0.2 - The Dalton Multipurpose Statistic

0.2 – The 'Dalton Multipurpose statistic'

By Dr Clive Dalton

Cranking handles in the 1950s

As a student in the 1950s, we did statistics labs on small Brunsviga hand-cranked calculators with tiny levers pulled down to select the numbers wanted. You cranked the handle clockwise until a bell rang (I think when dividing), and then cranked it anticlockwise for a reason I’ve forgotten.

In a class of 20, you could not tell when your bell had rung!

Then for my PhD at Bangor University, the Agriculture Department had one electric Facit machine shared among students and staff. Inside it was a mass of robust little German cogs that whizzed around when you pressed the keys. We thought it was magic, and I pounded it for three years without problems. When I finished, there were rumours that the University was about to get a ‘computer’ to take up the entire space of an old chapel.

The computer age -1960s

In my early lecturing days at Leeds University, the Facit and American Marchant machines (see the interior of a Marchant XL at left) with a massive bank of keys ruled supreme, and were hammered by students for their projects and higher degrees.

A computer had arrived at Leeds and filled a retired church hall, and some of us started to learn to program in a mystery language called Algol, and then punch tape to get simple exercises done that took as long (if you added our errors) as using a calculator.

But our kids loved the reels of error-ridden punched tape that I took home after my failed forays into computing.

What did the end value mean?

The point was, that by the time you got to the end of a calculation, and you hadn’t botched things up a few times on the way, so had to start all over again, you were far too exhausted to think much about what the final values meant. Did they make any sense? Were they of any practical use?

Statistical magicians

When I went into full time research in New Zealand, I started to have suspicions about statistics because we had very bright professional statisticians to give advice at all stages of projects – in my case animal breeding trials. This was both interesting and frustrating.

When the statistician had ‘run your data’, and the miles of ‘line flow’ paper spewed out of the research station computer (that filled a whole room), you needed to go into a scientific trance to work out how to get ‘the results you wanted’ – so the imagined published paper would blow the scientific community away and you would be for ever famous! It was here the statisticians came into their own.

What you wanted?

It was wonderful if the results (explained by the statistician) confirmed your preconceived expectations (which you were not supposed to have), or if you were positively surprised with them. In other words you didn’t expect those results but you would have not trouble getting them published.

What was really bad news was when you were negatively surprised, as when the results went the opposite way to what you wanted and you couldn’t explain why – and would be lucky if any journal would publish the results.

The real pits were when after years of work, you got no result at all, and there was no way you could claim this as a ‘positive surprise’ that was publishable.

Hazards of long-term trials

In long-term trials, we could easily have the services of two or three statisticians as they came and went to further their careers. This could be really nasty as a newly-qualified statistician fresh from University with all A++ papers, would look at the analysis and ask why his predecessor hadn’t used the new XYZ package? It was inevitable that the new chum recommended the whole years of data be reanalyzed –his way.

The other statistician’s comment to bring on a sweat was ‘oh that’s interesting, I wonder what would happen if we put the data through the new ZYX package? I’ll give it a go’.

As the years went on, I found it hard not to scream – ‘for hell’s sake, just leave things alone’, as what came out of these packages became more and more unintelligible, and harder for us oldies to work out what it meant in practical terms. Statistical significance at different levels of probability to prove the null hypothesis was one thing, but making farming sense was very much another.

The trick was to feign knowledge of what all the statistical analysis meant. At times the blank pages in the line-flow printout were the most useful part of the output - for the kids to draw on!

Delays, delays

You knew that extra analysis meant delays in publication of a paper by at least another 12 months and sometimes more. They also meant more questions from editorial committees, whose job you very soon realised were a pack of nitpickers and/or jealous colleagues hell bent on stopping you publishing and having more published papers than they had. In a world of ‘publish or perish’, these antics didn’t help your next application for advancement with the research director.

0.2

So it was in this environment that I realised the value of 0.2 and claimed it as my own ‘Dalton Multipurpose Statistic’. This simple little value has four massive advantages, that I strongly recommend to you:

1. It is extremely versatile.
2. It is non-confrontational.
3. It can be grossly misinterpreted without causing serious harm.
4. It can bring relief and satisfaction to the needy.
   

Correlation coefficients

These are values that tell you how much one thing is related to another, and their interpretation is more abused that anything else on the planet.

