Applications for a South African agricultural exchange, for those involved in the merino industry, will be called for early next year. The inaugural recipients, Dave Anderson and Jayne Rive, talk to Sally Rae about their experiences.
When Dave Anderson returned home from a trip to South Africa last year, he was motivated to lift performance in his merino sheep.
Mr Anderson, who farms Bog Roy Station, on the shores of Lake Benmore, near Omarama, spent 26 days in South Africa, along with Tarras sheep-classer Jayne Rive.
The pair were the first New Zealanders to take part in a New Zealand-South Africa agricultural exchange, funded by the Gordon McMaster Trust and facilitated by the Otago Merino Association.
Applications for the next exchange will be called for early next year and Mr Anderson and Miss Rive urged those involved in the merino industry to give it a go. A successful South African applicant will also visit New Zealand in April.
The pair described it as a "full-on" trip, with a hectic schedule, during which they travelled about 6000km.
As well as visiting some of South Africa's top merino farmers, whose diverse properties ranged from extensive to super-intensive, they also saw a real mix of other enterprises including top cropping, dairy, beef cattle and ostrich operations, an agricultural college, lamb fair, wool-broker, the South African merino stud breeders headquarters and an artificial insemination centre.
Coming across the largest privately-owned collection of fossils, dating back 250 million years, summed up the trip - "a huge amount of surprises around each corner", Mr Anderson said.
Their main host was Andries Pienaar, who won the South African farmer of the year title in 1985, and who runs the Mega Merino stud with his son Jacques. The stud was registered in 1907 and has won a host of major awards and topped wool and ram sales. The family's farm Kipplaatsfontein is in the upper Karoo area.
Recognising that meat was going to become a predominant force, Mr Pienaar radically changed his type of sheep over the past 30 years, now breeding a very plain bodied sheep that produced 30% wool and 70% meat. His genetics were used both in New Zealand and Australia.
Miss Rive described him as a "brilliant marketer" and very much an innovator who was always looking for new ideas. He had been doing eye muscle scanning and carcass evaluation for years.
With high labour units, South African farmers had "so much time for head time" and Mr Pienaar was able to "super analyse" his business. It was humbling how he knew "every little nut and bolt" in his operation, Mr Anderson said.
He was able to work "on the business, rather than in the business", Miss Rive added.
Mr Anderson returned home inspired to increase production on 3000ha Bog Roy, which he is fourth-generation to farm, which runs 3600 merino ewes, along with replacements and beef cattle.
While quite a few of the South African practices could be ruled out in New Zealand, because of labour, a lot of principles were really good and the trip changed his thinking as to what could be achieved. It was impressive what was being achieved and it made him realise that the abilities of the merino had been under-estimated.
High production figures were being attained and the sheep could "really hammer it out and really stack up". They truly were a dual purpose sheep.
"They are not just running merinos because they are passionate; these are the best converters of grass to dollars."
Weight gains were being achieved, with the use of supplements, of up to 320g a day, which was "just unheard of" in New Zealand, he said.
There was a huge predator problem, particularly jackals and lynx, and protective instincts in ewes had been well selected for.
Even with the predator problem, there was a "no second chances" policy, with every ewe having to rear a lamb.
Miss Rive said the trip gave her a lot more confidence in what she was doing and that she was heading in a path that had already been formed and travelled.
Both Miss Rive and Mr Anderson were full of praise for their various hosts, who willingly gave them their time and were "wonderful hosts".
They were also impressed with attitudes, which were opportunist, not defeatist.
Miss Rive described the trip as an "incredible opportunity" and one that "should be a must" for all merino enthusiasts. They had access to people they would never have an opportunity to meet.
Both agreed the future for merino farmers in New Zealand was looking bright, both for meat and wool.