NZHCS Highland News May 2012: issue 69

NZHCS caps $20.00 each (one size)

NZHCS shirts Blue shirts available in various sizes Mens short sleeve $52.00 Mens long sleeve $52.00 and Womens 3/4 sleeve $52.00

Umbrella $22.50 White and blue with Society logo on two panels

Members Kit $15.00 Updated members kits in leather like folder with gold embossing with easy reference tab dividers

If you wish to purchase any of these products contact the secretary on [email protected]

or 07 3323303

If you are a member pay directly to the New Zealand Highland Cattle Society bank account

number 15 3953 0511620 00. Please ensure your name and product ie, shirt, cap etc appears as reference

Polar fleece vest $40.00 Various mens and womens sizes—great for chilly days in the show ring

Sets of 6 Cards $16.00 incl postage 2 different sets of landscape blank cards with Highland Cattle on the front

Shower proof outer, fleece lined long sleeved Jacket Size: xs/s/m/l/xl/xxl Colour: Black/Blue $115.00 including postage

All prices include GST. Postage extra unless indicated.

Glass Paperweight, approx 10cm diameter, with a black felt bottom, comes in a presenta-tion box, $25 plus postage.

North Island NZHCS 2012 Winter Show.

The venue is Clevedon A&P Show grounds, Monument Road, Clevedon. We will be sharing the grounds with the Clevedon Farmers Market.

Date : Sunday 27th May (weekend before the AGM in Tauranga), Judging commences 10.00am

Grazing is available within 10 minutes of the show grounds, or cattle can be housed overnight in the

show grounds, security will be provided.

We will be having a "get together" Saturday the 26th at the Wairoa Hotel Restaurant 7pm –please advise attendance for booking by 14th May.

Accommodation is available at:

- Wairoa Hotel Clevedon (Rates $75 or $95) - Billets available, contact Martin 09 525-5321

- B & B accommodation is also available in Clevedon

See schedule on page 12 –entry form is available from the web site or Ph Martin 09 525-5321

For further information contact Martin 09 525-5321 or Ginni 09 292-8004.

AUCKLAND/HAURAKI PLAINS/COROMANDEL Report by Martin McLeod The October round of bull assessments were completed in early December, many thanks to the breeders for their pa-tience, and to the assessors for the giving of their time. I have had the pleasure of catching up with a few local breeders over summer (summer -yeah right) to assist with Ear Tagging, Castrating, DNA Sampling etc – I enjoy this and am happy to help where I can, please do not hesitate to contact me if you need a hand. The season has been kind to everyone, stock are looking great and many have plenty of feed, if only we could control the weather and hay con-tractors ! Ginni and Catherine continue to wave the Highland Cattle flag, and promote the breed, by attending the Three Kings Highland Games. Discussions with the “Medieval crew” made for an interesting day. Show season is now well under way, with local club mem-bers attending Clevedon (the new show grounds are awe-

WHATS BEEN HAPPENING - AREA REPORTS -

NORTHLAND Report by Doug Sheldon Since our last Council meeting, like most of New Zealand, we have experienced diabolically wet weather conditions which have seen huge grass growth and hay contractors tearing their hair out. Cattle have done particularly well with some lovely calves coming up for weaning. We have had the Whangarei, Clevedon, Warkworth, Pukekohe and Helensville A&P Shows, all with good numbers of High-lands in the ring. Jenny and I had cattle at the Dargaville Field Days and a number of members made themselves known to us. Turn-out out at the field days was excellent in spite of the howl-ing gales. The cattle were much admired and a number of youngsters were photographed sitting on our black weaner heifer. We planted Sorghum again this year and cross drilled with annual Ryegrass – got the first cut in a couple of weeks ago which was about three weeks late due to the weather!!! It has grown to about 200mm in size in 2 weeks so we are looking forward to more cuts. Ahead of us are the Kumeu and Easter A&P shows, the April Open Fold Day and of course, our winter show (date yet to be decided). WAIKATO, BAY OF PLENTY

Report by Judy Smyth What a grass growing summer this region has being experi-encing, due to both consistent early and late summer rain, cooler nights are now here along with a prediction of an early Autumn. Cattle go into the Winter well conditioned. It’s wonderful to meet new members!, and in late November a small core group of old friends were joined by new mem-bers who had made a superb effort to travel from far to join us in celebrating Saint Andrew day and Christmas at a lovely boutique winery in the Athenree Gorge. The common bond of a love of Highlands was enjoyed, as was great food and wine. This gathering was followed by a meeting of the small orga-nizing group of the 2012 NZHCS AGM. Money in this re-gion for sponsorship has been very difficult to obtain so we are focusing on the cattle themselves, around a central theme of … “Building and strengthening a beef future, for the Breed”.

We aim to have fun while keeping costs for attendees as low as possible!!!. An outline of the programme and its associ-ated costs is to be read elsewhere in this Newsletter. Calving time has long passed with progeny on the ground from The Heritage Semen taken from Lord Montagu of Old Greenlaw that Judy Bruerton and Allan Donald worked col-lectively to bring into the country. Netta and Errol Clark have

some), Warkworth, Franklin, and planning for Morrinsville, Kumeu, and Royal Easter. It has been great to see new folds repre-sented and making a huge travel commitment – keep it up Debbie Cruse all the way up from Matata, and congratulations on your suc-cess. Thanks to Ginni Alexander for the hospitality and venue for the clubs Xmas dinner, while the weather was not entirely on our side a good number of members had a great night, I especially enjoyed the 5 Pavlova’s, you gotta love a pot luck dinner. During the last weekend of February Catherine and I (and a number of other North Island breeders) attended the 149th Oamaru A & P incorporating the South Island NZHCS show. There were very good number of folds and range of cattle represented with some traveling large distances to attend. The quality of cattle was excel-lent, and the show was extremely well run. We enjoyed the “southern hospitality” over the weekend, our sincere thanks to all for making us very welcome. I am writing this report on the eve of a “weather bomb”, we have made a call not to attend Morrinsville show for safety reasons, I hope everyone gets through this weather event unscathed, so now we are in Autumn, summer has definitely passed us by this year. Martin (09 2928225 / 027 4456050)

COVER: Supreme Champion of the Oamaru A & P Show/NZHCS South Island Winter Show—Ken & Sonia Devery ‘s Glenburn Sobhrach

CANTERBURY WESTLAND REPORT By Gary Campbell Well it seems that the summer that never was is coming to an end as I see the first of the trees loosing their leaves. It has been a great season for growing grass and the cattle are looking in great condition to go into winter. Niwa’s March-May prediction is for average to below average tem-peratures in the Canterbury area and average temperatures in the West Coast and Marlborough / Nelson areas. All ar-eas are expected to get normal rainfall, so that should mean we have another couple of months of good pasture growth in the area. The St Andrews dinner in November a fun and enjoyable evening with a good attendance and a great meal, it was

TARANAKI REPORT By Garth Gadsby There is fresh snow on our mountain this morning! What happened to summer? In saying that the season has seen continuous growth with good quantities of supplement be-ing made. It is a good feeling to see the hay barn filled and ready for winter. We have been busy in the past few months setting up our new wee piece of land with fences, hay barn and yards. Getting the whole place limed and with the regular rain the grass quality has improved markedly. I do think the few animals we brought with us were missing the rest of the fold and even appeared depressed. They have settled down well now with a lot of combing and fuss from us as well as them sorting out their new pecking or-der. They do like the paddocks around the house, they can keep an eye on us! The Virtual show results are out, over 300 entries this year an awesome number but then it is world wide . Good to see it growing in popularity and also good to see more entries from New Zealand. Visit the website – virtualcattleshow.com for all the results. We are aiming to have a Taranaki get together after our next coun-cil meeting, mainly as a catch up with everyone but also to keep up to date with Society happenings. Theme for the day, getting those calves through the weaning process with a minimum of stress. Speaking of which, had a call from a highland owner at 7am the other day to help retrieve a calf that had left it's mum and pushed his way through two fences to get to the neighbours lawn. Apparently the balling started outside their bedroom about 3am and was still going on when we got there! Cut the boundary fence and he pushed his way back to his mum. A placatory bottle of

LOWER NORTH ISLAND REPORT By Doug Maclean The end of February and the lower North Island is awash with feed but for many farmers there have been too few fine hot days to complete haymaking or the second or third cut of silage. Cattle are looking in excellent conditions and if autumn is kind they will go into winter if fine form. There has been plenty of Highland related activity in the lower north island over summer and more to come with fur-ther club days schedules and the Central Districts Field days and show in mid-March. Show Season It was very pleasing to see Manawatu A&P re establish their cattle section this year under RAS rules and good numbers of exhibitors and cattle across Highland, Hereford, Murray Grey, Shorthorns, Dexters, Lowline Angus breeds taking part. Similarly Horowhenua had a successful show with High-lands very well represented and good overall cattle num-bers. Masterton show again had good highland numbers although overall numbers were down; largely due to the Manawatu Gorge still being closed making travel from the western side of the country difficult. Club Days A very enjoyable Sunday lunch was held at Sharon and Doug Maclean’s Kellean fold. Discussions about when and how to cull animals that no longer fit member breeding pro-grammes and on society matters were had. Carol Shaw’s passing (Stratherrick Fold) was noted with sadness. The next club day is scheduled for Sunday 22 April at Ro-gan and Dynett Colbourne’s Tokoeka Fold at Otaki. Fol-lowing on the 13th May will be a club day at Di and Stu McGrigor’s Kintore fold at Martinborough. Details for both meetings will be emailed/mailed to members and available on the NZHCS web site.

had their first season of calving from this bull. They are thrilled with both the temperament and structural conforma-tion of calves born, so much so that the calves were out and about in the show ring by October. Should you be coming to the AGM you will have a chance to see these calves in per-son. Numbers of Highlands being out and about in this regions summer shows, has been less than previous seasons, often due to bad weather. However, the public certainly has had the chance to see well conditioned, quality cattle at shows where Highlands have been exhibited. Three bulls from our region were assessed in the October round of Bull assessment and much of our region was geo-graphically travelled in doing so. Interestingly, two of the bulls being assessed presented the assessors with scenarios they hadn’t met previously. The first being the trialling of a vet check prior to assessment, along with an independent assessor at assessment. The other being the assessment of a rising 4 year old bull, both of these opportunities gave the assessors a chance to consider how we do what we do and why. Seeing many of you at this year’s AGM and chewing the fat around remits that challenge further, how we do what we do, will help set pathways for the future of the Highland breed, whilst remembering that we are united in our affec-tion for it!!

wine to those neighbours, the calf? Still drinking when we left. Kids eh, gotta love them!!