• If you need a low correlation coefficient, then 0.2 can be called “low” and will support your case.
• If you need a “low and non significant” correlation to suit a case, then all you need are the numbers of observations (n) below about 60.
• Getting rid of observations is not difficult as there are plenty of reasons to classify values as ‘aberrant’. Animals die, they get pregnant before they should, they give birth before they should, they change sex half way through trials, and so on.
• If on the other hand you have a desperate need for things to be statistically significance at say r = 0.2, then increase the number of observations to over 100, and significance will be easily reached at 5% probability (P<0.05) which is respectable.
• The fact that it is “statistically significant” carries the day, rather than its probability, and not the fact that its practical implications may be total nonsense.
• Squaring a correlation coefficient (r²) should be avoided, as this can so often show how meaningless a correlation coefficient can be.
  

Repeatability and heritability estimates

Repeatability measures how things keep appearing and heritability is how strongly traits are inherited.

• If you need a ‘low’ estimate of either estimate, then 0.2 can be called low.
• This would be, for example, to show breeders that they were wasting their time in selecting for what they thought were important traits. In this case 0.2 could also be called ‘very low’.
• If however you needed it to support your own research, or a new trait that you wanted to claim a reputation from such as:
  

(Muzzle width/teat length) x √heart girth

then a repeatability and heritability of 0.2 could be squeezed from a ‘low’ into the ‘medium’ classification.

• Once it is into the “medium” group – then it can be squeezed into the “medium-high” group.
• Thus ‘low’ could be 0-0.19; ‘medium’ would be 0.20-0.40.
  
• Now 0.4 is really getting ‘high’, so 0.20-0.40 must be in a ‘medium-high’ group. You have created a winner - if that’s what you wanted.
  

Genetic and phenotypic correlations between traits

Again, these are values that tell you how much one thing is related to another. The genetic ones are about what’s inside the animal and the phenotypic ones are things you can see on the outside of the animal.

• Again 0.2 is very valuable.
• If you need a value to support a case, especially if you don’t know or can’t remember the actual value, or if you don't have one and need one, adopt the following rule:
• If you feel unsure or your job or reputation could be under threat, then use 0.19-0.20.
• If you feel confident, then really go for it and use 0.20-0.21
  

General percentages

• Whenever you need a percentage, 20% can be used with enormous confidence.
• If for example you need to show that a major fact is of minor importance, (e.g. the number of geneticists who have not written up their lifetime work), then 20% can be interpreted as small. This will take the heat out of the discussion.
  
• However, if you need to generate some heat, (e.g. to highlight the percentage of geneticists who are homosexuals or atheists, or both), then you can make 20% sound deliciously high!
• The 20% statistic is of course, the core of the 80:20 rule, which has certainly stood the test of time. You can use this rule for anything that comes to mind where you need to prove that 80% of something is caused by 20% of something else.
• Some visionary must have carefully researched this rule, who could see that the 20% part of the ratio was the clincher and would never be questioned, Have you ever met anyone who questioned it?
• If you do meet anyone doubters, simply drop it to 18-20%. If you feel cocky, raise it to 20-25%. But don’t every push it up to 20-30% as the ice gets too thin.
  

General Correction Factors

These are things that are used to get people to believe that mountainous playing fields can been made level by a bit of mathematical manipulation. A better name for them would be ‘Fudge Factors’. Geneticists need them all the time - described below.

• The effects on an animal of both Genetics (G) and the Environment (E) is the big worry.
• E can make a real fool of all your pontifications about G, as there are so many variables involved in the environment.
• But we love these variables, as it can so often save our bacon, especially in arguments with farmers where we use the trick of telling them what they know already, and that the problem is complex. By using the word ‘multifactorial’ – you can sound as if you know what you are talking about!
• You always need to find a plausible reason (excuse) why your years of work and money spent have resulted in a lemon.
• We also have to deal with what is called the ‘G x E interaction’ which is great fun where some animals do well in one environment but not in others. It adds delicious complexity to the situation – which only a host of fudge factors can help disguise.
• So here again, good old 0.2 is comes to the rescue and is perfect for the job.
  

Standard errors and standard deviations

These are tricky things to explain. You use a standard error (SE) to describe how accurate a mean is because of variation around it, and a standard deviation (SD) to describe the variation in a range of data. This is what they used to be anyway!

