NZHCS Highland News September 2012: issue 70

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 Womans 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

All prices include GST. Postage extra unless indicated.

Elaine Munro’s gorgeous birthday cake made by Michelle Hamlin, Shelby’s Cakes,

Gore, Southland

FULL BLOOD BULL FOR SWAP OR SALE

OXENRIG TITAN HERDBOOK NO. NZ 6318, D.O.B. 30.3.06

P HAMMOND / A CALDER 60 WITHEFORD ROAD, RD3, WELLSFORD, 0973

Ph: 09 423 8890 / 021 885 436

Cover: Bad hair days at Stoney Oaks Fold, photo from Gail Simons

WHATS BEEN HAPPENING - AREA REPORTS -

WAIKATO, BAY OF PLENTY Report by Judy Smyth This region is now well and truly feeling the bite of winter with icy mornings, low day time temperatures and high winds. Early calving has begun and several breeders have welcomed heifer calves into their folds. The North Island HCS winter show was held at Clevedon in their new facilities, one week before the AGM being held in Tauranga. Several breeders from the Waikato, Tauranga, Whakatane regions showed their animals, resplendent in their winter coats. As always, I was delighted to observe the love that breeders have for their cattle and their support of each other. Congratulations to Martin, Ginni and their support network of people for their superb organisation of this event and to the many breeders who turned out some wonderfully displayed cattle. Having this event one week before the AGM meant many South Island folk took the opportunity to stay up North for the week between, to visit and familiarise themselves with breeders and folds up this way, such is the friendly network of Highland cattle breeders. One week later, our region hosted the AGM in Tauranga, with a focus theme of “Building and strengthening a High-land beef future’’. This created a frame work for guest speak-ers, Bruce Orr and Fay Cameron (article included further on in this Magazine) to deliver key messages about trends and patterns in the New Zealand and world beef markets and the specifics related to niche marketing of our highland beef. Di McGrigor also spoke on NAIT in a very full, informative and detailed manner, reminding us gently of imminent obliga-tions as breeders.

LOWER NORTH ISLAND Report by Doug Maclean The good feed conditions we had across the district in au-tumn is now evident in the excellent condition of cattle for this stage of winter. It will be interesting to see how well calving goes over the next few months as a result. Shows All the local shows are well and truly over for the year but the round of A&P association and RAS district and RAS AGMs have taken place. The Council is trying to get better breed society input into these organisations and both Sharon and I have attended a number of them to do just that. No direct results to date but the ongoing relationships being developed are important. NZHCS AGM The Bay of Plenty members who hosted the 2012 NZHCS AGM did a great job; mixing the AGM business, very valu-able sessions on beef marketing and cuts of meat, fold vis-its, Bay of Plenty hospitality and lots of fun. Thanks to you all – it was a great weekend. Club Days A very educational (and enjoyable!) club day was held in April at Rogan and Dynett Colbourne’s Tokoeka Fold at Otaki. Not only did we get to see the development of the Tokoeka fold but also got a great understanding of work

Probably the highlight for most attendees was visiting Paul Williams butchery premises “Farmers Sustainable Meat Company” on Sunday morning, where a Highland carcass was cut down and bone out by Wayne Vicars, a very skilful magician/butcher. Some very interesting and informative statistical details were provided through out, as was a sump-tuous morning tea. My sincere thanks goes to a very hard working AGM or-ganisational committee comprised of the Doulls, Clarks, Duddings, Harveys and Smyths. We hope that for all those who attended, there was sufficient new information to cre-ate thoughtful conversations, resulting in positive actions and outcomes, so setting new direction in your breeding programme or confirming what you are already doing. We also wish to acknowledge and thank most sincerely Cathy Watts for the donation of a truly wonderful Highland painting that John Lamison had the pleasure of auctioning and to Martin and Stu for your deep pockets!!. Above all, we sincerely hope that you all got to see old friends, make new ones and forge the bonds of Highland friendship.. “May Spring, “spring external", really soon! Correction In issue 69 May 2012, I wrote that the heritage semen taken from Lord Montague of Old Green-law, was collectively introduced to New Zealand By Judy Bruerton and Allen Donald. Judy has drawn it to my attention that it was she and Jo Ramsay of Xcell Breeding Services Ltd who worked collectively together. My sincere apologies for this error.

NORTHLAND Report by Doug Sheldon Winter is on us with a vengeance with heavy rain storms re-sulting in the usual Northland sticky, gooey mud. Still, there is a better than normal coverage of grass from a great late summer and autumn, so I suppose we shouldn't complain. Now that the AGM is behind us we can reflect on what a great weekend it was. It was refreshing to be able to focus on Highland beef, with the skilled demonstration of a side of prime Highland beef being butchered. This followed the very interesting talk by Fay Cameron on the progress that they have made in marketing Highland beef. Some of our cows are looking close to calving, and those we put to our new Shorthorn bull are looking decidedly plump. We are looking forward to these Shorthorn/Highland cross animals after having seen a good number of the same cross in Scotland. I have had some queries recently on breaking in and halter training older cows. I have done this successfully with sev-eral animals - it can be done but it is harder and can require a lot more patience. Members are welcome to call me to dis-cuss if they wish. All the best to everyone for the coming calving.