I have just received the issue 68 Highland News and note that there is a lot of talk of diminishing prices and calves at the moment. I thought that we were one of the very few but it seems widespread and after reading the Presidents Report of the aggressive cow it does seem more widespread than I thought. We were building up our Fold until my husband had a nasty quad bike accident which resulted in us putting breeding on hold, also we had our 6 bull calves of that year steered, dehorned and getting them fattened up for the ‘Harmony Food’ programme. This did not materialise so we had to sell our steers for a not too good price to an agent. I have not bred since because of the market values and the amount of Highlands on Trade Me. I am also a member of the ‘Lifestyle Forum’ which has very lively talk on cattle and time and again have had other members ‘bashing’

Letter to the Editor

our wonderful Highlands, reasons-the horns (which in my opinion are a huge part of them) aggression??? Mine love to be brushed in the paddock, are not halter trained but I respect them at all times and they have never shown aggression to me, should they be allowed in shows with those horns, all these comments made by other breed owners eg Murrays etc but nevertheless a bad look for the Highlands. I would love to have another lot of calves next year, but the price of bulls and the lack of ‘leases’ of full blood bulls in my area make it harder. I am now down to 7 gorgeous girls who I still get a lot of enjoyment from but are sadly now only paddock ornaments (but nice ones!) Kind regards Bev Hawkins (Hawks View Highlands)

FOR SALE

BRACO ULSTER herdbook no: NZ6369

Fullblood bull, born 5 July 2007, colour: black

Ulster is a well grown Bull. He has a really quiet temperament.

Excellent assessment available.

Sire Braco Black Sambo NZ2352 Dam: Sassenach Lass NZ3983

Braco Ulster as a rising 2 year old won Supreme Champion NZHCS North Island

Winter Show

Price $3,500 plus GST

Enquiries please phone Jan Olsen Evenings 07 8724889

great to catch up with everyone and also meet some new mem-bers. It was nice to see many local members and also visitors from the North Island attend the NZHCS South Island Show in Oamaru on 25th Feb. The support of everyone who helped out around the tent and ring was appreciated. It was a great day and everyone will agree I'm sure that the cattle really showed their stuff. Con-gratulations to all the class winners. The show results are re-ported in the magazine. Putting together an event like that does require a lot of behind the scenes effort and the show committee deserves a pat on the back for the hard work put into organising, sourcing sponsors and coordinating with North Otago A&P. The AGM of the Branch is being held at the MSA Rooms in Ashburton on Sunday 25th March. The meeting starts at 12 noon with a lunch. For catering purposes can you please email [email protected] or telephone 03 686 4975 by Sunday 18th March to advise whether you will be attending. The branch is also looking for your ideas and suggestions for activities, field days or social events.

OTAGO-SOUTHLAND REPORT By James Brown After a long and hot dry Summer we have finally been getting some rain and the pastures recovering slowly, but are far too lush and the cattle are now looking for some roughage. I attended the Oamaru A & P Show and there was a good turn out, congratulations to the Devery’s taking the Championship out with their very nice cow. The Otago-Southland group will be meeting up in the next cou-ple of months for a wee get together and a catch up.

4th International Gathering Update New Zealand, November 2014

That’s two and a half years away…..

That’s two and a half years away, but time flies. Have your input – Give us your ideas. This is going to be an awesome event and opportunity to display how New Zealand deals with farming generally and Highland Cattle in particular. We need to put in lots of thought and suggestions are invited from everyone. Please contact: Doug Sheldon 09 4204065 / 021 938641 [email protected]

Or: Jenny McDonald Ph: 07 332 3953 Fx: 07 332 3954 [email protected]

Welcome New Members Beverly Powell Palmerston North Neill & Robyn Rayne Oamaru Edward & Patricia Wynd Fitzroy Wakare Ltd Ashburton Brett & Jenny Martin Te Awamutu Elrica Rho Lyn Ng Auckland McKay Family Trust Waipukurau David & Vicky Pattinson Nelson

57 Trig Rd, RD1, Waihi Phone 07 863 7748

THE NATIONAL ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION AND TRACING (NAIT) BILL HAS PASSED ITS THIRD AND FINAL READING IN PARLIAMENT AND WILL BECOME MANDATORY FOR CATTLE ON 1 JULY, WITH DEER SCHEDULED TO JOIN THE SCHEME BY 1 MARCH 2013. Livestock owners are now being encouraged to register for their NAIT numbers but Federated Farmers says the reality is that thousands of farmers are yet to tool-Up for the scheme, along with transport firms, stock yards and potentially even some processing plants. "NAIT is getting there but there's a heck of a lot of work to be done before and after its launch," says Anders Crofoot, the federation's spokesper-son on animal identification. " We're realistic enough to know there'll be fishhooks involving data entry, tags and even the readers. That's why a phased rollout is best. But it's unhelpful for politicians to speculate about what other livestock could be in NAIT when the scheme hasn't even started. "There's another issue Federated Farmers is uneasy about and that's how NAIT will be applied to around 175,000

NAIT now a reality but what about the lifestylers?

lifestyle blocks. There could be hundreds of thousands of stock 'off the grid' and it seems to be a farming constitu-ency with a low awareness of NAIT." Primary Industries Minister David Carter says NAIT is a significant step in protecting farmers in the international marketplace and strengthening New Zealand's biosecurity system. "With most other agricultural producing nations already having computerised tracing of individual animals, New Zealand simply cannot afford to lag behind. "NAIT is effectively an insurance policy to support our high livestock health status and biosecurity infrastructure, but can be used to further improve productivity and on-farm management." From November last year cattle going to slaughter could carry either the NAIT approved RFID tag or the Animal Health Board (AHB) approved primary (barcode) tag. Cat-tle going to sale or grazing could carry either of the above, plus an AHB secondary tag. From July 2012, the AHB primary bar tag will no longer be required and the industry will need to make sure it has appropriate equipment for reading the RFID tags.

Well summer (if that's what you can call it) is over. In most regions excess rain has made getting the hay and silage crops in difficult. The opposite is true for Southland which has had drought this summer – this may impact on our Southland members as winter feed is likely to be in short supply, with poor swede and kale crops and supplementary feed expensive to buy. If any members wish to touch base regarding managing feed supply a phone call to your local councillor or myself would be welcomed. We may not be able to create grass at the drop of a hat but should be able to point you in the right direction. Regional activities have been taking place around the country and as I write many more autumn based activities are planned. Local groups are always looking for ideas and themes for field days to make them interesting, informative and fun so if you have an idea once again give your local councillor a call. Open Fold Day has in the last couple of years been plagued by poor weather in some regions. Not only spoiling it for the breeder who puts in a big effort but also resulting in low visitor numbers. One can only hope that for once the weather gods will be kind to everyone this time around. Remits have come in on time – thank you. The earlier timing has been worthwhile and has meant councillors have been able to work with proposers to ensure that rule numbering and wording actually clearly defines the proposed changes. I was involved with organising the South Island Highland Show in Oamaru – a very busy day indeed. It was nice to see visitors travelling from the North Island to spend the day and catch up with our local goings on. I hope some South Is-landers take the opportunity to sample North Island hospitality at the forthcoming North Island Show. The local committee put in a lot of preparatory work and as a result we have increased numbers of exhibitors and en-tries. The 150th North Otago A&P show will be celebrated in 2013 so plans are already underway to have a bigger and better event. All in all a big effort – but everyone enjoys doing it! Plans are well underway for the AGM in Tauranga. Please support the local organisers and the Society by attending – its not just a meeting, there are activities planned around Highland Cattle and it is the one time each year that breeders and members nationwide have to meet and spend time with other like minded people - whether it be a debate on High-land matters or just socialising its well worth the effort. I read an interesting article in the local farming paper regarding BVD recently. It was disturbing to read that 65% of beef herds and 15% of dairy herds are harbouring the disease. Sixty percent of all cattle in NZ have been exposed to the virus. There is talk that a national committee will be set up and be tasked with investigating options and even considering if eradication is feasible. The Scottish beef industry has taken on the challenge of eradicating BVD. So a challenge from me to all to NZ Highland breeders - lets be ahead of the game – seek Vet advice on a BVD testing/vaccinating pro-gramme for your fold, put some policies in place regarding the health status of animals coming in to and leaving your property. Wouldn't it be great if we could confidently say to the beef industry that NZ Highland Cattle Society members are being proactive in the fight against this devastating disease. And I can't let the opportunity go to remind members to register with NAIT and familiarise themselves with the require-ments of the system. There are serious concerns regarding getting lifestyle farmers to comply. Most Highland breeders fall in to this category and it would once again be great to promote that NZHCS members have been proactive in adopt-ing the new system. I look forward to seeing many of you in Tauranga. Cynthia Christie President

Presidents Report – April 2012

REGISTRAR’S REPORT Since the last magazine there have been:-

84 Cattle Registrations 70 Transfers 7 Herd registrations

LATE REGISTRATIONS At the November meeting Council agreed to trial an amnesty for late female registrations. Registering fe-males over 12 months old normally costs double the female registration fee. This was done originally to encourage members to register their female animals as soon as possible while the details are still fresh in their minds. The longer it is left the more errors tend to creep in. Despite this being published in the December maga-zine only five breeders took up the offer registering 13 animals. Of these three had not known of the offer until they spoke to me – they had not read their maga-zine! So what about the error rate? Four out of five had errors and the fifth had possibility of errors in that there was a lot of over writing. Council discussed this at the latest meeting in March and agreed that a late registration fee be retained at this stage. SHOW PASSPORTS Some statistics for those who like such things. At time of writing RAS have allocated 457 passport numbers to the three societies involved. The break-down of allocation is:-

NZHCS 79% NHR 10% NZLH 7% Withdrawn 4% - Reasons for withdrawal are var-

ied such as double up of applications, ani-mals died, animals withdrawn because they cannot meet the criteria.

