Spring 2019 NZHCS Newsletter

New Zealand Highland Cattle Society AGM and REGISTERING OUR CATTLE www.highlandcattle.org.nz Spring 2019 Newsletter

Council Corner by Doug Sheldon (President) It is with great pleasure that we welcome back to Council Judy Smyth, a passionate Highland breeder with a drive to see this wonderful breed thrive in New Zealand as a beef breed with excellent genetics, and a commercially viable option. Apart from Judy’s election, Council remains the same with Rosalie Hutton remaining as vice-President, and Councillors being Martin McLeod, Alison Wilson, Cheryl Evans, Jim McMurray and Ginni Alexander. Doug Maclean continues as our Treasurer and Cynthia Christie as Registrar, two posts of crucial importance to the Society, and they both fulfil their roles to a very high standard. Claire Yeoman is our Secretary, and I rely heavily upon her in my continuing role of President. It is very satisfying to know we have such a capable Council.

The 2019 AGM and Silver Anniversary Reunion held in Waimauku, Auckland, proved to be very enjoyable, and it was great to welcome two new members to our Society. The actual business component of the AGM went smoothly. Shirley Blanchard challenged all present, to ensure all heifers are registered as a safeguard for bloodlines in the future. An article in this newsletter written by Shirley spells it out in greater detail.

It was a pleasure to once again have the piping of the haggis, and Rosalie bravely downed a rather large “dram” when toasting the haggis! We had an after-dinner speaker, Courtney Davies, an inspirational young lady who has a Master’s degree in microbiology, and combines her work with being New Zealand’s rural ambassador, being a cattle judge, and enthusiastic (non-Highland) breeder.

Courtney shared with us her views on M.Bovis, which we found extremely interesting.

Visits were made to the Matua Vineyard next door to Vineyard Cottages after the AGM, and the following day there were two field trips, and lunch at Hallertau Brewery and Biergarten.

Council has confirmed that our next AGM will be held in Tauranga on 23-24 May 2020, and we would dearly like to see more breeders from the South Island attend.

The AGM reports are well worth re-reading for their content, however in this issue, we are highlighting one specific item, and that is the registering of our cattle. Closely aligned to this is ensuring Herd Returns are made by 31 May each year. These are not difficult to do, and help is always available if needed.

Cynthia Christie, our Registrar, outlined some of issues around registration in her AGM report, including the graph on the left. It gives a clear illustration of the downward trends in registering our wonderful Highland cattle, and combined with Shirley’s article shows the result of not registering our cattle. Retaining registered cattle and a variety of bloodlines is essential to the future of this heritage breed in New Zealand.

www.highlandcattle.org.nz

Looking forward – and not taking a backwards step

By Shirley Blanchard, Founding Member and Life Member

This year the New Zealand Highland Cattle Society celebrated its 25th year in existence, something to be really proud of. As a Founding member I marvel at how far we have come in relation to the type of Highland animals that we now have to look at out in our paddocks and breed from, compared to what we had 25 years ago. Back then the majority of females were a cross-bred animal with other beef and dairy breeds in the mix, there were very few bulls available, and only a handful of full Highland blood animals that had been bred from the 3 females that had been imported live from the UK in 1975 and the 1 female that came from Canada in 1979. Today, after years of effort, the Highland cattle in NZ would stand up well beside those of other Highland cattle breeding countries.

So, well done. Breeders have worked hard to achieve the first objective in the NZHCS Constitution, “To develop, improve and maintain the purity and quality of Highland Cattle in NZ”.

But what about the other objective in the Constitution, “To collect, verify, preserve and publish the pedigrees of Highland Cattle in NZ”. When the Registrar’s report came out for the AGM, I was gob -smacked to see that there were only 20 females and 7 bulls registered in 2019.

In 2011 there were 350 females, and in 2016 there was a drop to 110. So, what has happened to make our members think that registering their cattle is no longer important? It can’t be the cost of registering as the fees are lower than ever. Then I realised that many of our new and current breeders are probably not aware of why the society started in the first place and why, and how, we have such a vital role in preserving the Highland breed, the animals that we all love.

Embryos Transplants from Australia

Back in the 1970’s, registered Highland cattle in the UK had reached really low levels. European breeds such as Charolais and Simmentals could produce beef much quicker than Highlands and to stay competitive it became common for a Hereford or Shorthorn bull to be mated over the Highland females. Therefore the farmers stopped registering their Highlands. In later years this has also happened in Canada and the USA. As a consequence numbers of registered animals dropped.

Then in the 1980’s, diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Mad Cow disease swept through the UK. Although Highland cattle were not largely affected by these diseases, by this time the numbers had dwindled so much that they were now on the Rare Breed List. The Highland Society UK opened up an Appendix system to their Herd Book so that animals with a proven Highland background could be registered in an effort to increase the numbers again.

Mathilda of Braco

In the early 1990’s, some Highland breeders, including Ian and I, belonged to the Conservation of Rare Breeds Society NZ who were quite concerned with what was happening on the other side of the world in regards to some of the rare breeds and their possible demise. Consequently they encouraged the formation of a NZ Highland Cattle Society to try and preserve the Highlands that we had in NZ, and develop the

breed, in a country on the other side of the world with a large sea boundary and a strong border control.

