martin and Catherine McLeod, Leigh Whyte, Judy Bruerton, Cathy and Grant Watts, Brian and Rosalie Hutton, Angus Anderson, Pam and David Leslie, Di and Stu McGrigor, Jenny and Doug Sheldon to name a few.

Thank you so much, your contributions have ensured the Breed numbers and Blood lines are firmly entrenched in the fabric of the Society’s Herd book.

Then there were the Show judges, Willie Christie, Ian Blanchard, Kevin Hill, Errol Clark and Judy Smyth, you have professionally waxed eloquently and lyrically about the attributes of the breed to audiences all over the country, helping to promote and explain the assets of the Breed to public audiences. Bull assessment teams, thank you all, for your time commitments in travelling to ensure our Breed Standards are upheld

Inevitably, over the years, a large number of very early members of the Society have retired from farming activities for various reasons. Those who are still active include Judy Smyth, who was a very early member with a passion for the breed, was on Council and who is a very well respected judge. Ginni Alexander who is currently on Council and has also been a member for many years, and a regular and successful exhibitor of her cattle at A & P Shows as have been Cathy and Grant Watts, Pam and David Leslie, James Brown, Brian and Rosalie Hutton, and Harry Prescott-Ballagh.

And then there were those members who just gave us belly laughs at the AGM’s, whether it was with “The Ode to the Haggis”, Andrew Peters, you remain memorable for impaling the ceiling of the Te Awamutu AGM venue with Haggis which intermittently fell during the evening or that duo of John Reid and David Round from Christchurch who were much loved for being the most engaging of story tellers and the trio of men from the Wairarapa, who just loved the combination of Whisky and Bagpipes until the wee hours.

We don’t have a crystal ball that allows us to see what the next 25 years holds for the Society and the Breed itself but under the current Council’s governance, the society can confidently forge ahead with new initiatives, whilst remaining financially viable. Kia Kaha, forever strong!!

www.highlandcattle.org.nz

Check the NZHCS Website for information and contact details for Registrar, Treasurer and Secretary

A Personal experience of starting a Highland Cattle Fold

by Cheryl Evans

“Evans Farm Highland Cattle Fold”, Oropi Bay of Plenty

What a massive learning curve I am on. And enjoying every minute of it! (Well almost every minute). Three and a half years ago, for the first time in our lives, my husband and I bought a rural property. Fifteen acres of native bush and grazing (in reality fifteen acres of native bush and gorse!), and an old farm house which needed an awful lot of TLC. We knew we were going to need to decide on some kind of ruminant to keep the land under control. My husband was very keen on the idea of beef cattle, but as the one who was going to be responsible for caring for these animals, I knew from day one, nothing was ever going to leave our little rural domain for slaughter. Scanning the Livestock section of Trade Me, I came across a photo of an adorable, woolly calf. That was it. I was hooked!

We initially bought two highlands from Te Mata Hills Fold. The best decision we could have made as I have received outstanding support from Catherine and Martin from the very first day the cows were delivered onto our land. So there I was, three years ago, with a 10 month old steer (Quasi Moo Do) and an 8 month old heifer (Petal) grazing in what we very grandly chose to call our front paddock. In reality, this was an area of land at the front of our house with less gorse than anywhere else and reasonable..... ish fencing. I proudly put up my very first hot wire to keep the cows up where I could keep an eye on them. My daughter, in a pair of skimpy summer shorts, tripped and sat down on said wire. The drama that ensued was a clear indication that the hot wire was in excellent working order.

Day one of ownership and my first evening check found Petal to be on the other side of the hot wire. After much coaxing, I got her back to the right side and engaged in a little fence height adjustment exercise. The following morning found Petal again to be on the wrong side. Thinking solar hot wires were not the way to go, I progressed to battery operated electric fencing. When that failed, I progressed to Mains. To this day, I swear that girl is immune to electricity, no matter the voltage. The biggest lesson I learnt in these first few weeks is that sometimes, even with the electricity turned off, it is a darn sight easier to move the entire electric tape the other side of the cow than it is to get the cow back over or under the tape.

The months progressed and my confidence grew. Spending some time every evening in the ‘paddock’ brushing my new bovine friends became an enjoyable routine. I needed to learn that, whilst obviously requiring appropriate care, these animals are pretty darn hardy!! Catherine had the patience of a saint taking phone calls from me explaining that I had found Petal with a patch of fur missing or that Quasi had lost a front tooth. Now-a-days, whilst I still make a point of at least sighting each of my animals every day, they are not extensively monitored for any minor damage, and they certainly live happy and healthy lives without the intense scrutinization.