8% of all applications across the three societies are still waiting for approval for a variety of reasons. Enough of the figures, I need to reiterate once again that even if you only have a fleeting thought that you might like to show an animal, get your application in

REGISTRAR’S REPORT

NOW. There is a form on the Society website that can be downloaded (or photocopy the one in this magazine). Please be sure to indicate the earliest show that you are considering and get your application to me AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE the close of entries. As pre-viously explained we need two weeks to turn around an application especially if it also has to be registered. Bulls under 12 months will be given a passport as regis-tration pending and as soon as it is registered the infor-mation can be updated with the RAS. The form should make it easier for members to see what information they need to supply. One area of the passport scheme that doesn’t seem to quite have got through to everybody is that there must be four generations of recorded pedigree, five in the case of males. That is why a small number of our mem-bers (approximately seven) have been told that certain animals will not be able to receive a passport. In most cases their progeny would qualify. These animals all trace their lineage back to an AF animal at generation three or animal with no herd book number. See the arti-cle else where in this magazine concerning AF animals and animals without herdbook numbers. NAIT Finally, please make sure you familiarise yourself with the NAIT requirements. These are on-line and the ad-dress has been given in previous magazines and else-where in this one. ANNUAL HERD RETURN These have been sent to everyone. Please fill it out and return a.s.a.p. I cannot stress enough what a valuable tool this is in keeping the herd book up to date. It not only records the matings but also deaths and transfers that may have been missed. If you did not receive a herd return and have animals that have been mated for calving later in the year please contact me a.s.a.p. The next major event on the NZHCS calendar is the AGM in Tauranga. The programme has been sent out with the 2011 herd book and looks very interesting. I hope to see a good number of you there. Jenny McDonald Registrar

COUNTIES MANUKAU CHRISTMAS GATHERING

THREE KINGS HIGHLAND GAMES

SOUTHLAND/OTAGO FIELD DAY

On November 27th we gathered at Rosalie and Brian Hutton's Mac Rose Fold, 19 acres of good fertile land, just south of Milton. Rosalie and Brian have been members of the NZHCS for the past four years. They were first at-tracted to Highlanders when they went to a show in the Manawatu. This resulted in Brian buying Rosalie a heifer for her birthday. They now have eight breeding cows (both purebred and full blood). Also in the herd is one two year old in calf heifer, two one year old heifers, eight calves and one bull. Their fourth season of showing is now under-way, which they both really enjoy. Rosalie and Brian's vet, Gillian, gave us an hour or more of her time, discussing for the most part BVD in cattle, then answered a barrage of ques-tions, which was most informative. A big thank you to Rosalie and Brian for not only turning on a beautiful sunny day, but an enjoyable one. .

From various discussions with members and councillors it has become apparent that there is a degree of confusion amongst the membership about the ‘AF’ grade which ap-pears in our herdbook. In some ways this is a compliment to the Society in that it has been operating long enough now to have a history. As with all things historical over time the exact reasons for something having occurred get confused and even lost. Thank goodness for good record keeping and minutes. Prior to the establishment of the NZHCS Herdbook in 1994 the only records of the breeding of highland cattle in New Zealand were private herdbooks kept by individual breeders. In many cases these were very in-depth. At the commencement of the NZHCS Herdbook three inde-pendent inspectors were appointed by the newly established society to tour the country inspecting records and animals to bring into the Herdbook. These inspectors were the late Al-lister Stewart, an Australian breeder and councillor of the Australian Society, David Bosomworth and Kevin Ryan, both Wrightson Stud Stock Agents. It took several “tours” over approximately two years before all the grading was complete. A grade was given for each generation sired by a registered highland sire. Where pedigrees were able to be traced back unbroken to animals registered in the UK Herdbook these

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AF GRADE

animals were given an ‘F’ for fullblood. If the pedigree was broken but known to be of highland breed-ing these animals were given an ‘A’ and provided they were crossed over a fullblood sire the resultant progeny became an ‘F’. There were 35 animals registered in this way (all female). These animals while inspected for tags and breed standard were not assessed – they did have extensive breeding records behind them but if there was just one gap they were given the ‘A’ grade. At the AGM in 2007 debate was had over the confusion result-ing from the 35 animals given an ‘A’ grade in this manner and those who were an ‘A’ grade as a result of a breeding up pro-gramme. A recommendation was made from that meeting to Council to look at the issue. Council decided to give the origi-nal 35 a distinct code to differentiate them from the others and so they became ‘AF’ meaning an ‘A’ grade whose progeny be-came an ‘F’ when crossed over a fullblood bull. Grading in the manner described above ceased in 1995. By the time the decision was made to give the 35 a distinct code there were almost 1000 pedigrees in the herdbook that needed amend-ing to show there was an ‘AF’ animal in the background. Jenny McDonald Registrar

PUREBRED HIGHLAND CATTLE IN NEW ZEALAND

There are many purebred Highland Cattle in New Zealand, bred up initially by using a full blood Highland bull, or semen, over a foundation Jersey or Shorthorn etc. This first cross is a “C” grade in our herd book. When females from these matings are again crossed with a bull of higher grade the second cross is a “B” grade, and so on. The grading system being:- 1st cross—C grade 2nd cross—B grade 3rd cross—A grade 4th cross—P1 5th cross—P2 6th cross—P3 7th cross—P4 8th cross—PX PX being all purebred animals by the 8th cross and beyond. For purebred animals the Standard Genetic Equation using fullblood bulls is as follows:- C grade—50% Highland B grade—75% Highland A grade—87.5% Highland P1—93.75% Highland P2—96.87% Highland P3– 98.43% Highland P4—99.18% Highland P5 - 99.55% Highland As a matter of interest, by the 14th cross the percentage of Highland genetics would be 99.99% Using a purebred bull, the following examples will result:- P5 (PX) bull over P1 cow = 96.67% Highland P4 bull over P1 cow = 96.48% Highland P4 bull over P5 (PX) cow = 99.4% Highland

From the above equations it is evident that, with the very small percentage of outcross genes (foundation breed) present, our purebred bulls have a great value in the industry. They have been used extensively in the past, generally by using a higher ‘P’ bull than that of the cow. Many of these matings have resulted in well conformed and even prizewinning animals. If we are serious about improving the Highland breed, should we not be looking closely at the bull in front of us and assessing both breeding suitability (correct conformation, sound feet, good High-land characteristics etc,) and the impact he could have over our cows to produce a better calf? Semen from full blood bulls brought into New Zealand from around the word (UK, USA, Canada, Australia etc) during the past 20 plus years, has been used extensively over both full blood and purebred herds alike, resulting in the limited use of a lot of full blood bulls over our purebred herds. As a consequence the ge-netic pool in our full blood bulls is limited. Many New Zealand Beef Societies (Hereford, Simmental, Dexter Charolais, to name a few) have a grading system. All are ancient breeds, as is the Scottish Highland. Within these Societies all purebred (P2 and above for bulls) animals are used for breeding and are shown in accordance with RAS rules. The majority of Highland cattle shown in New Zealand are purebred and have competed extremely well against full bloods, a true indication of their value within the breed. Cathy Watts

NAME OF OWNER SHOW ENTRIES CLOSING DATE

SHOW NAME

PLEASE NOTE: APPLY AT LEAST TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO SHOW ENTRY CLOSING DATE **All females (unless it is a heifer at foot) need to be registered **Bulls under 12 months of age should apply for a passport number with Herd book number pending. Once the bull is registered a new passport will be applied for which includes the Herd book number. Name of Animal DOB Herd book No. AHB No. Herd Paddock ID Gender

M/F RAS No. Office Use Only

Fill out this section as well for calves not yet registered (bull & heifer) Name of Calf - as above Name of Dam Name of Sire

SHOW PASSPORT APPLICATION

NZHCS North Island Winter Show To be held: Sunday 27th May 2012, 10.00 am, at Clevedon Showgrounds, Clevedon, Auckland.

In conjunction with the “Clevedon Farmers Market” so the event will be open to the public.

