NZ Sheepbreeders Association is organising the 2009 Competition and full details of the competition can be obtained from their website www.nzsheep.co.nz or they can be contacted on 03 358-9412 or email nzsheep@clear.net.nz

 

The objective of the New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition is to select the flock replacements that are likely to be most productive and profitable over their lifetime.  

1 July 2005

ROMNEY FLOCK TAKES NATIONAL TITLE

Adrian and Kim Arnold's Romney flock has taken top honours in the 2005 Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition.

Announced at the Royal Agricultural Society's annual conference in Christchurch last night, the Arnolds were presented with the top prize of a $10,000 worth of travel, courtesy of Rabobank and the Royal Agricultural Society's prestigious gold medal.

The Arnold's farm in Napier is a sheep and beef operation of approximately 425 hectares hilly to steep country. Sheep stock numbers total 2,664, with ewes numbering 2207.

One of the key breeding objectives is to consistently lamb in the high 150 percentile without compromising the quality of the Romney wool as the Arnold's are running a dual-purpose breed. Their selection criterion for ewe hoggets and rams is equally high. Preference is given to those rams that are twins, have high index, strong postures, sound feet and a strong focus is also placed on their weaning weight. These key considerations have paid off for the Arnolds as lambing percentages for the 2004/05 season sit at 154.

The Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition is run under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society and selects the flock replacements that are likely to be the most productive and profitable over their lifetime. Entrants have to submit at least 80 percent of their flock and the competition judges award points for flock performance, breeding and selection objectives, trueness to breed type, size and condition of the flock and wool quality and consistency.

Adrian & Kim Arnold were awarded an overall score of 90.666 and were the clear winners by over two points. "While some of the other contestants outscored the Arnolds in different areas, Adrian and Kim scored consistently throughout all the categories making them the overall winners", said Mr George Fletcher, National Convenor of the competition.

Mr Fetcher also commented, "Adrian and Kim Arnold were first time entrants in this competition so this was a tremendous achievement for them. They presented a line of top quality Romney ewe hoggets and the judges were very impressed with their overall performance and ewe efficiency."

"While the competition is all about rewarding excellence, it also provides farmers with the opportunity to receive feedback from the judges which can then be used to improve their flock performance. It also offers the opportunity to compare themselves with their peers, which in itself, is useful feedback. However, without the support of the sponsors this competition would not be possible. Our thanks go to main sponsor Rabobank who provides a major travel prize, and ivomec and Ravensdown Fertiliser who provide the breed winners with a $1000 travel voucher and $500 prize voucher respectively. The competition is also supported by Alliance Group and Country-Wide," Mr Fletcher said.

Winners of the other breed categories were:

	Crossbred	Stephen Harrison & Judi Weedon, Balclutha
	Composite	Chris & Laura Hunter, Balclutha
	Perendale	Duncan Mackenzie, Lake Tekapo
	Fine Wools	John Templeton, Queenstown
	Coopworth	Richard & Fiona Maw, Rakaia

Judges' points were awarded as follows:

Finalists	Flock Performance 50	Wool Quality 20	Breeding Objectives 10	Genotype & Flock Evenness 20	Total 100
ROMNEY
Adrian & Kim Arnold, Napier	47	17.166	8.5	18	90.666
Gary & Liz Basher, Howard Valley	45	16.833	8.5	17.666	87.999
A.W Lawson, Waituna	46.666	13	8	15.166	82.832
John Maw, Rakaia	43.666	13.666	6.666	14.333	78.331
CROSSBRED
Stephen Harrison & Judi Weedon, Balclutha	48.333	14.5	8.666	16.833	88.332
Warwick & Sue Bell, Rakaia	47.333	14.333	8.166	17.5	87.332
Guy Raleigh, Pongaroa	43	13	8.166	14.5	78.666
M & V Earwaker, Nelson	43.333	13	7	13.333	76.666
COMPOSITE
Chris & Laura Hunter, Balclutha	47	14	8.333	17.5	86.833
John Cooper, Hunterville	45.333	13.666	6.666	15	80.665
Tim Stokes, Rangiora	43	13	7.5	14.333	77.833
PERENDALE
Duncan Mackenzie, Lake Tekapo	44.666	16.333	8.166	17.50	86.665
G, J & K White, Outram	445	15.333	7.5	15.50	82.333
FINE WOOLS
John Templeton, Queenstown	43.166	18	7.833	16	84.999
Owen Scott, Timaru	42.833	17	7.5	16.666	83.999
COOPWORTH
Richard & Fiona Maw, Rakaia	47.333	13.333	7.666	16.666	84.998
Whitford Farms Ltd, Tuakau	48	13.666	7.666	15.333	84.665
Kevin McCallum, Lochiel	46	16.166	7.833	16.5	83.499

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25 June 2004

TOP CROSSBRED FLOCK WINS NATIONAL TITLE

Cameron and Michelle Clark's crossbred (Romdale) ewe hogget flock has won the top prize in the 2004 Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition, earning the Clarks a $10,000 travel prize and the Royal Agricultural Society's prestigious Gold Medal.