So this is how, and why, the NZ Highland Cattle Society was formed in 1993 and the Herd Book started in 1994. Popularity of the Highland breed, especially for small holdings, saw the numbers of animals in NZ increase rapidly. But this, in main, had to be done through cross-breeding which came with its own obstacles. By this time it was impossible to get new semen from the UK because of the disease risk so we had to look further afield to Canada, the USA and Australia for new genetics. It is also a long waiting game to get a Highland from a first-cross to a Purebred grade, 10 – 15 years, and looking back there were many animals that hardly resembled the shaggy beasts that we had in our minds. We were so proud when we could show a Registration Certificate showing 4 generations of registered animals.

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Looking forward – and not taking a backwards step

(Continued)

Some breeders also spent a lot of time and effort to import full Highland genetics in the form of embryos and semen. Today, because of this hard work and dedication of early members, most animals you have standing in your paddocks look like real Highlands and have full registered pedigrees.

But, let’s get back to the role you have in preserving the Highland breed. There are many reasons for registering your animals, some useful and some just interesting.

Preservation. In the case of a major outbreak of disease in another country, NZ has the ability to contribute to re-establishing the Highland breed by providing genetics. NZ could have one of the widest genetic pool bases because we have imported genetics from the UK, Europe, Canada, America and Australia. We have a robust registration system and our Herd Book is recognised by other overseas Highland Societies. Purebred animals in this case would not be recognised, as would similar animals in Australia and any animal in the UK showing an Appendix registration in its background.

McDougals Maggie of Huntroyd

For this reason NZ has opted to keep the Purebred and Fullblood categories separate in the Herd Book. It has nothing to do with how an animal looks or whether one is better than the other. It just means that they can be identified as being pure genetics if suddenly required.

Interest. Think of what we do as humans. Each birth is registered including date of birth and parents details. This enables future generations to go back and research their genealogy and family trees. The same goes with registering the details of your Highlands. Ian and I bought Liz of Norgrove, the female that was imported into NZ from Canada. On a trip to Canada we were presented with a 10-generation pedigree for her which showed colours of animals in the background and which country they had come from. We had a further 5 generations of breeding from this family in NZ, so we could produce details for 15 generations down this female family line. We thought this was fascinating.

Money. If you can produce a Registration Certificate showing the pedigree of the animal that you are selling then it must be worth more than just a pretty cow or calf called Dolly. Breeders of dogs, horse, etc. charge a mint for this added bonus, so why shouldn’t you.

That ‘piece of paper’ has got to be worth $500 extra if you know how to sell it. Get to know the pedigree, identify interesting features in it, different colours, imported animals, show winners, etc, and point this out to prospective purchasers. Get them interested.

So, now let’s play a numbers game. Highlands don’t live forever. So, in 10-18 years time there won’t be a single animal that we have now, still living. Last year there were only 20 females registered – 10 Fullblood and 10 Purebred.

Braco Chardonnay and Braco Shiraz

As I have already pointed out, it is only Fullbloods that could play a vital role in our global genetic base. So let’s look at those 10 Fullblood females. It is possible that only half will be retained by a breeder that is continuing with registering their animals, the other half will be sold to an inactive breeder. It is possible, if we continue with the trend of not registering our calves that there will be as little as 5 animals a year that are going into this important genetic base. This base will likely be very small as it will be reliant on a few breeders who would need to have a diverse range of pedigrees in their fold to be worthwhile.

As soon as a breeder stops registering a calf, it is not just that calf that disappears out of the Herd Book, it is the whole family line. Over a range of 10-15 years its dam and grand-dam will die and that family will come to an end.

So I implore you to take up this challenge of restoring our genetic base before it is depleted. If you have any unregistered animals, especially of full Highland blood out in your paddock then, regardless of age, get them registered in the Herd Book. Once they are dead it is too late. That line can never be revived. Be a proactive member of the NZHCS and help to achieve its Objectives in preserving this wonderful breed. But more than that, love your animals and believe in what you are doing. It will reward you.

www.highlandcattle.org.nz

ORDER YOUR 2020 NZHCS CALENDAR Doug—021 938641 : jenny@eadon.co.nz

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Committee Member Biopic Vice President, Rosalie Hutton

The 2020 calendars are now available for sale, and they make a great gift for Christmas.

I was 65 when I got my first Highland calf, Shania. I took her to two shows and got hooked on it and bought some yearlings.

I showed for nine years at four to six shows a year.

I’ve had lots of fun and pleasure with my Fold.

I’m now down to three breeding cows due to my age. I started off as a teacher, progressing to dairy farmer, Kiwifruit, Salmon farm, and am now retired at Milton.

The price remains at $20 per calendar and postage for one or two calendars is $3.00 - $5.00 for 3 to 6 calendars.

We had a fantastic response with photos this year and our selection team had quite a challenge deciding which to use. Unfortunately some photos couldn’t be used, even putting four photos on the inside page, but please keep sending them all in.

Don’t forget—we can’t use photos which include people, or of cattle standing in water. Please remember that we only use photos in landscape mode and they need to be at least 2MB in size. No more than 10 photos per breeder.

Photo (below ) Selina—2011 Oamaru Show, where she has two firsts and Reserve Junior Champion.

YEAR LETTER

G 2019-20

Secretary—secretary@highlandcattle.org.nz

Treasurer—treasurer@highlandcattle.org.nz Registrar—registrar@highlandcattle.org.nz President—thepresident@highlandcattle.org.nz www.highlandcattle.org.nz