The purchase of my third Highland was another exciting day. Annabelle (another 8 month old heifer, and sister to my own Quasi Moo Do) arrived about a year later. By this time I was feeling that I knew what I was doing. Of course I was deluded, but I was happy in my ignorance. Having myself been a registered nurse for many years, I felt confident in my ability to give the cattle their required vaccinations. Time for 5 in 1 vaccines and Martin comes along to demonstrate the technique. I’ve given intra Muscular injections to people in the past who have warned me their “skin is like leather.” Now I know how inaccurate that comparison is. I’ve never had to inject a patient as though I am throwing a dart at them! Furthermore, my patients have always understood why I am sticking a needle in to them. In the most part they have remained still, and rarely have they had bloody great horns sticking out the side of their head! The need to build a raceway with head bale and crush leapt up our renovations priority list! I became the woman who saw more value in owning a head bale than in owning a decent bathroom, kitchen or bedroom.

I asked Catherine and Martin to take Petal to breed with one of their bulls. I received her back and excitedly awaited the arrival of our first calf. July 2017 and Petal’s due date came around. I was out there every available minute checking for the ‘saggy fanny’ Catherine had told me to expect. Loose or swollen vulva would probably have been a term I was more familiar with at the time, but these days I consider myself to be almost fluent in ‘cow speak’.

The day arrived when something was obviously imminent. I followed Petal around the field at a discreet distance, getting more and more het up as she just stood there chewing grass. She became restless and began laying down and getting up again, the water bag was expelled. Everything seemed to be going well.

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018

A hoof appeared. Then the tip of a nose, with a tongue showing every so often. Then the nose disappeared back inside and everything seemed to come to a standstill. I waited as patiently as I could, but eventually succumbed to my nerves and asked my husband to call the vet for advice. There was no vet available at our usual surgery to come out, but they asked if I had tried ‘pulling the calf’. So having spent the morning hidden in the bushes so as not to disturb Petal, I then cautiously approached her rear end and took a firm hold of the protruding hoof. My hands immediately slipped straight off! Nurse training I have, but midwifery, not so much!

Not to be beaten, I donned a pair of work gloves, but after a couple of attempts at pulling in line with obvious contractions, I panicked and asked my husband to call whatever vet he could find who could come out. Limited mobile phone coverage meant he had to return to the house. I carried on trying to pull while I was waiting for his return. Suddenly the calf began to emerge. I was pulling out a little more with each contraction. Half way out, another contraction and I gave an almighty pull.

Next minute I was sitting in the mud with a calf in my lap! Delight was very quickly replaced with the realisation of the position I had put myself in. Here I was, alone in a field, with a very large animal with very large horns and I had her new born baby in my lap. Petal turned around and I was braced for a pretty scary situation. It didn’t happen. Petal just began to lick the calf in my lap. Gently I pushed the calf towards her and shuffled out from underneath. I went back to my hiding place in the hedge and spent the next hour just watching mum and baby getting acquainted. I watched this new little bull calf take his first faltering steps. I watched him feeding, everything seemed great so I returned to the house so excited to share the news of our new arrival. Family consensus deemed we name him Manny. The day following his birth, Manny had well and truly become a much loved and photographed member of the family. He had, of course, made his debut on social media and received as many ‘likes’ as you would expect for such an adorable bundle of fluff.

Day three of Manny’s arrival into the world and I am distraught. I go to check on Petal and Manny. Petal is calmly grazing alongside Quasi Moo Do and Annabelle, but Manny is nowhere to be seen! I walk the entire 15 acres of land. I believe I have searched everywhere, but there is no sign of him. I come to the conclusion that he must have been stolen. Immediately I’m on the phone, sobbing my heart out to Catherine. Calmly she talks me through the situation. Petal is happily grazing. She would not be happily grazing if someone had stolen her calf, or indeed if her calf were in any way ill or harmed. She has most likely hidden him so she can have some much needed time to herself. Apparently she is far cleverer at hide and seek than I am and there is no point in me looking for the calf. Petal will go and retrieve him when she is ready to. Gratefully, I ring off from Catherine, but then totally ignore her advice and spend the next couple of hours looking under every bush on our 15 acres. I did eventually spot Manny, he was safely tucked up in a nest of long grass which almost completely covered him. I just saw the tip of his ear move. I didn’t approach him or let Petal see I had found him, and just as Catherine said, within an hour, Petal came back and retrieved him from his hiding place. Catherine received her second, highly emotional phone call from me, this time with me sobbing with relief! No further dramas with Manny ensued and he began to grow into a gorgeous little boy. My husband had done an amazing job of clearing gorse over the first couple of years. Our grazing land had increased dramatically.