The couple, who farm at Owaka, on Otago's east coast, won the crossbred section of the competition against very strong competition and were announced as the overall national winners at the Royal Agricultural Society's annual conference yesterday.

The Clarks farm comprises over 3,850 sheep on 320 hectares of flat to rolling country. Their key focus for breeding and flock selection is fertility, and they have a preference for the Romdale (Romney/Perendale cross) due to their 'easy care' characteristics. The high fertility philosophy has paid off as the Clarks achieve 153 percent lambing rates.

The Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition is run under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society and selects the flock replacements that are likely to be the most productive and profitable over their lifetime. The competition judges award points for flock performance, wool quality, breeding and selection objectives, as well as size and condition of the flock and trueness to breed type.

The Clarks went through three levels of competition – local, regional and national. They scored 89.67 points out of 100, the highest overall in the competition, and only .17 of a point ahead of Ross Minehan of Fairlie, who was a close second in the competition with his Crossbred ewe hoggets.

"The Clarks presented a top line of quality ewe hoggets. The judges were impressed with the performance of the flock given the farming type and conditions," said Mr George Fletcher, National Convenor of the competition.

"The competition was very close, with other crossbred entrants such as Ross Minehan of Fairlie giving the Clarks a run for their money. Both farmers are first time entrants in the competition so this was a tremendous effort. It was also very pleasing to see that flocks in all categories are achieving high performances as this is what makes the difference to the farmer's bottom line," Mr Fletcher said.

Mr Fletcher also advised that the competition judges had been impressed with changes some of the repeat finalists had made from previous year's competition – especially in the area of ram selection. In a number of cases, having received feedback from the judges in previous years, finalists had taken a different approach to their ram selection and the results of this were starting to show through.

"While the competition is about rewarding excellence, it also provides the opportunity for farmers to receive feedback from the judges that can help them improve their flock performance. In addition to giving them the chance to benchmark their operation against other high performing farmers at local, regional and national level, the competition also provides useful feedback. However, we can only do this because of the sponsorship we receive for the competition. In addition to the major prize provided by Rabobank, each of the breed winners received a $1,000 travel voucher from ivomec and $500 from Ravensdown Fertiliser. The competition is also supported by Alliance Group and Country-Wide," Mr Fletcher said.

Winners of the other breed categories were:

Composite	John & Sally Andrews, Waipiata, Ranfurly
Coopworth	Alan & Janet Tong, Gore
Corriedale	Owen Scott, Southburn, Timaru
Perendale	Philip & Christine Mitchell, Owaka
Romney	Philip & Jeanine Champion, Pahiatua

Judges' points were awarded as follows:

Finalist	Flock Perform. 35	Wool Quality 20	Breeding Objectives 15	Genotype 15	Flock Evenness 15	Total 100
COMPOSITE
John & Sally Andrews, Ranfurly	33	16.333	13.333	13.166	12.166	88.00
John Holmes, Rakaia	32.166	15.666	12.333	13.50	13.666	87.34
Louis Kjestrup, Masterton	29.666	12	12	11.50	10.333	75.50
COOPWORTH
Alan & Janet Tong, Gore	31.833	14	12.833	12.833	13.166	84.66
Richard Maw, Rakaia	31.666	12.666	12.666	12.166	12.50	81.68
Jody Hume, Gisborne	32.333	12.333	12	12.333	11.166	80.16
CORRIEDALE
Owen Scott, Timaru	30.666	18	13	12.666	12.50	86.84
CROSSBRED
Cameron & Michelle Clark, Owaka	33.166	15	13.666	14	13.833	89.67
Ross Minehan, Fairlie	32.333	16	13.50	14	13.666	89.50
Rob Faulkner, Gisborne	32.50	14.333	13.166	13.50	12.833	86.33
Len & Cheryl Win, Collingwood	29.666	10.333	11.166	10.333	9.333	70.83
PERENDALE
Philip & Christine Mitchell, Owaka	31	16.333	13.166	12.50	12.833	85.83
ROMNEY
Philip & Jeanine Champion, Pahiatua	32	16.333	13.50	14	12.833	88.66
Gary & Liz Basher, Howard Valley	30.833	14.833	13.333	14.166	14	87.16
John Maw, Rakaia	30.333	15	13.50	14	12.666	85.50
Rob & Jean Johnstone, Outram	30	15.666	12.666	13.50	12.833	84.67

 

11 May 2004

ELITE EWE HOGGET FLOCKS ANNOUNCED

The 'best of the best' ewe hogget flocks in New Zealand were announced today following the judging of the 2004 Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition.