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Welcome New Members

CANTERBURY WESTLAND Report by Cynthia Christie The local branch held its AGM followed by a lunch in Ashburton late March. Attendance was perhaps down on last year but a good informative meeting was held. Angus Anderson was re-elected as Chairperson and Lyn George as Secretary. It was decided not to have a formal committee. If one was needed for any reason we would then get a group together. Proposed remits for the NZHCS AGM were dis-cussed, a report on the Oamaru Show given. Thanks were expressed to all those that helped at the show. A plan of ac-tivities for the coming year was made. We are planning to hold a winter activity and hopefully a visit to the feedlot or a dairy farm that is operating an automated milking system. The traditional St Andrews Day get together will be held in the North Canterbury area this year. There were no bulls assessed in the Canterbury area this Autumn. Several members attended the AGM in Tauranga – feed-back is that the weekend was great – really enjoyed the ac-tivities that the were organised over the weekend and being able to meet other breeders and spend time with them was well worth the trip north. Hats off to the organising commit-tee. The AGM returns to the South Island in 2013 and will be held in Timaru. An organising committee will be tasked with planning activities and we invite all to attend and spend some time in South Canterbury – it is the original home of Highland Cattle in New Zealand. We have had some very cold and dreary days recently with one significant snowfall which affected those from Ashbur-ton north. However after the excellent growing season there should be plenty of feed on hand to get everyone through the winter. Spring calving will be not far away by the time this goes to print – hope it all goes well.

2012 Subscriptions are overdue

Please post to Registrar, 220B Oturoa Rd, RD 2,

Rotorua 3072 or pay on-line to 15 3953 0511620 00

4th International Gathering Update

That’s just over two years away –November 2014, Suggestions for the main function (3-4 days) to be held in Dunedin, Oamaru or Queenstown, followed by a second function a week later in Rotorua. Your input is invited. Please contact: Doug Sheldon 09 4204065 / 021 938641 Email: [email protected],

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

Colin & Joy Gover Helensville Don Shirley Hamilton Hugh & Louise McPhail Havelock North John Baker & Lindsay Jenkin Wellington Greg & Suzanne Down Darfield Phillip Askin Christchurch Vicki Jensen & Daniel Mattsen Otautau

OTAGO/SOUTHLAND Report by James Brown The weather seems to have gone from one extreme to the next. I think we would've caught up with our annual rain fall by now. All the cattle seem to be coping well even with a bit of mud and snow. The Otago/Southland group had a meeting and dinner at the Cassabella in Gore on the 30th of June. Royden Brown was re-elected as President and Elaine Munro as Secretary. Royden reported on the AGM in Tauranga and his time looking around some of the folds up there. There was a lot of discussion about the bull assessment scheme as well as breed development for the future. The Otago/Southland group is looking at having a field day in October/November.

Rogan is doing with the Department of Conservation with the breeding and conservation of Kiwi on Kapiti and other areas. A similarly enjoyable club day at Di and Stu McGrigor’s Kintore fold at Martinborough was held in May, again see-ing the development of the Kintore cattle and meeting up with Wairarapa members again.

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HEFTY HERBIE IN THE NEWS!!

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OLDEST ANIMAL OUT THERE?

TRANSFERS AND CULLS

According to the herd book the 20 animals listed below are the oldest Highlanders registered showing as still alive and belonging to current members of the Society. It would be interesting to hear from some of the owners whether any are still breeding or are they just living out their days in contentment?

Alas for bulls they don’t seem to have fared so well. The oldest living bull belonging to a current member comes in at 45th on the list and is considerably younger than the oldest female.

SHEILA OF HAYFIELD 15-Jul-90 B NZ 1354 Leigh Whyte MAGS OF ILE 21-Aug-90 B NZ 1322 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan AILSA OF ILE 14-Oct-90 C NZ 1324 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

CHARMING RUSTY 19-Sep-91 P1 NZ 1392 Sally McKay

SHORTHORN 8 OF WESTERN HIGHLANDS 27-Sep-92 C NZ 1172 Verena & Hans Stub HILARY 2ND OF TRELISSICK 01-Oct-92 F NZ 1532 Doug & Jenny Sheldon MORAG OF CEANFERGAIL 25-Oct-92 B NZ 1350 Kylie Hunt JOSSIE OF STRATHERRICK 10-Jul-93 A NZ 1024 Don & Ruth Munro

MAGGIE OF BAJHERO 08-Aug-93 P2 NZ 1078 Julie & Michael Kellow

TESS OF GLENKYE 05-Sep-93 P1 NZ 1596 Alan & Christine Crosswell

CAROL OF AIRDRIE 01-Oct-93 C NZ 1135 David & Robyn McLachlan MAIRI OF ILE 30-Nov-93 B NZ 1330 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan JILL OF ILE 01-Jan-94 B NZ 1331 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan PEARL OF GLENFIDDICH 05-Sep-94 B NZ 1344 Paul & Leanne McIntosh RUSSET OF TIFFIN 08-Sep-94 B NZ 1275 Jim Veitch FLORA OF AIRDRIE 20-Sep-94 B NZ 1269 Awhitu Heights Ltd