But I learnt that my understanding of ratios of herd size to acres of pasture was sadly lacking. I also needed to understand the importance of rotating the areas of land available to the animals for grazing, and keeping areas shut off to recover. I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way. By the end of Winter 2017, I was short on grazing. I was feeding out hay, but some of our boundary fences were still not as secure as they should have been. The neighbours paddocks, filled with long lush grass, became too much of a temptation and I had a few instances of a very angry neighbour telling me my cows had broken through to graze on her land. We brought in a fencer to repair the whole boundary fence and electrify it. But I had not rotated grazing areas so I chose to return Annabelle to Catherine and Martin to take pressure off the land and give me a chance to organise myself better for the following year. A heart breaking decision, but at least I still get to see Annabelle happily enjoying life at Te Mata Hills Fold. I had also underestimated the amount of hay bales I would need for Winter 2017. As a result, by the end of winter, not only was I struggling to source hay, but when I found it, I was paying extortionate prices. This year I already have a shed packed full of bales.

So this year I hope to demonstrate that I have learned from my mistakes. There of course will be new situations that arise. I am still extremely new to this. But not only do I have 100% support from Catherine and Martin, I am now a council member for the New Zealand Highland Cattle Society, which provides me with a further much valued support network. I hope to grow my own fold. I would love to be attending shows eventually with my own animals.

www.highlandcattle.org.nz

PROTECT YOUR FARM FROM MYCOPLASMA BOVIS

Check the frequent updates on:

https://mpi.govt.nz/

At this moment in time I only have three cows and I don’t even own a trailer! But I have determination. I have grown to love this breed. Whilst respect for size and strength (and very large horns) is essential (I didn’t get round to mentioning the couple of horn shaped bruises I have sported in rather unusual places over the past couple of years, but that’s probably a story for another day), I have been amazed to learn the pleasure these animals give. They each have individual personalities and they respond well to caring treatment. I haven’t had the chance to train or show my own animals, but having attended a number of Highland Cattle Shows, I am so impressed by the beautiful condition and training I have seen instilled in these animals by dedicated owners.

In summary, I love Highland Cattle!

Bringing up baby by Debbie Bassett Clarke Early on Wed, 21st March, I went to feed the chickens and noticed a new calf wandering around playing with older members of the herd. I knew the cow was due to calve but wasn’t sure when.

Then I noticed another calf sitting at the mother’s feet - OMG TWINS!!

TWINS are rare in cattle - if there are a male and female offspring, the female is usually sterile. Thankfully I had two bulls. (About the only time you’re thankful for bulls.)

The first born had a feed (I think) and had wandered off. “Alright you lot,” I said “this is the maternity ward now” and I kicked all the others out, leaving the mother with 2 newborns in the small paddock.

She proceeded to chase the firstborn away. I left them there for the day, although I was told the window of opportunity to get her to accept him was short. I managed to separate him and then she went ballistic. I said ‘ You witch, you know he’s yours but just don’t want to feed him”.

Highland’s don’t often have enough milk to feed two calves so perhaps it was just as well.

Buster spent the first couple of days in the chook pen but then had to move him in to the garage as he was looking a bit unwell and noticed a tiny bit of blood in his poos.

SCOURS Calves often scour when kept in wet or dirty conditions- usually with many other calves where they all infect each other. The veterinary solution for this is antibiotics and anti-inflammatories which I collected from the clinic. Dehydration is what kills them so I got some electrolyte solution and artificial colostrum just to make sure. I was told to alternate milk feeds + colostrum with electrolytes – 2L each time. At first he wouldn’t drink but we perservered and eventually he was boisterous enough to be moved out of the garage to a little pen George built for him (including a shelter from the rain) He stayed there for 14 days, venturing out onto the front lawn occasionally.

At about 3 weeks of age- I got the vet to come and dehorn, rubber ring, tag and vaccinate.

FLY STRIKE Next day or two we noticed maggots in his horn holes - the vet dropped off some fly strike product. Firstly I had to get the maggots out (2 kinds large& small) by spraying liberally with iodine and scooping out with soft sponge - this caused a small artery to start bleeding- it was spraying everywhere - I cauterised it by heating up the back of an old spoon and eventually the bleeding stopped. I popped some old fly strike powder on the horn wells because I wanted to keep the area dry. Normally the babies are with their MUM in the wind and rain and running around but because Buster was in a sheltered spot and sitting still and somewhat compromised, he was an easy target.