Entry Fee: $5 per entry Judge/s: T.B.C. General Rules and Regulations for the governance and conduct of the Show shall be the same as the rules and regulations generally ac-cepted for all A & P shows, other than NO PASSPORTS ARE REQUIRED. The show is open to NZHCS members only and cattle registered / able to be registered in accordance the constitution. TB Policy: a. All cattle entered for showing must be from a herd with C1 status or better or tested within previous 12 months or If from a herd within a Movement Control Area must be tested negative to a test within 60 days of the show. A copy of TB Certificates must accompany the entry form. b. T B Declarations must be carried in transit on day of the Show. c. Due to changes in the TB Regulations all calves born after 1st July 1999 must have the official AHB identification tags. Bulls. All bulls over the age of 12 months must be rung or have a nose clip and be led by the ring. For safety reasons bulls over 12 months should be led by 2 leaders. Dress for Showing: Society shirts or Tidy clothes. No Fold logos visible. No gumboots. Housing. Animals for the Show will be housed under cover. Hay bedding will be provided. Bring your own feed and straw if you prefer it for bedding. See the Steward on the day for instructions. Animals can be stalled after 3pm on Saturday 26th May or by prior arrangement. Good wash down facilities. Security will be on site. Food for lunch Bring along or purchase from the variety available ex the Famers Market, we will break to allow time to purchase as the market closes at 12pm.

If you need any assistance prior to the Show then please contact your Regional Councilor who will do their best to assist with your needs. Give it a go!!

This event is a fun day and a great place to start showing.

Come along and support your region and enjoy yourselves.

Send Entries in By 18 May to; J & G Cederman, 39A Cooper Road, RD 3, Drury 2579

2012 NZHCS Nth Island Winter Show—Schedule of Classes Purebred and Fullblood Female classes Class 1 Cow 3 years and over, Purebred or Fullblood, with or without calf at foot but must be a breeder. (born prior to 1st June 2009) Class 2 Cow 2 years, Purebred or Fullblood with or without calf at foot (born 1st June 2009 to 31st May 2010) SENIOR FEMALE CHAMPION & RESERVE Class 3 Yearling Heifer, Purebred or Fullblood (born 1st Jun 2010 to 31st May 2011) If numbers permit the Yearling Heifer class will be split evenly by age. Class 4 Heifer calf, Purebred or Fullblood (born 1st June 2011 to 27th May 2012) If numbers permit the Heifer calf class will be split evenly by age. JUNIOR FEMALE CHAMPION & RESERVE OVERALL FEMALE CHAMPION & RESERVE Grade B, A and Steer classes Class 5 Cow 2 years and over, Grade B or Grade A, with or without calf at foot. (born prior to 1st June 2010) Class 6 Yearling Heifer or Heifer calf, Grade B or Grade A (born 1st June 2010 to 1st May 2012) Class 7 Yearling Highland steer (born 1st June 2010 to 31st May 2011) Class 8 Highland Steer calf, (born 1st June 2011 to 1st May 2012) GRADE A, B or STEER CHAMPION & RESERVE Purebred or Fullblood Bull classes Class 9 Mature Bull, 2 yrs and over, must be registered (born prior to 1st June 2010) Class 10 Yearling Bull, must be registered (born 1st June 2010 - 31st May 2011) Class 11 Bull calf, must qualify for registration, (born 1st June 2011 to 27th May 2012) MALE CHAMPION & RESERVE BEST HIGHLAND OF SHOW Class 12 Pair of Best Bums - 2 animals any age and / or sex Class 13 Novice Competitor with any animal. (Person who has not won a Champion or Reserve Champion at a Show).

Good luck and have fun…

TOKOMIRO (MILTON) A & P SHOW

The Tokomiro show is a super friendly, family orientated, busy little show. Brian and Rosalie Hutton together with Grant and Cathy Watts took a smallish contingent of Highlanders along, seven in total. We were the only beef breed present and the dairy entries were well down on past years. Supreme was won by Margarita of Pot-tidoon.

Cow 3 years and over 1st Braco Faoilte Debbie Cruze 2nd Sorrento Storm of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 3rd Monique of Braeburn Doug & Jenny Sheldon Heifer 2 yrs 1st Eadon Whisper Doug & Jenny Sheldon 2nd Bessie of Moncur S Balsom & C Skinner Yearling heifer 1st Eadon Paige Doug & Jenny Sheldon 2nd Lillybelle of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 3rd Pebbles of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson Yearling calf 1st Felicity of Kruz-z Debbie Cruze 2nd Eadon Mornay Dubh Doug & Jenny Sheldon 3rd Red Roxy of Kruz-z Debbie Cruze

CHAMPION FEMALE BRACO FAOILTE RESERVE FEMALE CHAMPION EADON WHISPER

Yearling Bull 1st Woodstock of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 2nd Eadon Merlot Doug & Jenny Sheldon 3rd Haggrid of Ardargie S Balsom & C Skinner Bull Calf 1st Titanium of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 2nd Moonstone of Te Mata Hills Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 3rd Eadon Black Prince Doug & Jenny Sheldon

CHAMPION MALE WOODSTOCK OF TE MATA HILLS RESERVE MALE CHAMPION TITANIUM OF TE MATA HILLS

Group Class 1st Te Mata Hills entry Martin McLeod & Catherine Atkinson 2nd Eadon entry Doug & Jenny Sheldon 3rd Moncur entry S Balsom & C Skinner

WARKWORTH A & P SHOW

NZHCS SOUTH ISLAND SHOW RESULTS

Cow, 3 yrs & over 1st K & S Devery – Glenburn Sobhrach 2nd Grant & Cathy Watts – Margarita of Pottidoon 3rd Grant & Cathy Watts – Ceit Geal of Glenburn

Champion Senior Female: Ken & Sonia Devery – Glenburn Sobhrach

Reserve Champion Senior Female: Grant & Cathy Watts— Margarita of Pottidoon

Heifer, over 1yr & under 2yrs 1st Grant & Cathy Watts – Celtic Rose of Pottidoon 2nd D Liddicoat – Maggie of Langside 3rd K & S Devery – Caela of Fenham Heifer Calf 1st R & K Kelly Molly of Kailey 2nd Grant & Cathy Watts – Ebony of Pottidoon 3rd Leslie Family – Misty of Gralie

Champion Junior Female: Grant & Cathy Watts— Celtic Rose of Pottidoon

Reserve Champion Junior Female: D Liddicoat - Maggie of Langside

Bull 2 yrs & over 1st Grant & Cathy Watts – Barack of Pottidoon 2nd James Brown – Armunn Buidhe of Strathburn 3rd Brian Hutton – Stewart of Pottidoon

Champion Senior Bull: Grant & Cathy Watts - Barack of Pottidoon

Reserve Champion Senior Bull: James Brown—Armunn Buidhe of Strathburn

Bull Calf 1st Grant & Cathy Watts – Zak of Pottidoon 2nd Rosalie Hutton – Markus of MacRose 3rd Leslie Family entry

Champion Junior Bull: Grant and Cathy Watts— Zak of Pottidoon

Reserve Champion Junior Bull: Brian and Rosalie Hutton—Marckus of MacRose

Novice Competitor 1st Shania Vanags Best Pair of Hindquarters 1st R & B Hutton – McKenzie/Stewart of Pottidoon 2nd Grant & Cathy Watts Eclipse/Ebony of Pottidoon

Supreme Champion: Ken & Sonia Devery - Glenburn Sobhrach

Reserve Supreme: Grant & Cathy Watts – Barack of Pottidoon

ALL BREEDS BEEF Cow, 3 yrs & over with calf 1st Ken & Sonia Devery – Glenburn Sobhrach 2nd Grant & Cathy Watts – Margarita of Pottidoon 3rd Grant & Cathy Watts – Ceit Geal of Glenburn Heifer,1 year & under 2yrs 1st Grant & Cathy Watts Celtic Rose of Pottidoon 2nd Ken & Sonia Devery – Caela of Fenham Heifer Calf 1st RA & KJ Kelly – Molly of Kailey 2nd Grant & Cathy Watts – Ebony of Pottidoon 3rd Leslie family – Misty of Gralie Bull, 2 yrs & over 1st Grant & Cathy Watts – Barack of Pottidoon 2nd James Brown – Armunn Buidhe of Strathburn 3rd R & B Hutton – Stewart of Pottidoon Bull calf 1st Grant & Cathy Watts Zak of Pottidoon 2nd R & B Hutton - Markus of MacRose 3rd Leslie entry Merial NZ Ltd Supreme Beef cattle beast of show: K&S Devery –Glenburn Sobhrach CRT’s best female cattle beast: K&S Devery Glenburn Sobhrach PGG Wrightsons best yearling heifer: Grant & Cathy Watts— Celtic Rose of Pottidoon McRose Trophy: Best bull calf: Grant & Cathy Watts – Zak of Pottidoon Most points: Grant & Cathy Watts Highland Cattle National show: Xcell breeding services Supreme champion: K&S Devery – Glenburn Sobhrach

E&N Clark trophy Champion Junior heifer: Grant & Kathy Watts–Celtic Rose of Pottidoon

NZHCS Senior Cow Trophy: Ken & Sonia Devery - Glenburn Sobhrach

Pottidoon Trophy: Heifer calf: Rob and Katrina Kelly - Molly of Cailey

NZHCS Senior Bull Trophy: Grant & Cathy Watts—Barack of Pottidoon

Cow & calf - Lyn Samuels - Dunedin

Heifer calf line up

Reserve Junior Champion Female under 2 years, Maggie of Langside, owned by Darren Liddicoat & Lynda Anderson - Oamaru