WELSH BLACK 8 OF WESTERN HIGHLANDS 01-Oct-94 C NZ 1474 Justine & Gary Campbell LILIAN OG OF BRACO 24-Oct-94 A NZ 1219 Craig & Joanne Howe CEIT OF ILE 31-Oct-94 C NZ 1333 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

CAIRISTIONA OF ILE 09-Dec-94 P1 NZ 1334 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

GILLE OF BRACO 12-Feb-96 P3 NZ 1713 David & Robyn McLachlan

SHEILA OF HAYFIELD 15-Jul-90 B NZ 1354 Leigh Whyte MAGS OF ILE 21-Aug-90 B NZ 1322 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan AILSA OF ILE 14-Oct-90 C NZ 1324 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

CHARMING RUSTY 19-Sep-91 P1 NZ 1392 Sally McKay

SHORTHORN 8 OF WESTERN HIGHLANDS 27-Sep-92 C NZ 1172 Verena & Hans Stub HILARY 2ND OF TRELISSICK 01-Oct-92 F NZ 1532 Doug & Jenny Sheldon MORAG OF CEANFERGAIL 25-Oct-92 B NZ 1350 Kylie Hunt JOSSIE OF STRATHERRICK 10-Jul-93 A NZ 1024 Don & Ruth Munro

MAGGIE OF BAJHERO 08-Aug-93 P2 NZ 1078 Julie & Michael Kellow

TESS OF GLENKYE 05-Sep-93 P1 NZ 1596 Alan & Christine Crosswell

CAROL OF AIRDRIE 01-Oct-93 C NZ 1135 David & Robyn McLachlan MAIRI OF ILE 30-Nov-93 B NZ 1330 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan JILL OF ILE 01-Jan-94 B NZ 1331 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan PEARL OF GLENFIDDICH 05-Sep-94 B NZ 1344 Paul & Leanne McIntosh RUSSET OF TIFFIN 08-Sep-94 B NZ 1275 Jim Veitch FLORA OF AIRDRIE 20-Sep-94 B NZ 1269 Awhitu Heights Ltd

WELSH BLACK 8 OF WESTERN HIGHLANDS 01-Oct-94 C NZ 1474 Justine & Gary Campbell LILIAN OG OF BRACO 24-Oct-94 A NZ 1219 Craig & Joanne Howe CEIT OF ILE 31-Oct-94 C NZ 1333 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

CAIRISTIONA OF ILE 09-Dec-94 P1 NZ 1334 Bruce & Elizabeth McLellan

Following on from the article about transfers in the last magazine, Council has done some investigations and come up with two ideas to try and assist members recording transfer and culls. Shortly there will be a new form available on the web site to record all animals sold as culls and the existing transfer certifi-cate (which forms the second part of the registration certificates) will be altered to allow for animals to be recorded as culled. Unfortunately the word culled means different things to different people. Many take it to mean animals that have gone to the works or as beef and are definitely dead. Others take it to mean animals sold out of the herd as not considered good enough for breeding. They are often sold as pets but then if they happen to have a calf the new owner decides it would be nice to register it which goes against the intention of the original owner in disposing of it as a cull. If the original owner has re-corded the sale of such an animal as a cull then it or any of its progeny will not be able to be registered. The Transfer Certificate will be used for all Registrations and transfers from the time of completion of the alteration. The new form, once it is up on the website, should be used in all cases where there is only the old transfer certificate for the ani-mal concerned. A copy of the new certificate and form will be printed in the next magazine.

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AGM 2013

Saturday 1 June-Monday 3 June 2013 Location: Timaru - The Original Home of Highland Cattle in New Zealand Venue: Grosvenor Hotel, 26 Cains Tce, Timaru www.thegrosvenor.co.nz This hotel has undergone significant refurbishment over the last couple of years and there is plenty of parking available. Rooms: $110 inc. GST (includes continental breakfast). Getting there: Timaru has a small regional airport with flights to and from Wellington. Alternatively fly into Christchurch. Timaru is a 2 hour drive to the south through the rich farming region of Canterbury. Skiing – possibly - depending on the snow although Mt Hutt doesn't usually open until the 2nd weekend in June. An organising committee of local members has been formed and will be working to deliver an AGM weekend to remember! We look forward to welcoming you all to sunny Timaru - Queens Birthday Weekend 2013. Angus Anderson – Chairperson

We have now held three successful Open Fold Days. While we have found it a lot of work organising our cat-tle because of numbers and the contour of our farm, the easy part (at least for Doug) has been the publicity side of it all. To publicise the event, instead of expensive advertising, I have written short articles of around 200-250 words, more or less, including what the NZHCS Open Fold Day is about, date and time, and contact details of those in the area who are opening their Folds. I have included a very brief history of Highland Cattle and their appeal, the colours and perhaps some information on the beef tenderness, etc. I also send in two especially eye-catching photos. This is emailed to all local papers, inviting them to put an article in their publications just before the day. We have found that the local papers are always on the lookout for special upcoming events in the area and have al-ways been receptive to our copy. They sometimes change the wording, but quite often my article is published as it is sent, and sometimes two, more usually one of the pictures is printed in colour – all at no cost. It is nec-essary to write in such a way that it is the breed that is promoted, not a particular breeder, or it could be seen as an advertisement. We have also sent “after the event” copy and had it printed. The points are:

Local papers Broad interest information All relevant details for people to attend Brief article Good quality picture for publication. By Jenny Sheldon

PUBLICISING YOUR LOCAL OPEN FOLD DAY

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REGISTRAR’S REPORT

Transactions 27-02-12 to 30-06-12

Cattle Registrations 104 Transfers 74 Herd Registrations 8

Cattle registrations have been steady but I have a good number sitting on my files awaiting fur-ther information. One reason for some of these be-ing delayed is the lack of a Herd Return. This set me thinking that it may be timely to do a resume of the various forms used by the Society and their pur-pose. To some of you this will be old hat but newer members often haven’t had experience with re-cording animal records and what is required to be able to register an animal. These requirements are not just for highland cattle but any breed where there is a desire to register the animal. NZHCS has tried over time to keep the num-ber of forms down but there will always be a require-ment for some. Another endeavour has been to try and colour code the forms but of course this falls down when forms are down loaded off the web-site. So where to begin? Before I get into any forms standardised by the Society there is a need for every breeder to keep their own Fold Records in which it is essential that they record identification, matings and births as well as any other information they may like to keep such as drenching regimes, vet visits, bull assessments, weight gain and so on. The format these records are kept in is entirely up to each breeder with some preferring electronic meth-ods and others the good old fashioned notebook and pen. These should be kept for at least the life of each animal. They can be valuable tools down the track in sorting out identification and parentage issues as well as being required if an animal’s num-ber comes up in the audit process. The form that is unique to each breeder is the Annual Herd Return. This form is generated each year directly from the herd book and is posted to breeders usually in March. It is always printed on yellow paper in order to try and make it stand out from other forms. It records all the animals listed in the herd book as being live and in your possession at the date it is printed. You are required to:-

Check that all registered animals you own are showing on the list. If not advise the regis-trar to check on why the transfer into your name hasn’t occurred or whether there is a problem with a registration proceeding as it should

Check that all animals listed are still alive or in your possession. If not write the date they left your ownership with the reason, i.e. died,

works, sold as beef. If you have sold to an-other breeder have you filed the transfer with the Registrar? (See also article about trans-fers elsewhere in this magazine)

Most importantly! Record all the mating details of your animals. If your dams run with a bull (RWB) all year round enter RWB 01-06-11 to present. If you take the bull out then you need to write the exact dates he was with the dams, e.g. RWB 03-10-11 to 27-12-12. Merely writing a month and the year is too open and you will be asked to prove the sire by DNA. Or write the artificial insemination date (AI) and subsequent dates or the follow-up bull dates. It pays to allow three weeks between using different bulls or AI and a fol-low-up bull, otherwise depending on the birth date of the calf you may find yourself having to DNA to prove the sire.

Return the completed form along with AI dock-ets and bull lease forms to the Registrar be-fore the birth of your calves.

Herd returns are supposed to be with the Reg-istrar by May 31st each year. This is because the bulk of breeders in the past have calved in the spring. However, there are those who breed all year round and those who prefer to calve in the au-tumn due to weather conditions. Whatever your choice the herd return must be with the Registrar before the birth of the calves! Remember – No Herd Return or proof of mat-ing – No registration. If you bought the dam in-calf then the mating records should be on file from the previous owner. It would certainly do no harm to politely inquire from them whether they have filed their annual return when you purchase the animal. There are two forms to assist you with filing your Herd Return. They are the Bull Lease form and the AI Certificate. Both of these can be downloaded from the website and filled in accord-ingly. Both need a signature so cannot be com-pleted on-line. The Bull Lease form is for when you have hired a bull from someone else or you have sent your girls to run with a bull at someone else’s prop-erty. The owner of the bull must sign the form. Some breeders produce their own bull lease form and that’s fine so long as a copy reaches the Regis-trar before calving. The AI Certificate must be signed by the tech-nician and date on the day of insemination. Many technicians have their own forms and again, that’s fine so long as a copy reaches the Registrar before calving.

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EADON HIGHLAND CATTLE www.eadon.co.nz

Doug and Jenny Sheldon , 108 Kanohi Road, Kaukapakapa, North Auckland, Phone 09 4204065 / 021 938641, Email: [email protected]

FULL BLOOD BULLS FOR SALE

One 3 year old, one 2 year old and several yearlings available. Sires are Braco Tempest (Rushmore Bracken), and Black Bear of Ruatiti (pictured) (SCF Black Shadow). Dams from Braco, Braeburn and Glen Cannich Folds