• 0.2 suits most needs and can be used freely if you do not have one of these statistics, or you forget to work one out, or especially if you don’t really understand what they are.
• Such is the case of a “residual standard error” which few ever knew that they were - 0.2 is ideal.
  
• The ± symbol which appears before these values fools most folk, as they are not sure what it is so move on searching for a heading that says ‘summary’ or ‘conclusions’ or both.
• Have no fear that 0.2 will get you through most editorial committees, that because of their age will ignore statistics because they won’t understand them.
• And the real coup is that they won’t dare to admit it, and stoop to ask some young smart whipper-snapper what it all means. The young always had learned from the old, and never vice versa.
• These old codgers could concentrate on checking if the author had written “data is” instead of “data are”, and if their name was in the list of references.
  

Missing values in a matrix

A matrix is a mass of little squares (cells) with figures in them all joined together in a big table with headings along the top and down the side.

• You need a matrix to show the relationships (correlations) between a host of things, and in all their possible combinations.
• You can’t have empty cells as it looks bad.
  
• It also risks putting a stop to your entire work, as some greater being will declare that things will have to wait, ‘until more data become available’. This is the kiss of death.
• All the meetings you have been attending for the last 18 months or more (expenses paid plus fudge factors) to finish the project will end.
• Never fear though as here again 0.2 can come to the rescue, simply because it can be used with confidence and without causing serious problems – at least problems where you could be blamed for.
• The reason why you don’t need to worry is that there are so many errors and generalities in a matrix that a dusting of 0.2s in empty cells won’t cause any serious damage to the outcome.
• But don’t put 0.2 in every empty cell. Break it up a bit by putting 0.19 in some and 0.21 in others. It’s not prudent go outside this range.
  

Acknowledgements

I have to thank many colleagues over the years, some of whom were distinguished geneticists and statisticians, for stimulating my thoughts in smoke-filled rooms, confirming my fears and excitement about 0.2.

 The punched tape the kids loved to play with.  

They could throw the role and it would unwind for miles.

The boxes were very useful too.

I owe special thanks to Chris Dyson, Biometrician at the Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre when I worked there in 1980. Chris bristled with Yorkshire wisdom and common sense, and drew my attention to the fact that if you ever needed ‘a number’ - for anything , then 153 was the one to go for.

Chris pointed out that if you take the reciprocal of the natural logarithm of 153, this comes out as 0.199, which rounds up to 0.2. So there’s the magic 0.2 coming to the surface again for air and respect. It’s magic. QED!

Thanks also for comments by Dr Harold Henderson, veteran statistician at Ruakura whose statistical skills were only eclipsed by his patience with non-mathematical scientists like me.

I must also credit a wonderful website where images and information about old calculators abounds - http://www.oldcomputers.arcula.co.uk/calc1.htm#marchant_xl

The Murder of Stanley Dalton

Stanley Dalton was Clive Dalton's uncle.

From a report in “The Newcastle Journal”, August 19, 2000

An impenetrably cryptic inscription appears on a stone at the side of the B6318 Military road from Carlisle to Newcastle, marking the spot where Stanley Dalton died. It reads “SD 11 Sep 1926” and conceals an extraordinary story of murder, and how a killer escaped the noose.

Stanley Dalton had been missing for the best part of two weeks. The odd-job man was employed at Walwick Hall, a large country house on the Roman Military Road between Newcastle and Carlisle (see photo right).

He had been seen riding his motorbike towards Haltwhistle on a Saturday afternoon in the warm early autumn of September 1926. When he did not appear for a couple of days, the police were called in and a search began.

The first find was Dalton’s motorbike 12 miles away at Quarry Cottage near Haltwhistle. Inquiries revealed that whoever had dumped the machine by the cottage, it was not the 22 year old Stanley Dalton, a single man without –said friends and relatives- an enemy in the world. The description of the man seen abandoning the bike didn’t match.

Foul play as it was called then was now a distinct possibility and the police redoubled their efforts. This time they felt they were searching for a body.

A 22-strong team investigated a heather-covered terrace at Limestone Bank (see left). To begin with it was hard work for no result. Then one of the searchers found a shoe. At the same time another man noticed a pungent smell. A pile of branches were moved. A body was found. Curiously its arms were folded across its chest as if laid for burial.