Bull Class - Brian & Rosalie Hutton- Milton

Champion bull , Barack of Pottidoon owned by the Watts - Dunedin

Novice competitor—12 year old Shania Vanags

Oamaru turned on a beautiful sunny day for us all, appreciated by our judges, Willie Christie, and associate Angela Whyte, we feel sure. A big thank you from us all to both Willie and Angela for giving up their day. Adding to the fun of the day we had 8 visitors from the North Island Netta and Errol Clark, Martin McLeod and Catherine Atkinson, John and Judy Doull, and Alison Wilson and Glenda Stimpson. Thank you one and all for your help, Thanks as well to the hard working show committee for getting together great sponsorship and prizes for all competitors. Also the sausage sizzle proved popular, a great little fundraiser. Next years show again in conjunction with the North Otago A & P society will be their 150th and promises to be a somewhat grand affair, any North Island competitors wishing to come down contact Cathy Watts to organise accommodation and grazing for your cattle. Don’t hesitate, it’s a fun filled fantastic weekend. Raffle results:- Painting: Rita Miller Glasses: Ginni Alexander Whiskey: Paul Rae China bull: Gary Campbell

NZHCS SOUTH ISLAND SHOW

Trophies and ribbons at the Oamaru A & P Show/NZHCS South Island Highland Cattle Show

Heifer calf, Molly of Kailey owned by Rob & Katrina Kelly - Oamaru

Junior Champion Female under 2 years, Celtic Rose of Pottidoon owned by Grant & Cathy Watts - Dunedin

Reserve Champion Bull, Armunn Buidhe of Strathburn, owned by James Brown, Invercargill

bull calf section

Bull calf Zak of Pottidoon owned by Grant and Cathy Watts, photo with Rosa-lie Hutton and lead by Martin McLeod

Bull calf Markus of MacRose, owned by Brian and Rosalie Hutton

North Islanders group shot, so great to have them come all the way South we had a lot of fun.

Bull calf, Markus of MacRose owned by Rosalie Hutton

The Grand Parade–

Oamaru A & P Show/

NZHCS South Is-

land High-land Cattle

Show

A big thanks to all members who attended to ensure a separate highland ring was maintained giving the NZHCS a great profile. Heifer Calf 1st Debbie Cruse Felicity of Kruz-z 2nd Ginni Alexander Mishka of Ardargie 3rd Ginni Alexander Mia of Ardargie Heifer Yearling 1st Martin McLeod / C Atkinson Pebbles of Te Mata Hills 2nd Ginni Alexander Miss Molly of Ardargie 3rd Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Paige Junior Champion Female Debbie Cruse Felicity of Kruz-z Reserve Junior Champion Female Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson Pebbles of Te Mata Hills Heifer 2 years 1st Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Whisper 2nd Martin McLeod / C Atkinson Jade of Te Mata Hills 3rd Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Brodie Cow 3 years & over, own calf/calves at foot 1st Martin McLeod / C Atkinson Gilleena of Te Mata Hills 2nd Debbie Cruse Braco Faoilte 3rd Ginni Alexander Faith of Ardargie Senior Champion Female Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson Gilleena of Te Mata Hills Reserve Senior Champion Female Debbie Cruse Braco Faoilte Bull Calf 1st Martin McLeod / C Atkinson Moonstone of Te Mata Hills Bull Yearling 1st Martin McLeod / C Atkinson Woodstock of Te Mata Hills 2nd Ginni Alexander Monty of Ardargie 3rd Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Merlot Champion Bull Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson Woodstock of Te Mata Hills Reserve Champion Male Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson Moonstone of Te Mata Hills Best Two Yearlings – Either Sex 1st Te Mata Hills Entry Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson 2nd Ardargie Entry Ginni Alexander 3rd Eadon Entry Doug & Jenny Sheldon Group – 1 Bull & 2 Females 1st Te Mata Hills Entry Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson 2nd Ardargie Entry Ginni Alexander Supreme Champion Highland Exhibit Martin McLeod / Catherine Atkinson Gilleena of Te Mata Hills It was interesting to note that the champion all breeds beef ring comprised no tradi-tional breeds – A Belted Galloway, and Maine Anjou, a Brahman, and a Scottish Highland.

CLEVEDON A & P SHOW

NZHCS 2012 AGM/Conference Hosted by Waikato BOP Region

…Queens Birthday weekend :2nd June

At Hotel Armitage Corner Willow and Park Streets (Central city)

TAURANGA Focus theme for weekend…

“Building and strengthening a Highland beef future”

Programme Friday Evening 1st June 7.PM An informal get together ... Meet in Clipper Lounge at Armitage Hotel, then to a local Restaurant for Meal (at own cost). Indication of no’s requiring a meal, greatly appreciated. Saturday 2nd June Armitage Hotel 10.30 Registration 12.00 Lunch 1.00 NZHCS 2012 AGM 6.00 Happy hour followed by Formal Dinner ... Come prepared to tell, your very best Highland story!!! Sunday 3rd June Bus Tour ... Theme ... “Highlands in ....” 9.00 Leave for Rosemoor Fold ... Highlands In Print (Text and China) 10.30ish Sustainable Meats ... Highlands In the Flesh (A 21 day hung Highland Carcass will be boned out, discussing Markets for cut type, size and weight .Questions and tastings.) 12.30 Glenburn Fold for Lunch ... Highlands In the Paddock 2.30 Craigower Fold ... Highlands In the Paddock 3.00 View Waihi Open cast Mine 3.45 South Barvas Fold ... Highlands In the Paddock 4.15 Glen Elgin Fold for Tea ... Highlands In the Future (NZHCS Discussion Time) Monday ... Possibility of visiting an Open fold or A list of Tourist type activities will be available in your pack. …Early Bird Accommodation rates of $110 per night applies until 1st week in May

www.hotelarmitage.co.nz Please Note ... If flying into Tauranga Airport, a flight shuttle service is available into Tauranga for $10.00 per head.

Delivery is to Armitage Hotel.

NZHCS 2012 AGM/Conference Hosted by Waikato BOP Region

…Queens Birthday weekend :2nd June

At Hotel Armitage Corner Willow and Park Streets (Central city)

TAURANGA Focus theme for weekend…

“Building and strengthening a Highland beef future”

Name(s):_______________________________________________ Fold:________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Email:_________________________________________________ Phone:_______________________

Please indicate which of these

events you will at-tend

AGM Registration Saturday Lunch/ Afternoon Tea

Saturday Dinner Sunday Bus Trip (includes Lunch/

Dinner)

Total per person

Name of Person attending $10.00 $22.00 $55.00 $55.00

Total payable=

Payment on Line Direct Deposit N.Z Highland Cattle Society

TSB Account No 153953 0511620 00 Include Surname, Fold Name and AGM as a reference Email details to [email protected] (Judy Smyth)

07 5430925

Postal Payment to Netta Clark, 57 Trig Road South,

R.D.1, Waihi 368.

Cheque payable to: N.Z Highland Cattle Society

Special Requirements Please Specify

Vegetarian Gluten Free Specify any Other

Arriving (Please tick) Friday 1st June Saturday 2nd June

Please complete and return forms before 11th May as a Late registration fee of $25.00 will be charged after 11th May

Please indicate which of these

events you will at-tend

AGM Registration Saturday Lunch/ Afternoon Tea

Saturday Dinner Sunday Bus Trip (includes Lunch/

Dinner)

Total per person

Name of Person attending $10.00 $22.00 $55.00 $55.00

Total payable=

Registration Name(s):_______________________________________________ Fold:________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Email:_________________________________________________ Phone:_______________________

NAIT scheme obligations From 1 July, the NAIT (National Animal Identification and Tracing) scheme is set to be mandatory for people in charge of cattle and from 1 March 2013 for people in charge of deer. Obligations for people in charge of cattle and deer will be to: • Register with NAIT to get a NAIT number • Identify every property on which they have cattle and deer they are in charge of • Tag cattle and deer with NAIT-approved RFID tags and register those animals with NAIT • Report to NAIT when cattle and deer are moved off -farm or received onto a property • Report deaths, losses or live exports of cattle and deer. The registration process will give you a NAIT number which will be used in all subsequent NAIT transactions such as animal registration and movement recording. You can reg-ister with NAIT now. The final step to link animals to the person responsible for them, and their location is animal registration. This will be available when the scheme is mandatory. How to register Registration is open now for people in charge of cattle and

deer. To be ready for the NAIT scheme, NAIT Limited urges you to register yourself now with NAIT if you are a person in charge of cattle and/or deer. To register: • Go to www.nait.co.nz and register online, or • Contact NAIT for registration assistance by phoning 0800 624 843, or • Use a NAIT-accredited information provider to com-plete your registration for you. Ask your local livestock company, meat processor or rural services provider if they can help. When you register, you will need to supply NAIT with some personal information and details about your farm. When you create a NAIT number have your AHB herd number handy because you will be asked to provide it. If you buy ear tags using a Participant Code, please also provide this when you register. Doing so will enable you to electronically download the tag numbers associated with your NAIT number when you register animals, rather than entering the numbers manually. Animal registration will be available when the scheme is mandatory. For more information: www.nait.co.nz Email: [email protected] Freephone: 0800 624 843

Cow and calf 1st Cruinneag Glenburn Errol & Netta Clark Heifer 2 years 1st Hattie of Hinterland John Doull & Judy Lee 2nd Ruby Raey Glen Elgin 3rd Sophie Raey Glen Elgin Graham & Margaret Harvey Yearling 1st Tess Glen Elgin John Doull & Judy Lee Heifer calf 1st Glenburn Lady Balla CHAMPION FEMALE TESS GLEN ELGIN

RESERVE FEMALE CHAMPION HATTIE OF HINTERLAND

Bull calf 1st Kevin of Glenburn 2nd Glenburn Lord Muir

CHAMPION BULL KEVIN OF GLENBURN

Judy Doull with female champion Tess Glen Elgin

WAIHI A & P SHOW Highland are the only beef breed at Waihi, so next year we may have to look at taking stock on display rather than showing. It was a nice day, the ribbons were spread to the three breeders who supported the show.