Once you know the above forms are with the Registrar you can sit back and await the birth of your calves. Then it is time to fill in a Multiple Registration form. It is better to register your calves sooner rather than later as the more time goes by the easier it is to get information muddled. This is why there is a late registration fee – to encourage you to register your fe-male calves within 12 months. The second biggest cause of delays in registra-tions is the inaccurate filling out of the registration form. Every part of the form is required to be filled out. I re-cently had a councillor in the office going through the registration process with me and they were astonished at the amount of mind reading members seem to ex-pect of the Registrar. There certainly are things I can fill in but the actual details of the animals I can’t. The problem is partially overcome if registering on-line as most of the form consists of mandatory fields but some-how vital information is still left off. I often have people ring me to talk them through the registration form and I don’t mind that at all as it will mean being able to ac-complish the registration once received. I strongly recommend you keep a photocopy of all forms sent in. It is a insurance for both you as a breeder and the Registrar. Where to find the forms and how to submit to the Registrar:-

The annual herd return will be posted to you. If you have lost it you can request a replacement. It needs to be posted or faxed back to the Reg-

istrar or can be scanned and attached to an e-mail.

Bull lease form can be down loaded off the web-site, photocopied from your member’s kit, supplied by the owner of the bull or re-quested from the Registrar. It can returned to the Registrar by posting, faxing, scan-ning or filled out on-line by the owner of the bull.

AI form can be down loaded off the web-site, photocopied from your member’s kit, re-quested from the Registrar or may be sup-plied by the AI Technician. It can be re-turned to the Registrar by posting, faxing or scanning

Multiple Registration form can be down loaded off the web-site, photocopied from your member’s kit or filled out on-line. It can be returned by posting, scanning, fax-ing or on-line.

And finally, one of the last reasons for delays is no fees. Often members opt to pay on-line but then forget to do so. Please be sure you know what the fees are and that you do the on-line payment at the same time clearly indicating what it is four, e.g. Registration, transfer, etc. I hope calving goes well for all those who calve at this time of year. Keep warm and dry. Jenny McDonald, Registrar

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2012 AGM HIGHLIGHTS

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This was the theme for this year’s NZHCS AGM and it was with pleasure that we presented an opportunity for our highland community to join together and build a future for Highland beef. At Clan Cameron Highlands we are taking this seri-ously. We deliberately set out to grow beef from Highlands with our land being rolling, hilly, even marginal in places we consciously chose Highlands for their dura-bility, hardiness, size and all those other cliché words but mostly because we liked the stubborn grittiness of them and their Scottish heritage.

Building and strengthening a Highland Beef future

There are over 1 million Angus beasts supplied for beef in New Zealand every year. So how many high-lands are there which are ready each year for supply? 500 animals a year? Maybe twice that but probably not much more. Given we don’t have the vast quantity of animals to deliver to a mass market we need to ad-dress the High value – Low volume market. This brings us to the speciality butchers and the top end restaurants. Our vision is for the burger people to continue with the ‘Angus’ brand but for ‘Highland’ to be the brand asked for in high end restaurants and quality butchers. A product that people will pay extra for because it tastes fantastic, and has that up-market appeal. A bit like Gucci or Moet. There is a huge resurgence worldwide centred around farm gate supply. A real movement, where it is cool, to ask for, even insist upon, farm bred, grass fed, free range, sustainable and best of all, traceable beef. They should be thinking of Highland beef as we can offer all of this. We as Highland beef growers, are the farm gate supplier of something better than good Highland beef that has been aged is incredibly special and deserves that great market but unfortunately the fine cuts only represent about 20% of the carcass. For us to find a suitable market for our animals we need to find a market where the whole animal can be used.

Visit to Farmers Sustainable Meats

With all this in mind and the fact that we are not butch-ers then we cannot directly supply to any restaurants or the supermarkets. This means the only feasible op-portunity is to find suitable butchers who are interested in promoting highland beef and who have the contacts or outlets which will allow them to deliver the high quality beef at a premium price. To date we have found two butchers each aiming at different markets. The challenge now is to ensure we can keep up the supply to meet the demand. Can we guarantee year round supply?

Over the last year we have considered three potential markets:

1. Niche butchers doing it the old fashioned way 2. The supermarkets 3. Top end restaurants

Of the beef reared in New Zealand, at least 95% of it is manufactured beef, grown for hamburgers for over-seas consumption. The table meat that gets to the supermarket shelves is mostly a by-product of this burger meat. It doesn't taste like the beef we used to get as kids. Mum was obviously a great cook, but it was also because the beef she bought was from her local butcher which had been aged and butchered in the traditional manner, having been killed in the local abattoir and supplied by the local farmer. Now with progress the public has mass manufactured beef!! Now think about the amazing marketing campaign carried out by McDonalds for their ‘Angus’ burgers. Two or three years ago the majority of people in New Zealand probably had no idea what an Angus was, and in fact possibly still don’t, but what they do know is that if they ask for an Angus burger when they go into McDonalds they will get a cheap and satisfying product every time. This is the high volume – Low value market.

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Since early this year we have been sending animals every two weeks to the following niche markets - Farmers Sustainable Meat Company. and The Farm Butchery in Warkworth.

Farm Sustainable Meats(FSM) is based near Tau-ranga. They currently have a trial underway with the New World supermarket outlet and we are proud to announce our 21 day aged fillet steaks were centre display last week in three of their stores.