The competition, run under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society, selects the flock replacements that are likely to be the most productive and profitable over their lifetime. The national judges - Mr Murray Behrent, Alliance Group; Mr Andrew Kirk, past winner of the competition from Whakatane and Mr William Mitchell, representing the Royal Agricultural Society – travelled from Gisborne to Owaka visiting 16 flocks last week awarding points for flock performance, trueness to breed type, size and condition of the flock, breeding and selection objectives and wool quality.

The judges advised the competition was very close and the hoggets presented were all of an extremely high and consistent quality. Mr George Fletcher, national competition convenor, commented that despite extremely dry conditions in some parts of the country and very wet conditions in others; this year's local and regional competition had been strong, so it had been no surprise that the national judges had their work cut out for them.

"There were no entries from Manawatu this year due to the February floods, and fewer than normal entries from parts of Central Otago and Hawke's Bay that were affected by very dry conditions earlier in the season. However, it was noted that about one-third of this year's entrants were new to the competition and it is also pleasing to see that the breed winners in the Romney, Perendale, Coopworth and Crossbred sections are all first time finalists this year," Mr Fletcher said.

The 2004 Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget breed winners are:

	Composite	John & Sally Andrews, Ranfurly
	Coopworth	Alan & Janet Tong, Gore
	Corriedale	Owen Scott, Timaru
	Crossbred	Cameron & Michelle Clark, Owaka
	Perendale	Philip & Christine Mitchell, Owaka
	Romney	Philip Champion, Pahiatua

As breed winners, they have already won $1,000 worth of travel voucher from ivomec and $500 from Ravensdown Fertiliser. These will be presented at a special presentation function being on Thursday 24 June at the Royal Agricultural Society's annual conference being held in Wellington. The overall winner will also be announced then and will claim the national prize including the Royal Agricultural Society's prestigious Gold Medal and a $10,000 travel prize sponsored by Rabobank.

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21 November 2003

SHEEP INDUSTRY 'OLYMPICS' ATTRACTS FRESH LOOK

The Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand's ewe hogget competition is set to have a fresh new look along with a new strategic partner, Rabobank.

The competition, re-named the Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition searches the country for the flock replacements that are likely to be most productive and profitable over their lifetime.

With a new and very enthusiastic key sponsor in place, the Royal Agricultural Society is keen to take the competition to new levels and to attract more farmers to the competition that is already known as the 'Olympics' of the sheep industry.

Speaking about the new sponsorship, National Competition Convenor, Mr George Fletcher, said that the new agreement was "refreshing" and had added a new and more dynamic dimension to the competition.

"The Royal Agricultural Society is delighted to be able to work with Rabobank on this project. Along with the competition's long standing supporting sponsors – Alliance Group, Country-Wide, Merial and Ravensdown, we are working together to ensure this event remains as the pinnacle competition of the sheep industry each year," Mr Fletcher said.

"The Rabobank New Zealand Ewe Hogget Competition offers farmers the chance to earn more from their hoggets just by entering the competition. Not only are they in line for the top travel prize of $10,000, but the knowledge they can gain from the judges and from other competitors can help them achieve additional dollars in their farming business at the end of the day," he said.

"Local, followed by regional competitions attract on average of 400 entries each year. These culminate in a national competition that pits the best against the best across seven breed categories throughout New Zealand to select the overall 'gold medal' winning flock. With the support of Rabobank, we expect entry levels to grow to even higher levels."

Speaking about the sponsorship, Mr Michael Hales, Marketing Manager, Rabobank, said that the competition had huge synergies with Rabobank's operating philosophies.

"Rabobank specialises in dealing with customers involved at all points along the food and agribusiness chain. We recognise that our client's success is vital to our own and being involved in a high profile competition like this is our way of further demonstrating our commitment to agriculture in New Zealand," he said.

"We provide customised banking and finance solutions to our customers and working with the Royal Agricultural Society and the other sponsors has allowed us to establish a custom-made sponsorship package that will inject some new life into an already very successful competition and take it to the next level. We recognise excellence in land based business and rewarding those sheep farmers who can demonstrate top performance through their breeding objectives and ewe hogget flock performance through this competition is very exciting."

"Competitions such as this provide opportunities for farmers to benchmark their operation against similar ones throughout the country and to see if there are areas that they can improve on to achieve even higher performances," Mr Hales said.

Entry forms for the competition will be in the January and February editions of Country-Wide and entries close mid March.

For further information contact:
   South Island - George Fletcher, Telephone/Fax: (03) 204 2052
   North Island - David Sherriff, Telephone: (06) 8627024 Fax: (06) 8627154
   or Chris Mason, Executive Officer at the Royal Agricultural Society phone (03) 313 1004.