Saturday 28th February found three of us Highland breeders at the Otago/Taieri A & P Show, which was this year a Royal Event. There is no longer a Highland class, instead small breeds and large breeds classes. There were 32 entries in the small breeds comprising Belted Galloways, White Gallo-ways, Dexters and Highlanders, with many entries in each class, plus 20 odd animals in the large breeds. The Highlanders featured well, winning three classes. Rosalie and Brian Hutton's Stuart of Pottidoon won not only the two year old bull class, but went on to win Supreme Highlander They also won the bull calf class with Mark of Mac Rose. Highlands took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the bull calf class against strong opposition. Grant and Cathy Watts won the yearling heifer class with Celtic Rose of Pottidoon. Thanks to the NZHCS for sponsoring the Supreme Highland sash. Featured in photo are Brian Hutton with Stuart of Pottidoon and Grant Watts with Celtic Rose of Potti-doon

SOUTH OTAGO (BALCLUTHA) A & P SHOW

Both Rosalie & Brian Hutton and Grant & Cathy Watts took animals to this show, where there were both small and large breed classes. Numbers were down on past years but the Highlanders still took the top prizes. Supreme was won by Margarita of Pottidoon who also won the cow 3 years and over plus the Senior Meat and Wool cup. Celtic Rose of Pottidoon won the yearling heifer class plus the Junior Meat and Wool Cup.

OTAGO/TAIERI A & P SHOW

Cattle Registrations

Yr/Mon 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Jan 8 18 13 76 16 13 24 4 33 20 27 22 61 17 Feb 13 4 34 14 17 13 7 14 12 50 21 24 23 51 24 43 21 Mar 25 13 10 40 54 20 32 58 44 58 52 100 70 39 42 36 2 Apr 54 38 35 27 29 46 82 18 26 71 58 126 125 107 35 8 May 88 38 13 28 24 56 59 72 35 53 68 114 87 Jun 51 10 3 19 51 33 120 116 66 87 11 87 68 32 Jul 5 17 21 19 1 29 60 7 77 101 14 78 65 55 36 Aug 55 19 18 10 7 119 93 25 7 60 34 22 54 57 22 10 35 Sep 24 30 98 26 15 58 18 42 12 26 17 14 29 33 9 15 56 Oct 13 16 7 5 7 2 43 33 6 21 2 55 32 12 34 18 26 Nov 64 9 2 20 13 71 20 51 14 15 40 7 25 71 7 14 25 Dec 1 14 36 3 8 29 40 28 29 27 19 50 3 8 0 18 5 Total 102 210 169 265 181 302 456 342 440 311 459 491 523 498 565 487 487 350

Transfers

Yr/Mon 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Jan 2 12 11 11 7 11 3 5 13 20 12 10 27 19 18 Feb 2 6 2 7 11 7 4 17 12 16 15 22 24 30 9 16 Mar 8 3 1 2 12 13 4 41 35 16 23 20 9 27 24 14 19 Apr 3 14 2 3 17 36 30 19 28 40 22 57 36 36 19 5 May 1 7 21 7 16 26 39 44 71 18 32 31 59 20 Jun 5 9 7 16 13 16 25 14 5 31 16 30 37 24 Jul 3 3 9 2 7 3 27 11 15 54 43 62 54 32 21 Aug 2 4 17 7 7 14 12 14 11 42 25 39 40 23 32 20 11 Sep 9 3 7 7 6 1 6 17 23 32 37 17 36 3 91 18 Oct 2 2 7 7 16 19 4 3 22 50 24 19 15 4 24 Nov 5 2 12 5 23 4 26 13 15 16 29 24 26 29 18 10 Dec 1 1 3 7 22 8 24 21 32 23 34 22 27 27 22 37 To-tal 6 26 47 61 52 78 168 113 219 198 229 274 391 319 338 338 344 223

Herd Registrations

Yr/Mon 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Jan 2 2 1 3 1 3 4 8 4 2 4 6 0 Feb 2 1 6 1 21 3 4 5 7 1 3 2 4 7 5 7 Mar 9 3 4 5 3 4 1 5 6 3 8 3 3 1 Apr 5 2 7 4 1 1 3 8 11 6 8 6 5 4 1 May 1 1 3 2 7 3 1 4 7 2 2 9 8 Jun 1 4 4 3 11 1 7 6 2 0 Jul 4 4 3 1 2 2 4 5 8 8 9 12 3 1 3 Aug 2 2 3 4 2 4 3 7 8 2 6 3 1 6 1 Sep 4 5 2 5 6 4 1 4 7 6 4 2 2 6 3 2 2 Oct 1 1 3 3 4 6 4 2 3 7 1 3 1 Nov 2 3 1 1 3 5 3 6 7 4 5 8 2 5 1 0 Dec 4 3 3 2 2 4 5 3 6 3 7 3 2 0 2 0 10 29 16 24 28 35 35 26 44 55 42 61 52 53 52 40 44 24

At the AGM in 2006 it was agreed to implement a system of auditing the Herdbook to safeguard its integrity. In order to do so the process of registering an animal needs to be checked from the selected animal’s inception (dam and sire mating) to its registration. Members have all heard about this but unless they have had an ani-mal that was selected for audit it probably just remains a vague process. It is important to remember that it is the animal being audited but as part of that its breeder and/or current owner will be involved in the process also. There is a detailed description of the process and a form. The process is only sent out to those whose animals are being audited so for all the rest of you what follows describes the process.

Council appoints an auditor. To date there have been two auditors. The first was Shirley Blanchard after she relinquished the role of Registrar and for the last two years it has been Angus Anderson.

Council agrees on the ratio of animals to be audited. Currently one in every fifty. The Registrar advises the Auditor of the herdbook numbers allocated in the calendar year to be audited,

e.g. for 2011 registrations the numbers were from 7442 to 7771. The Auditor picks a number at random, e.g. 7448, and so currently every number 50 each side of that be-

tween the two numbers for the calendar year is selected. The Registrar prepares the list of animals selected stating the name, status – live or dead, the breeder, the

current owner, the sire, the dam, the sire and dam’s current owners, the respective addresses, whether DNA is on file and in what form and what action needs to be taken.

Councillors are allocated the animals within their areas to audit The Registrar writes to the breeders/owners of the animals to advise that an animal of theirs is to be au-

dited Councillors get in touch with the breeder/owners to arrange a farm visit that is convenient to both At the visit the Councillor or Council approved representative:-

Inspects the mating records – would the mating dates produce a calf with the audit animal’s birth-date?

Inspects the calving records Inspects copies of the registration form – does the registration match with the mating records? Inspects the registration and transfer certificates received from the Registrar – do the details match

those sent in on the registration form? If not what is different? Inspects the audit animal and checks for colour, crop ear and tags If necessary (if they are not on record already) collects DNA samples of the audit animal, its dam

and its sire. The Council approved representative fills out the audit form recording all the details above and forwards it

to the auditor. DNA samples are sent directly to the Registrar for testing. The DNA testing cost is at the expense of the Society.

The Registrar advises the Auditor when the DNA results have returned. The Auditor visits the office of the Registrar:-

Pulls the files and checks the paper copy of the mating records The paper copy of the registration – does the birthdate of the audit animal tie in with the mating re-

cords? The DNA results. The herdbook database. Do the herdbook details match the registration form? If not what is differ-

ent? What is the reason for difference? The Auditor notes any differences and the reasons and writes a report for Council and the AGM. He makes

any recommendations he thinks may improve the process.

If the DNA of any animals come back with a negative result it is referred in the first instance to the Council. They take it up with the breeder. To date this has happened once and Council agreed that a percentage of all animals registered by that person in the same year be tested and a smaller percentage of animals either side of that year. This is at the breeders cost. In this instance all other animals tested correctly and the audit animal was proven to another sire. No further action was needed. To date errors found have included incorrectly recorded ear tags on the registration form by the breeder, details incorrectly written on the registration form by the breeder, details incorrectly written on the audit forms by the Council appointed representative, differences between the information recorded in the herdbook and that sup-plied by the breeder. In case of the later it is the Registrar who has picked up a discrepancy and has ques-tioned the breeder resulting in the difference of information recorded. All errors have been noted and where able or necessary been rectified.

AUDIT PROCEDURE

Council has formed a subcommittee to review NZHCS High-land bull assessment. The brief is to consider all aspects of the current NZHCS Bull Assessment scheme, bull assessment in general, and also the Australasian Beef Structural Assessment scheme. Meeting objective a) of the NZHCS constitution: “To de-velop, improve and maintain the purity and quality of the breed of cattle known as "Highland Cattle" must be considered as integral to any assessment system. Subcommittee members: Angus Anderson, James Brown, Royden Brown, Cynthia Christie (Chair), Doug Sheldon, Judy Smyth. Communication is via email rather than having formal meet-ings. A large number of wide ranging points have been identified as worthy of investigation or discussion. The subcommittee has come to agreement on some key fac-tors; however the type of assessment scheme is not unanimous. There is a preference in the committee for the existing scheme, while we recognise that a number of improvements are possible and

Council met on 12th March for a 2 day meeting. Traditionally council has met in February (2 day meeting) and again in April but in an effort to reduce meeting costs council decided to meet in mid March only. The Finance group noted that only 1/3rd of membership had paid subscriptions at the time of reporting. The end of year ac-counts were presented to council for discussion and approval. They are now with the auditor in preparation for the AGM. The reduction in numbers of transactions – transfers and registra-tions – is beginning to impact on society finances and council spent some time debating mechanisms to both continue to de-crease costs but also to ensure income improves. It was noted that very few members took the opportunity to utilise the am-nesty on late registrations. The bull assessment subcommittee presented a report on pro-gress to date. There have been a large number of points identi-fied and discussed. A progress report is in this magazine. The registrar reported on the show passport scheme. The num-ber of outstanding passports has dropped to a low number, most of which are animals which need a detailed investigation and may well end up with a ruling to be made by the RAS represen-tative. The auditor tabled a report on the 2011 audit. It is essentially complete and a final report will be made at the AGM. Animals have been selected for the 2012 audit.