The Farm Butchery is an organic butcher also spe-cialising in Heritage breeds. Although we are not or-ganic they see the value in the ‘ancient’ breeds and feedback from the butcher is all good: "people are asking for Highland beef - it is a ‘romantic’ beef from a mystical animal from a breed that is a thousand years old". People are coming into their shop and asking for the highland beef. They are actively mar-keting the highland beef both in their shop on the ra-dio and the name is catching on.

21 day aged highland carcass being butchered Both butchers use the Ag Research abattoir in Ru-akara, so all animals are sent there for slaughter. This is definitely a central/north North Island operation aiming at the Auckland

market but that is not to say you cannot use our model in Christchurch or Wellington, or even ship us a truck load of your steers. Our aim is to put Highland beef into a top end niche market and build a highland beef future. To make these opportunities continue and grow it is essential that a guaranteed supply can be achieved. So if you have any animals which will be ready this year or next then get in contact.

This is our one big chance to get serious about Highland Beef. We at Clan Cameron are a commercial farm and have treated this as a commercial operation mar-keted under Clan Cameron Pure and, along with several other society members we have been successful in establishing these two markets to date. Where it goes from here is up to us all to decide. Personally we see the structure develop-ing as a Highland Growers Group with minimal overheads and no ticket clipping. But for now James will act as your very own Highland Stock Agent to organise the supply schedule and trans-port for this first year. Thank you for those twelve folds that have al-ready promised animals. Our target was for 100 animals in this first year and we are now up to 46. Those ones and twos really do make the differ-ence Be aware this is a work in progress and both mar-kets are giving us different deals done on a six month trial basis but our aim is to end up with a fixed per kilo rate renegotiated every 6 months. If you are interested give James a call on 021 78 48 78 or email [email protected] Article by Fay Cameron

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Council Corner

Council held a short meeting after the AGM and a full meeting was held on 10th July in Rotorua Notes from the post AGM meeting Cynthia Christie was elected President for the 2012/13 year. Doug Maclean and Doug Sheldon were elected as Vice Presi-dents. A discussion was held regarding the resignation of Garth Gadsby. The constitution was consulted. Appointment to fill the vacancy is at the discretion of council. It was decided that as there was only 1 year to run in the term and given the finan-cial situation of the society that council would run this year with 8 elected members. It was recognised that the 8 council-lors would need to cover any increased workload and all were willing to share in this. Meeting costs should be further re-duced. Doug Maclean and Cynthia Christie were nominated to attend the RAS conference. Doug Maclean as the official delegate would have his costs covered by the Society. Cynthia Christie would cover all her own costs. The Treasurer was asked to investigate the most viable options for meeting venues for the forthcoming year and report back to the July meeting. All councillors were asked to consider subcommittee make up and work plans for the 2012/13 year. Notes from July Meeting The President welcomed the new councillors Paul Simpson and Stuart McGrigor to their first full meeting. There were few items of business placed on the agenda by council members. Reports were received from the 2011/12 subcommittees – in most cases there had been little activity since the last meeting when the main focus had been on the remit proposals for the AGM. A report was received from the herdbook auditor on progress of this years audit – it is under way with one animal completed and others part way through due to animals being in different regions. The outstanding animal from the previous years audit is still to be presented and plans are in place to manage this. Registrations and transfers still track downwards in number – analysis indicates that the trends are towards numbers consis-tent with the early 2000's which is prior to the “boom years”. As a consequence the Society must set its financial objectives with these trends in mind. With this information in front of councillors a considerable amount of time was spent looking at ideas and options for both reducing expenses and increasing income while at the same time improving service to members. All councillors were asked to table 2 items for each area. There were excellent ideas pre-sented some of which can be implemented quickly. Others will require more investigation to determine if they would achieve the desired objectives. Some examples of the ideas tabled: Revamping the magazine completely and moving to

electronic distribution moving all communications to electronic format changing to less magazines and substi-tuting with newsletters sticking to core council business

No merchandise – exception calendars Two 2 day meetings

Bi- annual herd book audit Improved advertising income – including fees for ads on the

website Changing the fee structure for herdbook management Increasing subscriptions and fees by CPI annually to keep

pace with inflation. Regular incremental payment of subscriptions eg monthly

rather than annually Yearly fundraiser Utilising community post funding for postage Better marketing of calendar Smarter promotions and advertising – incl. web based. Sponsorship opportunities to be investigated Increase fees Remove discounts New membership categories Simplifying joining fees and part year memberships im-

proved service, faster turn around times. and the list goes on...... The draft work plan document was tabled and it was decided to have three very broad subcommittees encompassing; Society Management (e.g. finance, privacy, policy, maintenance of

the constitution). Doug Maclean (chair), Paul Simpson, Stuart McGrigor, Gary Campbell

Member Services (e.g magazine, promotions, newsletters, member-ship management, website, calendar). Paul Simpson (chair), Gary Campbell, Judy Smyth, Doug M, Doug Sheldon and James Brown