Dalton’s father was one of the search party. He was able to identify the decomposed body of his son by his clothes and front teeth. The blue overalls the man habitually wore had gone and so had his black boots. Presumably the killer had taken them.

Forensic examination showed that Stanley Dalton had been hit in the head with shotgun pellets. But these had not killed him. The murderer had finished him off by bludgeoning his head to pulp.

There was no apparent motive and it certainly wasn’t robbery. A few days earlier Dalton had borrowed money from his father to go to a dance. But a description of the man seen with the stolen motorbike told them who they were looking for. He was about 5ft 9in with a prominent Roman nose and was wearing a fawn coat. There were no other clues.

Then came a call from Newcastle police. A man in East Denton had reported that his double barrelled shotgun, two cartridges and a jackknife had been stolen. He suggested that the thief may have been a lodger who occasionally stayed with him. He was called Alexander Cairns, an unemployed joiner from Scotland. He was about 5ft 9in, had a prominent Roman nose and sometimes wore a fawn overcoat.

Police inquiries revealed that Cairns had several convictions for theft and had once been charged with shooting a man with a shotgun. That case had not come to court because the victim was a passionate believer in the rehabilitation of offenders and had refused to give evidence.

It was then learned that Cairns had become engaged to a Northumberland girl. In fact he was already married and had children in his native Scotland. On September 13- two days after the murder, the fiancé received a letter from Cairns. It was postmarked Northallerton and made no mention of Dalton or why Cairns had gone away.

Other letters arrived in the following weeks and they showed that Cairns was keeping on the move. Then Cumberland and Westmorland police revealed that a house on the Langholm road between Carlisle and Edinburgh had been broken into and some cartridges stolen. Northumberland police thought their man was probably responsible.

Nothing more was heard from Cairns for some time. On October 7, Cairns’s fiancé received a puzzling telegram: “Tell Alec to come Struan Tuesday. Thompson”.

Struan is a village on Tayside in Scotland, but the girl knew nobody called Alec or Thompson. The Post Office was able to say the cable had been sent from a house in Edinburgh. Police in Edinburgh found Cairns had been staying at the house and had sent his landlady’s son to the Post Office with the message.

There was no need to find the meaning of the telegram; the important thing was they had a location of the man they were hunting. But by the time they reached the address Cairns had gone. But he had told the landlady about his fiancé in England and that he was thinking of visiting her.

When the lodgings were searched, police found a cardboard box containing the jackknife stolen from East Denton and a cartridge similar to the one used on Dalton. Most damning of all, the dead man’s boots were found in the room.

Then word reached the Northumberland police that Cairns had been spotted in Alston walking towards Haltwhistle. It was decided to lay a trap at the foot of a steep hill Cairns would have to descend.

Detectives dressed in overalls and pretended to be examining the engine of a Post Office van. Cairns stopped to find out what was up and he was overpowered and arrested. Police spent another two days gathering evidence before charging Cairns with Dalton’s murder. The evidence was circumstantial as no motive had been found. But a number of witnesses appeared to testify that Cairns had been in the area where Stanley Dalton had gone missing.

And the fact that Cairns had the victim’s boots and a cartridge similar to the one used in the shooting confirmed to the police that they had the right man. Cairns told police that he had nothing to do with the killing. He admitted that he had stolen the shotgun and cartridges, but only as a favour for a friend, a criminal called Joe Kelley who had an Australian associate. Cairns had decided to join the pair in a burglary of a house near the spot where Dalton’s body had been found.

When he had reached the scene, the Australian had appeared and given him a set of overalls and the boots. He had not known where they had come from. The agreement was that after the burglary, the trio would meet in Northallerton but his partners in crime had failed to turn up. On is way back to Edinburgh, Cairns said he had broken into the house at Langholm to get some cartridges “because Kelly told me to”.

But Cairns was unable to produce either Joe Kelly or the Australian as witnesses. With this pitifully thin defence the Scot argued for his life when he appeared at Northumberland Assizes in Newcastle on February 26, 1927. He was saved by a lone juror who said he was opposed to capital punishment – the only punishment for murder at the time- and under no circumstances would he return a guilty verdict. So a second trial was ordered in Durham the following week but abandoned due to the illness of several members of the jury.