COUNCIL CORNER

Bull Assessment Review – Interim Report

indeed desirable. This is not unexpected given the strong views held across the subcommittee. Clearly there is more to do and this subcommittee will continue to work towards providing well thought out guidance on the most appropriate way forward to membership for consideration. Currently we do not really have a good indication of the views of our general membership. We are told of happy and unhappy members however there is no formal information on which to base these generalisations. It is also notable that Council has received no formal complaints about the scheme or any individual assessments, and also that there have been only two appeals since the appeal system was formalised (one of these was retrospective) and since the whole scheme was completely re-documented A survey of breeders focusing on those who have been using the bull assessment scheme has been suggested, but a decision has not yet been made on format or method. The review committee would be pleased to hear the views and to receive submissions from our membership. Bull assessment review Sub Committee

Council noted that member knowledge of many historical decisions and activities is being lost as new members join and older members retire. Good records are held by the Society and a concerted effort will be made to document some important things such as rule changes and animal grading decisions and publish these to update our members. With this in mind council was briefed by the President and Registrar on how AF animals came in to being. The relationship between the UK and NZ herdbooks and respective societies was also discussed. A considerable amount of time was spent on remits. Councillors have been working with proposers on improvements to wording etc. Council has decided to provide members with information outlining pros, cons and other important information. This will be appended to each remit thus enabling members to properly consider these. It was noted that the new voting threshold needed to be well commu-nicated and councillors will be encouraging members to vote. A postal voting forms will be sent with remits. Several members have expressed interest in being involved in ar-chiving, marketing and website management – council will be ap-proaching them to initiate their involvement where there interests lie and we look forward to having them on board assisting the society. Council was briefed on options for improving data backup and secu-rity. A system called Dropbox has been identified as best suiting our needs and will be implemented. This system is free to users. Retiring councillors were thanked for their contribution. The next meeting will be held immediately after the AGM.

Points of Agreement Some general comments from subcommittee members

That all grades of bull eligible for entry in to the herd book should be assessed in the same manner and meet the same standard.

Society should consider lifting eligibility over time from P2 to PX. More member education on structural characteristics and impacts thereof.

That performance recording/muscle scanning should not be mandatory for assessment of a bull

Performance recording should be encouraged but voluntary. NZHCS could investigate mechanisms for data collection and management. Perhaps develop an elite sire scheme with performance recording as a criteria

That the dam must be more closely scrutinised as part of the bull assessment using similar cri-teria as for the bull.

A photograph no longer accepted? Consider declining a bull if its dam has major structural faults – need to have good guidelines. Re-quires significant changes to assessment criteria and forms – limits would need to be identified & formalised and well communicated. Changes to Herdbook Rules and Regulations may be required.

The re assessment of a bull at an older age is probably useful but generally not practicable.

A reassessment could fit within the concept of an elite sire scheme

The 0.6kg/day weight gain should remain Majority agree that this should be the minimum standard not just a general guide. Better communication of reasoning for this standard

That bulls should not qualify for registration if they fall into the current category of “not recom-mended for stud use”. A bull is accepted or declined registration.

This will require significant changes to the assessment criteria and forms – limits would need to be identified & formalised and well com-municated. Changes to Herdbook rules and regulations may be re-quired.

Fertility and health checks should not be man-datory for registration.

Members should be encouraged to undertake such checks. A form could be designed outlining appropriate checks for a breeder to have done if they wished to do so.

Points with Differing Opinions

The majority considers that the minimum age of bull at assessment remains at 12 months.

A breeder is free to elect the age of assessment for their bulls. In Canterbury region average age at assessment is 16months. Suggest leaving minimum it as is to allow flexibility - but that NZHCS suggests/recommends that 15-18 months is the most suitable age.

The majority considers that the current scheme has stood the test of time and is working well over 90% of the country and with some care and thought It can work effectively nationwide, the fact that it causes and raises discussion between assessors and breeders is all positive.

No scheme will keep 100% members happy & lifting the bar will cause discomfort amongst some. Communication between society assessors and breeders is valued. Improved training, good faith and goodwill needed. Scheme has done its dash. Discussion between ABSA and breeder of more value than contact with NZHCS asses-sors.

The majority considers that assessment itself is still undertaken as it is now with 3 society as-sessors or 2 society assessors + one independ-ent assessor (costs borne by the breeder).

Formalisation of selection and training of assessors. Look to elite sire concept – base line the current system, elite sire – ABSA, perform-ance data. ABSA should be assessment scheme to bring consistency nationally.

The majority considers that the society makes better use of experts such as ABSA assessors (but not limited to) in training our own people to be better at assessing.

Formalised training for assessors, mandatory to become assessor. Use ABSA assessors + other experts, breed std not to be over-looked. Avoid AGM weekend for focused assessor training. AGM OK for general training or field days for all members.

One such system that is being adopted especially throughout Australasia is the Beef Class Structural Assessment. This assessment is done by qualified independent assessors who will assess an individ-ual animal or herd for breeding purposes or sale purposes. Assessors become accredited by attending an intensive course taught by qualified assessors. Part of the accreditation training involves a test to score 30 males and 30 females in the same manner as the trainers. Trainees must after a period reassess all these animals. To pass 90% of the second scores must match the first scores. Beef Class Structural Assessment basically puts a figure on structural points of individual cattle. This figure is used to gauge changes over time, changes within the herd over time. It is a tool a breeder can use in making decisions about which animals should remain in the stud herd and be bred from. The assessment is also a tool for individual buyers to use when making decisions to purchase. The assessment sheet (below) is standard and used for all beef breeds. Handling Facility Requirements There must be good yards, and there must be a flat concrete pad big enough for the animal to walk around on. Animals cannot be assessed properly in grass or muddy yards or uneven surfaces be-cause feet must be able to be seen clearly the animal must be able to stand correctly and evenly.

Accredited Scorers - NEW ZEALAND

Name Location Area Covered Charges (+ GST) guide only

Bill Austin Canterbury National $150 visit fee + $8/animal

Operates service Sept -April, prefers not to

Kelly Brittain Otorohanga

operate in their local areas assessing animals for their

own and local studs

by arrangement

fees and timing negotiated.

(Some indicate $50 for a visit close to home base)

Nathan Couper Auckland Marty Crafar Taihape Anton Gibson Kurow John Hammond Ohakune Bill Lott Fairlie Ross McDonald Christchurch Wayne McLaren Christchurch Alastair Midgley Timaru Stewart Robertson Christchurch Mark Stevens Manawatu

Accredited Scorers - NEW ZEALAND

Name Location Area Covered Charges (+ GST) guide only

Bill Austin Canterbury National $150 visit fee + $8/animal

Operates service Sept -April, prefers not to

Kelly Brittain Otorohanga

operate in their local areas assessing animals for their

own and local studs

by arrangement

fees and timing negotiated.

(Some indicate $50 for a visit close to home base)

Nathan Couper Auckland Marty Crafar Taihape Anton Gibson Kurow John Hammond Ohakune Bill Lott Fairlie Ross McDonald Christchurch Wayne McLaren Christchurch Alastair Midgley Timaru Stewart Robertson Christchurch Mark Stevens Manawatu

Australasian Beef Structural Assessment

Beef Class Structural Assessment Score Sheet

Docility: 1 is ideal (docile), 3 is less ideal (restless) and 5 is ag-gressive. (Scores of 1-2 are preferred) For traits scored 1-9 4 and 6 show slight variation from ideal but this includes most ani-mals. Any animals scor-ing 4 and 6 would be ac-ceptable in any breeding programme. 3 or 7 shows greater variation but would be acceptable in most com-mercial herds. However, stud stock producers should be vigilant and understand that this score indicates greater variation from ideal; 2 or 8 are low scoring animals and should be looked at cautiously and inspected very closely before purchasing; 1 or 9 should not be cataloged for sale and are considered immedi-ate culls from the herd

The information contained in the Herdbook is only as good as what is supplied to the Registrar by members as the owner of the animals. The ability to trace the background and whereabouts of animal is of great importance, particularly since there are now three recording groups. Rule 14.1 of the Herd Book and Registration Rules states:-

The vendor is responsible for the transfer and payment of fees on transfer of any animal.

The vendor is the owner of the animal at time of sale. If you are transferring animals to another member of the society, unless you have recorded in the Sales Agreement differently, then the vendor fills in the transfer form and sends it along with the fees to the Registrar for change of ownership to take place. The fee covers the time taken for the Registrar to check the current ownership of the animal, record the new ownership, printing of new certificates with the new owners details and postage. That is quite straight forward and I am sure members under-stand that. However, things become a bit murky when animals are sold:-

To a non-member of the Society As commercial beef either at the yards or to the farmer

down the road Directly to the works for slaughter

I’ll deal with easy one first. Directly to slaughter. This can be notified to the Regis-

trar via e-mail, via mail, by sending in the appropri-ate transfer certificates stating that the animals have gone to slaughter or on the latest herd return. As with all transactions the sooner this is done the bet-ter so that the appropriate date they went is not lost. No fees are payable.