Breed Management (e.g.breed standard, herdbook rules and integ-rity, bull assessment). Judy Smyth (chair) James Brown, Doug Sheldon, Stuart McGrigor

Cynthia Christie and Jenny McDonald will have active roles across all three groups. There will be significant “cross pollination” between the three groups as they work through the tasks required of them over the coming months. Analysis of the meeting venue once again showed that Rotorua is the most cost effective site. Auckland and Wellington were also considered given the locality of councillors. The consensus of councillors was that both November and March meetings should be over 2 days. This will allow for improved com-pletion of work and enables better forward planning, rather than the mad rush to get through a large agenda in one day. Moving the meeting day also impacts positively on travel costs. Doug Sheldon briefed the council on plans to date for forming a committee to organise the International Gathering. Council requires notification of the committee membership and the presentation of a budget from the organising committee once formed along with funding plans which should be external to NZHCS finances.

12

Presidents Report

It was great to see the AGM so well supported by members from all over the country. I have had excellent feedback from many members who attended. It was a superb weekend, and the organisers got just the right balance of formal and social activities. A big thanks to all those involved. The July meeting was one of the most positive and forward thinking meetings held since I joined Council – a wel-come change from the last couple of years and I hope the start of a new era for our Society. Council has set itself a challenging year with a large focus on reconnecting with membership and securing the Soci-ety’s financial security. I ask for your support as we bring new ideas and innovation online. Please read council cor-ner for some more details.

There is a brickbat however. It was disappointing to have the registrar report to council that nearly 2/3rds of members had not returned their herd returns by the required date of 31 May 2012. The herd return is an essential set of infor-mation required by the NZHCS to maintain and keep the herd book up to date. It provides information to the registrar which enables cross referencing when registration requests are received down the track. Without this information the Society administration cannot manage its database properly and it then cannot meet the obligations set by members within the herd book rules for accurate information. All breeders are obliged to complete and return this document to the Registrar. The herd return forms were sent to members in early April 2012 as a separate mail out so they cannot have been mixed up with other NZHCS paper work. If you have not completed yours please do so and post or scan and email to the Registrar ASAP. If you cannot find the form please contact the Registrar who will provide a new copy. Thanks to the Canterbury area members who have committed to run the 2013AGM. It will be held in Timaru. I, along with Doug Maclean attended the Royal Agricultural Society AGM and Conference in June. There was a poor turnout of beef breeds but it was good to see the smaller breed society’s support the RAS. The NZHCS was the only Highland Society present. The Galloway Society proposed that the RAS organise or support judge and interbreed judge training as clearly the smaller breeds need this support. The NZHCS was fully supportive of this initiative and we discussed some logistics and cooperation with the Galloway representative. The RAS is supportive but clearly the breeds themselves will need to take the bull by the horns and be proactive in organising any training. We will keep you informed of progress – if anyone is interested in up skilling themselves in the ring – please give your local coun-cillor a call.

The feedback from participating Societies and A&P’s towards Highlands was quite positive – a bit of a turnaround from past years. I hope you all have got your NAIT registrations completed. If you are having trouble doing this or find the system confusing please contact your local councillor. The NAIT people I have had contact with seem to be very approach-able and very keen to assist cattle owners. It is not necessary to spend a lot of money purchasing a tag reader. Much of the required info can be done directly by logging into your account on the NAIT website – and for those without computers it can be done over the phone – although that incurs an extra fee. Happy calving , Cynthia Christie

13

North Island Winter Show - 2012

The show weekend commenced with most out of town competitors arriving at the Clevedon show grounds on Saturday afternoon, stock were housed, fed, and watered. Competitors, helpers, locals etc then congregated at the Wairoa Clevedon Hotel to tell a few stories, have a general catch up over a meal, and check out competition for the next day ! Eleven breeders with 41 animals entered the show, which was held in conjunction with the Clevedon Farmers Market, thus there were good numbers of the public there showing keen interest in the breed. Judge for the day was Willie Christie, up from the deepest south (well just south of Christchurch !) – thank you Willie for your infor-mative comments both to competitors and the public, we hope you and Cynthia enjoyed visiting the beautiful Clevedon Valley. Congratulations to all place getters and competitors, and thank you for making the show a success through your participation – well done Alison Wilson on securing your first Supreme Highland Exhibit. Thanks to the organizing committee, and to all helpers before and on the day – these events rely on your support and we very much appreciate it. The NZHCS would like to acknowledge and thank the following sponsors; David & Claire Beaumont / Clevedon Rural Supplies / Betty Ferguson / Franklin Vets / Ginni Pickle / Heliflight / Karaka Bulk Spreaders / Look @ Me Hair Studio / Mitre 10 Mega Takan-ini / Profarm Rural and Lifestyle Supplies / Rainbow Nurseries / Nikki Sim / Te Mata Hills Fold. By Martin McLeod

Best Highland Camryn of Loanhead, owned by Alison Wilson and Glenda Stimpson

Judy Lee and John Doull with Troubadour of Glen Elgin

Ginni Alexander’s Senior Heifer Calves

Champion Bull Caesar of Pottidoon

14

NZHCS North Island Winter Show Results Clevedon Showgrounds - 27th May 2012

Supreme Champion Highland Exhibit Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson

Camryn of Loanhead

Best Pair of Bums 1st Te Mata Hills Entry Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson 2nd Ardargie Entry Ginni Alexander 3rd Eadon Entry Doug & Jenny Sheldon Novice Competitor 1st Fay Cameron 2nd Julie McMurray 3rd Alison Wilson 4th Jim McMurray Trophies Female Champion Cup - Alison Wilson Camryn of Loanhead A, B or Steer Champion Cup - Ginni Alexander Ken of Ardargie Male Champion Cup - Ginni Alexander Caesar of Pottidoon Supreme Exhibit, Ferguson Cup – Alison Wilson Camryn of Loanhead Points Trophy, 1-3 Entries – Joint winners – Debbie Cruse / Errol & Netta Clark Points Trophy, 4+ Entries – Ginni Alexander Ardargie Fold Braco Award, Effort & Enthusiasm – Debbie Cruse Kruz-z Fold Bonnie Brae Award, Best Bums – Catherine Atkinson/Martin Mcleod Te Mata Hills Fold Best Manukau Club Entry – Alison Wilson Northbrook Fold

Cow 3 years & over, with or without own calf at foot 1st Debbie Cruse Braco Faoilte 2nd Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson Sorrento Storm of Te Mata Hills 3rd Ginnie Alexander Biddy of Hillockburn Cow 2 years & over, with or without own calf at foot 1st Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson Camryn of Loanhead 2nd John Doull / Judy Lee Hattie of Hinterland 3rd Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson Jade of Te Mata Hills Senior Champion Female Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson Camryn of Loanhead Reserve Senior Champion Female Debbie Cruse Braco Faoilte Yearling Heifer 1st Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Paige 2nd John Doull / Judy Lee Tess of Glen Elgin 3rd Jim & Julie McMurray Pirie Brae Ezmeralda Junior Heifer Calf 1st Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson Yvonne of Northbrook 2nd Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson Chablis of Te Mata Hills 3rd Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson Beryl of Te Mata Hills Senior Heifer Calf 1st Ginni Alexander Eilish of Ardargie 2nd Ginni Alexander Yasmin of Ardargie 3rd Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Mornay Dubh Junior Champion Female Ginni Alexander Eilish of Ardargie Reserve Junior Champion Female Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Paige Grand Champion Female Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson Camryn of Loanhead Reserve Grand Champion Female Ginni Alexander Eilish of Ardargie Steer Calf & Champion / Reserve A, B, or Steer 1st Ginni Alexander Ken of Ardargie 2nd Fay Cameron Eilean Mor of Clan Cameron Bull 2 years & over 1st Ginni Alexander Caesar of Pottidoon 2nd John Doull / Judy Lee Troubadour of Glen Elgin Yearling Bull 1st Alison Wilson / Glenda Stimpson Moonshine / Hahei Highlands Bull Calf 1st Errol & Netta Clark Glenburn Lord Muir 2nd Doug & Jenny Sheldon Eadon Black Prince 3RD Martin Mcleod / Catherine Atkinson Titanium of Te Mata Hills Grand Champion Male Ginni Alexander Caesar of Pottidoon Reserve Grand Champion Male Errol & Netta Clark Glenburn Lord Muir

15

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 free

Contact: Registrar

NZHCS Council 2012 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 Judy Smyth 07 543 0925 [email protected] Stuart McGrigor 06 3068488 [email protected] Paul Simpson 06 3727896 [email protected] James Brown 03 2258014 [email protected] Gary Campbell 03 3273600 [email protected] NZHCS Registrar/Secretary/Treasurer NZHCS Magazine Jenny McDonald [email protected] 220B Oturoa Road, RD2, Rotorua, 3072 Ph: 07 332 3953 Fx: 07 332 3954 Email: [email protected]

Year Letter 1 Jun'12-30 May'13

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 Member Services – P Simpson, D Sheldon, J Smyth, J Brown, G Campbell, D McLean Breed Management – J Smyth, J Brown, D Sheldon, S McGrigor Society Management – D Maclean, P Simpson, G Campbell, S McGrigor J McDonald and C Christie are on all of them.

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: Deadlines—1st of each month:

1st February 1st April 1st July

1st November

16

Photos by Gail Simons, Stoney Oaks, Inglewood

We may have lost our precious Mcgillie The Highland bull a few years ago but his memory still lives on via his life size concrete statue at Stoney Oaks Wildlife Park. Its been dressed in Mcgillies Taranaki Rugby scarf and people have enjoyed get-ting their photos taken on him --pictured is Kelly Allerby Cheering on our Taranaki Rugby Team-- Ranfurly Shield games have been fun

Photos by Gail Simons, Stoney Oaks, Inglewood

We may have lost our precious Mcgillie The Highland bull a few years ago but his memory still lives on via his life size concrete statue at Stoney Oaks Wildlife Park. Its been dressed in Mcgillies Taranaki Rugby scarf and people have enjoyed get-ting their photos taken on him --pictured is Kelly Allerby Cheering on our Taranaki Rugby Team-- Ranfurly Shield games have been fun