A third trial was held in Leeds in March 1927, and the strain was beginning to tell on the accused whose hair had started to turn white. The trial did not take long and neither did the jury when they returned a verdict of “guilty as charged”. Solemnly the judge placed the traditional black silk square on his wig and told Cairns that he would be taken to prison and “hanged by the neck until you are dead”.

But Cairns escaped the noose. Two days before he was due to hang, the Home Secretary granted a reprieve and he was sentenced to life imprisonment instead. Records show that Cairns was released from prison in 1939. What happened to him then is not known.

But at some point someone placed the engraved stone in the wall near where the murder spot to remember the victim of what remains to this day as a motiveless murder.


Report of story in the Hexham Courant, Date 1996

Thousands of hikers each year tramp along the Military Road through Tynedale as they take in the glories of Hadrian’s wall. But only a tiny proportion glimpse a poignant reminder of a grisly murder which rocked the district 70 years ago.

Travelling west from the Tower Tye crossroads near Humshaugh the Military Road drops into a sharp descent with an even steeper ascent up the other side before the road bears right close to an Ordnance Survey triangulation point. Some 50 yards before the bend, screened by some trees, a simple gravestone is set into the drystone wall.

It is dedicated to the memory of 22-year-old Stanley Dalton of Cowper Hill, Humshaugh who disappeared when riding his motorcycle along the Military Road on September 11 1926. His machine was found the following day at Common House, Haltwhistle and a massive search was launched.

Family, friends, neighbours and police formed search parties but it was two weeks before the decomposing body of the young man was found concealed by bracken and branches in Limestone Wood. He had been shot in the head. The dead man’s father was among the party that made the grim find.

A full scale murder hunt was launched and on October 8th a man was arrested near Cupbola Bridge at Whitfield in connection with another matter. He was Alexander Cairns (33) of Carluke in Scotland who was interviewed by police and subsequently charged with the murder of Stanley Dalton.

News of the arrest was broken by the Hexham Courant and large crowds gathered in Beaumont Street on the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning when Cairns was expected to appear in court. He did not in fact make his appearance until Saturday evening when he was not only charged with the murder, but also of breaking into a house in East Denton and stealing a shotgun and a knife.

Cairns finally appeared before Newcastle Assizes on February 23rd, 1927 when prosecuting counsel Mr G.F.L. Mortimer QC said the case was an unusual one in that as far as the prosecution was aware, the dead man and the accused had never met until the fateful day of Mr Dalton’s death. The prosecution could not offer any motive for the killing.

Mr Dalton was in the habit of riding his motor cycle along the Military Road on his afternoon off from his workplace of Walwick Hall which he did on September 11th. Cairns who was engaged to a girl from Haydon Bridge and had been lodging with her family was seen in the vicinity of Limestone Wood that day and a man answering his description was seen climbing a wall out of the wood where the body was found the same day.

He was subsequently seen tinkering with the carburettor of a motor cycle on the Military Road in the Haltwhistle area and called at a farm to wash his oily hands. It was found that the petrol tank of the motor bike had been punctured by shotgun pellets.

During the trial, Mr Dalton’s skull was displayed in court and evidence given that not only had he been shot, but he had also been beaten with a heavy instrument.

Giving evidence, Cairns said that he had fallen in with “two flash crooks” he had met in a Salvation Army hostel who has asked him to steal the gun from East Denton for use in a robbery. He had stolen the gun which he gave to one of the crooks, an Australian, in Newcastle in exchange for “a few shillings.” He subsequently wandered around the North of England and Scotland, not returning to Tyneside over a week after Mr Dalton had been killed.

While admitting lying to the police and his fiancé, Cairns denied ever firing the gun. He admitted he had been seen carrying a long parcel wrapped in a coat but claimed it was a rope ladder for use in further burglaries.

Defending, Mr Osbert Peake claimed that the evidence against Cairns was purely circumstantial. Mr Dalton could have met his death by crashing his motor cycle into the wall, or by being accidentally shot by someone hunting rabbits.

After a three-day trail, the Newcastle jury was unable to reach a verdict and a re-trial was ordered to take place at Durham assizes. However due to the illness of several witnesses, the trial was again rescheduled, this time at Leeds Assizes.

The new trial began on March 22nd when new evidence offered that Cairns had been seen travelling on a bus from Common House where the motor cycle had been abandoned, back down the Military Road towards Brunton.