Animals sold as commercial beef. This needs to be no-tified to the Registrar the same as for number 1 above as soon as possible. So long as I have this with the vendor’s signature there is no way that these animals can come back into the Herdbook without the vendor’s agreement. No fees are pay-able at the time of notification to the Registrar but they would be payable should the vendor agree to them coming back into the herdbook at a later date.

Animals sold to non-members of the Society. The Reg-istrar needs to be notified of these even if the pur-chaser says they are not interested in joining. These people very often change their minds later, especially if they are presented with a gorgeous “ baby” down the track. The Registrar writes to each person outlining the benefits of belonging to the Society. This and word of mouth are the way most

TRANSFERS

new members are gained. This is predominantly how the Society has been built over the last twenty years.

Please record those sold to purchasers who say they are members of one of the other two societies. There are a number of people who belong to more than one Society and wish to retain the registration of animals within a par-ticular herdbook. Please make sure you get their name and postal address. Use the transfer form either on-line or on the second page of the pedigree certificates. Fees – Council is still debating this one as technically if the animal is being sold as a registered breeding animal then the fees are still due. These are payable by the ven-dor unless agreed otherwise and recorded in a sales agree-ment. Some vendors pay when they are advised that the new owner has joined the Society. Please talk to your Councillors about this so that Council can agree a policy that will assist all.

At this stage you have probably worked out that in the case of all three scenarios above there is still considerable time involved in the checking and recording of the status of the animals as well as in the case of point 3 writing letters and then there is the postage. At this stage none of that is being recouped in anyway other than to say that at present transfers between current members are subsidising the cost. In today’s world of user pays is that fair? Is there another solution? TRANSFER FORMS Rule 14.2 of the Herdbook and Registration Rules states in part:-

Transfer declarations, on the official form of the Society,

…………...

The official form of the Society is either the one that makes up the second page of the Registration Certificate or the one that can be filed out on-line. The first needs to be signed by the vendor. Ac-cording to the laws that govern on-line forms, if you tick the box that says you have read the rules and agree to abide by them, then you are taken to have signed that form. Council is currently considering altering the transfer forms to ac-commodate animals that have been sold as commercial or to the works. Herd returns are also an official form of the Society and can be used to record animals sent to the works but should not be used in the other cases mentioned above. Jenny McDonald, Registrar

An Obituary -Carole Shaw 5/11/40 – 17/12/11

It was a sad day just before Christmas that we had to say goodbye to a friend and foundation member of the NZHCS. Carole and her late husband Ken, who was the first President of our society, were great believers in the Highland breed and had started their Stratherrick Fold back in the early 80’s. By the time the society was formed they already had Purebred cattle in their fold which was a rarity in those days. Carole and Ken had had many years of showing their Ayrshire cattle at shows and it was through their encouragement and participation that showing of Highlands at A & P shows was started. By this time Ken was disabled with a stroke but it did not deter Carole from getting out there with their Highlands. A truck would be hired for the weekend and the Stratherrick, Hun-troyd and Braco cattle would be transported with the wives following with the trailer filled with feed and show gear. The first show that they at-tended was the Royal show held in Palmerston North in 1996. Talk about hit the big one first! Back in those early days of the society, Council meetings were whole weekend affairs, part busi-ness and a lot of pleasure, with the spouses tag-ging along, usually a different town and venue each time. Carole was a big part of these week-ends. And when it came to the AGM to be held down in Fairlie in 1996 a minivan was hired to trans-port the Shaws, Blanchards, Aspinalls and Fer-gusons. This was destined to be a fun time when the back door opened and bags fell out on the road not long after they had started. A social gathering of Highland members was organised for Christchurch on the way down, then it was on to Fairlie with a couple more hitchhikers, Keith Harrison and Andrew Peters complete with his bagpipes for the Haggis ceremony. It was a snow-filled weekend catching up with more members and then on to Gore where another social evening was arranged for members, some coming from as far as Dunedin, Invercargill and Otautau. At Queenstown it was hard to hold Joel Aspinall back from doing a bungy jump when he found out it was free for over 70’s and they even managed to get Ken up to the snow at Franz Joseph. Then it was up the west coast to another gathering at the Gordon's fold near Nel-

son for the north-of-the-south group. By the time they had completed the South Island tour they had met the majority of members down there. But the most vivid memories were of Carole sorting the morning teas on the side of the road, usually in bus shelters or the like. Although the Stratherrick fold has been disbanded for some time now, Carole was still a participating member of our society. For those who had called at the Stratherrick fold near Stratford, or had met Carole at functions, you will not forget the big hugs and enthusiastic welcome that you received. The phrase ‘bloody marvellous’ will instantly spring to mind. Whilst she was a straight talker and straight shooter and not one to argue with, she was also the first person to pick up the phone or put pen to paper to tell you what a great job you were doing, and the society received one of these notes not long before she passed away. Carole was a great community worker and was very much involved with whatever she took on. She has been taken way before her time and will be missed by many. Another shining star to raise a glass and have a wee dram to.

Magazine Extra Copies

Available $3.50

Contact:secretary

Pay directly to the New Zealand Highland Cattle

Society bank account number 15 3953 0511620 00.

Please ensure your name and service ie, transfer, registration, etc appears as reference

Back copies of Herd Regis-ters available for $25.00

Contact: Registrar

NZHCS Council 2011 President Cynthia Christie 03 302 2656 [email protected] Vice Presidents Doug Sheldon 09 420 4065 09 420 4085 [email protected] Doug Maclean 06 328 8778 [email protected] Councillors Martin McLeod 09 292 8225 [email protected] Judy Smyth 07 543 0925 [email protected] James Brown 03 2258014 [email protected] Gary Campbell 03 3273600 [email protected] Garth Gadsby [email protected] David Leslie 03 693 7499 [email protected] NZHCS Registrar/Secretary/Treasurer NZHCS Magazine Jenny McDonald Noelene Gallagher 220B Oturoa Road, PO Box 136 RD2, Rotorua, 3072 Drury, 2247 Ph: 07 332 3953 Ph: 09 292 7923 Fx: 07 332 3954 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

Year Letter 1 Jun'11-30 May'12

Advertising (including GST) 1/8 page (b &w) $30.00 (colour) $60.00 ¼ page (b&w) $60.00 (colour) $120.00 ½ page (b&w) $120.00 (colour) $240.00 Full (b&w) $250.00 (colour) $350.00

Full membership $100 If paid before 31st March $90 Associate/Junior $55 If paid before 31st March $50 Herd registration $60 Bull assessment - home $60 Bull assessment – away $170 Bull assessment – out of season $565

AI assessment $115 Registration – female $35 Registration – male $135 Registration – late female only —over 12 months $70 Transfers $40 Transfer from a non-member - application fee $80

Fees (inclusive of GST)

Sub Committee Members Policy: Doug Maclean (Chair) , Garth Gadsby, Cynthia Christie

Finance: Martin McLeod (Chair), Doug MacLean, Jenny McDonald

Breed Management (covering aspects of herdbook management, bull assessment and beef): Cynthia Christie (Chair), Doug Sheldon, Doug MacLean, James Brown, Judy Smyth, Jenny McDonald, David Leslie

Bull Assessment co-ordinators: Martin McLeod and Doug Maclean—North Island co-ordinators. James Brown and David Leslie—South Island co-ordinators

Promotions, Magazine and Marketing: Doug Sheldon (Chair), Gary Campbell, Garth Gadsby,

International Gathering: Doug Sheldon (Chair), Michelle Urquhart, Judy Smyth, Martin McLeod

PLEASE NOTE The New Zealand Highland Cattle Society animal registration certificates, member lists and herd registers are the intellectual property of the Society and are therefore copyright. Paper or electronic copies of our herd register should only be shared with Society members. The specific animal information contained on the registration certificates remains the property of the breeders who have supplied that information. At your discretion a copy may be provided to others provided the copyright of the certificate to the Society is noted. When you transfer an animal to a New Zealand Highland Cattle Society member they will be issued with a new certificate. For members’ privacy (as required under the Privacy Act) paper or electronic copies of member lists should not be handed over to anyone other than New Zealand Highland Cattle Society members.

Articles for newsletter to: Noelene Gallagher

PO Box 136 DRURY 2247

[email protected] Phone 021 211 9456

Deadlines—1st of each month: 1st February

1st April 1st July

1st November

Duncan of Glenange during a snow storm, sheltering one of the calves, photo supplied by Grant and Cathy Watts. Brilliant photos

of beautiful Highlands, thank you Gail Simons for your contribution of photos for our magazine, always appreciated!

2011 VIRTUAL SHOW

SUPREME EXHIBIT AND FEMALE CHAMPION PRUE vom Langen Zaun, Augustenhof Fold, Gisela Klosner, Germany

MALE CHAMPION Ballach Cuiumir of Claggersnich , Dams Fold, Bill and Sandra Wilson, Scotland

3rd place— Judges Choice, Yearling bull, Blair of Berwick, Berwick Fold, Garth and Win Gadsby

1st place, People’s Choice, Junior Bull, Balmoral of Berwick, Berwick Fold, Win and Garth Gadsby

2nd, Judges Choice, 3rd, People’s Choice, Scenic Photos, Stoney Oaks Fold, Gail Simons,

2nd place, Judges Choice and People’s Choice, funny photo, Gail Simons, Stoney Oaks Fold

3rd place, Judges Choice, Junior Photographer, Damien Guy, aged 6

1st place, People’s Choice, Junior Photographer, Jade Simons, aged 7

CONGRATULATIONS NZ PLACE GETTERS