JOINT ILL Buster continued to improve and run and frolic a little - he goes under the fence to play with his brother but always looks a bit stiff and peg legged when he first gets up. Joint ill is actually septic arthritis and very common in calves and lambs. The joints can be flushed out with antibiotic but the process is time consuming and expensive. The vet recommended I take his temperature (rectal using an old digital thermometer I didn’t have a use for anymore) and feel his knees.

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SILVER JUBILEE EDITION : 1993—2018 I rang back the next morning to report his temp was normal 37.5 0C (he gave me a range of 37-38.5) and that his knees were hard not spongy. “Well it’s not joint ill then - probably just growth plates as his growth takes off”. We humans get very emotional about animals but I am probably just seen as some funny kind of cow to Buster.

LUMP on Neck While feeding him this week,I noticed a lump on his neck- it is from the vaccine. Some cows develop an allergy to the aluminium salt it is suspended in (and I remembered his mother had the same thing when she was a calf) and it will resolve quite quickly, although I have had to have lumps full of pus lanced before, however that was another condition.

WEANING I am still feeding him 2L twice daily even though all the information states once daily and start to wean at 6 weeks (which he is now). The latest current thinking is to wean not by age or weight but when they are eating 1kg of meal per day as this is what activates the rumen and the good bacteria in their stomachs. I have to feed him his bottle first and then get him to lick the meal, mixed with molasses, off my fingers or stuff handfuls in his mouth, so weaning will not be happening anytime soon! The vet suggested I try the meal first as he’s not hungry after his bottle but its not very successful.

SIDE BAR Thanks to James, Vets North for help and advice

I let Annabel and Wilson (MUM & DAD) and Buster’s brother Brian into another paddock and he ran down the hill and started rubbing his face in a clump of arum lilies. His mother took off thinking he was being beaten up and then skidded to a halt when she realised he was just playing. I think I’ll write a children’s story about over protective mothers!

Tagging of Cattle for Registration A reminder that there is a NZHCS rule which outlines how animals should be identified. This was the amended by a unanimous vote the AGM. Read more in the NZHCS Herdbook rules and regulations.

The requirement is for both a primary and secondary tag. Primary tag is the NAIT tag, with the secondary or management tag containing the NZHCS information. e.g Te Mata Hills (TM) tag as follows;

Primary – NAIT tag containing 15 digit internal number and a printed number. You can order a management tag set from your tag supplier which matches the primary and secondary tags. When you log into NAIT to record the animals the electronic number is also shown in the file and there is space to include other information such as a name. A tag reader may be required if you are moving animals but you can also simply find and select the animal in your NAIT files when doing a movement or change.

217347 NAIT number 19 Year 95 Animal number Secondary/management – NZHCS requirement TM Fold ID letters G Year letter 95 Animal number

If the tagging is not correct the Registrar is unable to complete the registration.

You will contacted with a request to rectify any issues.

Also please ensure you include a DNA Tail Hair sample, in a paper envelope, with all heifer registration requests to the Registrar.

Remember to update the year letter to G from 1 June 2019, and the year will be “19”

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Check the NZHCS Website for information and contact details for Registrar, Treasurer and Secretary

NSW Highland Cattle Show at Junee - June 2018 Martin McLeod and Catherine Atkinson jumped the ditch to attend a Highland Cattle Show and see how the Aussies do it.

Junee is 1½ hours west of Canberra. A small town with a venue that was chosen because of the awesome facilities.

On arrival (Friday night) we made our way to meet some of the competitors – over a barbie and a beer!

Perfect.

We were made most welcome and caught up with many FaceBook “friends”.

Saturday was “prepare the cows” day and check out some of the local attractions which included a visit to the chocolate/liquorice factory and the vintage car museum.

The Australians are big on cattle presentation and EACH competitor had their own hose, with a shampoo attachment AND a cattle hairdryer. Cattle preparation/presentation take up a day.

Saturday night was a causal dinner at the local Chinese Restaurant.

Sunday morning…show time. There were 40 animals (with 9 competitors) Dexter Logan was the judge – from Scotland.

Their cattle name tags and catalogue/schedule looked very professional.

At the show venue were stands that included a beer and wine van, a food van, a photographer exhibits and a merchandise stand.

There was an “official dinner” that night which included prize giving. Special guest, Junee’s mayor.

They (the Australians) have some wonderful animals.

The show was well run and worth going to.

THE AUSTRALIAN WAY….

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