11 June 2003

COOPWORTH FLOCK WINS NATIONAL TITLE

John and Gail MacGillivray's Coopworth ewe hogget flock has won the top prize at this year's National Bank Ewe Hogget Competition, earning their owners an $10,000 travel prize and the Royal Agricultural Society's prestigious Gold Medal.

The Winton couple had taken away the top honours in the Coopworth section, and were announced as the overall national winner at a function in Methven yesterday.

The National Bank Ewe Hogget Competition is run under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society and selects the flock replacements that are likely to be the most productive and profitable over their lifetime. This year there were over 300 entries in the competition, reducing to 18 finalists from Wairoa to Winton, for the national judging.

The MacGillivray's farm over 3,500 sheep on their 250 hectare property at Boggyburn, near Winton. Southland. Their focus is on sheep breeding and finishing and they aim to breed high performing, dual-purpose sheep. They pay special attention to fertility, growth rates, wool quality, mothering ability - including teat shape and placement – width in loin and hindquarters and the temperament of the sheep. Their focus on these breeding selection criteria obviously paid off with the competition judges who awarded points for flock performance, wool quality, breeding and selection objectives, as well as size and condition of the flock and trueness to breed type.

The MacGillivrays scored 92.63 points out of 100, with flock performance the strongest overall area. Lambing percentages on the property average 152 percent, with growth rates of over 400 grams per day.

"The MacGillivray's presented a top quality ewe hogget flock that had very high performance and as such they are very deserving winners," said Mr George Fletcher, National Convenor of the competition.

"The judges were impressed with the MacGillivray's selection and breeding objectives and how these had been translated into the flock and its performance."

Mr Fletcher also advised that the competition had been very close with the winners of the other breed categories in close pursuit for the winning spot. There was less than one point separating the next closest finalist.

"The competition is about rewarding excellence and the finalists this year provided some very good examples of top sheep farming practises producing top quality results. As a competition, we are lucky that we can seek and reward these farmers for the performances they achieve. However, we can only do this because of the sponsorship we receive for the competition. In addition to the major prize provided by The National Bank, each of the breed winners received a $1,000 travel voucher from ivomec and $500 from Ravensdown Fertiliser. The competition is also supported by Alliance Group and Country-Wide."

Winners of the other breed categories were:

Composite    John & Sally Andrews, Waipiata, Ranfurly

Corriedale     Owen Scott, Southburn, Timaru

Crossbred     Warwick & Sue Bell, Bicton, Rakaia

Merino          Maniototo Homestead, Ranfurly

Perendale     Duncan Mackenzie, Braemar Station, Tekapo

Romney       Gary & Liz Basher, Howard Valley, Nelson

Judges' points were awarded as follows:

Finalists	Flock Performance 35	Wool Quality 20	Breeding Objectives 15	Genotype 15	Flock Evenness 15	Total 100
COMPOSITE
John & Sally Andrews, Ranfurly	32.66	15.66	13.85	13.5	13.33	89
John and Linda McGurk, Wairoa	33.8	12.6	14	13	11.33	84.73
John Holmes, Rakaia	32.85	12.66	14.33	13.2	11.66	84.70
COOPWORTH
John & Gail MacGillivray, Winton	34	15.33	14.2	14.5	14.33	92.63
Jeff & Chris Tantrum, Taihape	31.2	16	12.5	13	13.5	86.20
Richard & Eric Maw, Methven	30.33	15	12.2	13.66	13.66	82.85
CORRIEDALE
Owen Scott, Timaru	31	18.5	13	14.33	14.85	91.68
Greg Harris, Blenheim	30.33	15.85	13.5	13.2	12.66	85.54
CROSSBRED
Warwick & Sue Bell, Rakaia	33	15.33	14.2	14.5	14.66	91.69
Malcolm & Caroline Rau, Gisborne	29	14.33	12	12	12	79.33
GL & ML Scott, Gore	29.85	12.33	12.33	12.5	12	79.01
MERINO
Maniototo Homestead, Ranfurly	29.33	18	12.33	13.33	13.85	86.84
PERENDALE
Duncan Mackenzie, Lake Tekapo	31	16	13.85	13.66	13.85	88.36
Golden Valley Partnership, Waipahi	31	15.66	13.66	13	13	86.32
ROMNEY
Gary & Liz Basher, Nelson	31	15.33	12.66	13.33	13.85	86.17
Geoff Blakely, Ranfurly	30.66	15	12.33	13.66	13.5	85.15
Paul & Sophie Sherwood, Hastings	30.5	14.5	13.2	12.2	12	82.40
Norman & Margaret Carr, Ashburton	29.66	12.85	11.66	12.5	12.66	79.33