Summing up for the Crown, Mr Mortimer said that horrible as it may seem, robbery could not be excluded as the motive for the murder, as Cairns was known to be penniless and desperate. Mr Peake said that it was possible that the two flash crooks Cairns had fallen in with had been responsible for the killing, after Mr Dalton had refused to help them to break into Walwick Hall. This time the jury was in no doubt and found Cairns guilty.

He was sentenced to death by Mr Justice Fraser and the date of execution was fixed for April 28th. However less than a week before Cairns was due to go to the scaffold, the Home Secretary commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. Cairns was said to be “overjoyed” at the reprieve.

There had been some public disquiet over the death sentence because of the lack of motive and the jury’s failure to agree at the original trial, but according to the comment column in the Hexham Courant, the general feeling in the district was that Cairns was guilty.

Another fact that emerged after the trial was that Cairns’s engagement to the Haydon Bridge girl was bogus- he was already married in his native Scotland.

Comment from Clive Dalton

• Family members seemed to think that it had been a case of mistaken identity. Apparently there was a rabbit catcher in the district with a motor bike who at certain times carried his earnings with him in cash. Cairns it was thought was after him and Stan was the wrong man.
• Stan’s father (George Dalton) apparently never wanted Cairns to hang, and the family made no complaint when he was let out of prison early.
• The family erected an ornate marble memorial to Stan which stands in Humshaugh church yard near the door of the church.
• It was about this time that my father (Henry William) and mother were married the searching for the body was very stressful, and especially for Granda Dalton who found Stan’s body.
• It’s very interesting that nobody knew who erected the memorial coping stone in the wall on Limestone Bank.
• When back in 2000 I talked to a member of the local Parish council and they were concerned about it being a hazard to interested observers on the busy road. I suggested if it was ever removed it should go to Humshaugh church yard beside his official memorial.

Buying and selling a dairy herd: A guide for purchasers and vendors. Part 1: Introduction.

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, management, business, trading, buying, selling, practical advice, purchasers, vendors, contracts, avoiding pitfalls.

Part 1: Introduction

By Dr Clive Dalton

Dairying is New Zealand’s “knowledge economy” and the trading of livestock is an essential part of it. 

Small numbers of animals are bought and sold by farmers throughout the year, but there is also the major trading of whole herds, which is both a large strategic operation and a very big financial transaction.

Who buys herds?
Herds are bought in New Zealand by new people entering the dairy industry who have either purchased or leased a farm, then by ‘sharemilkers’ moving up from ‘lower order’ (e.g. 25%) to 50:50 when they provide the herd, or by established farmers who are expanding their operations.  These herd purchases can take place at any time of the year in New Zealand, but delivery is for June 1 which is taken as the start date for the new season.

Who sells herds?
Herds are sold by people who want to make a capital gain to reinvest in farming e.g. by buying land. They may have bought cows when prices were low to sell when prices rise again. Herds are also sold when people move on from farming to other businesses, and when they retire.

Moving into dairying
Moving into dairying is an exciting time, but you must know what you are doing. The best way to find this out is not by making costly mistakes. You need to learn from those with many years of experience in the industry, who understand your circumstances and who will look after your money. In any case, the money is most likely not yours but will belong to the bank!

Moving out of dairying
Moving out of the industry is no less exciting.  It’s a time of life when you cannot afford to make mistakes, as you need to get full value for what could have been a lifetime of hard work and dedication to your stock. This final transaction can also be tinged with emotion and sadness, but eased greatly by knowing that your herd is going to good young people who will farm them well.

Herd Managers’ Course
In the 1990s, ‘buying and selling a dairy herd’ was an important topic in The Waikato Polytech’s Herd Manager’s course, which I ran in the 1990s.  The course ran at five venues in the Waikato and over seven years with around 700 mature students keen to enter the industry completing it.  The students had come into the dairy industry from other trades by choice, or were already in the industry and wanted to upskill.

Guest tutor for these classes was Mr Ric Dawick, former Dairy Co-ordinator of Waikato Farmers, (now Allied Farmers Livestock Limited - renamed Allied Farmers Rural Limited 1/7/09).  In this role Ric had pioneered the drawing up of a legal contract to cover the problems that regularly arose in a dairy herd trading transaction.  He had experienced all of these.

Ric had enormous empathy with young people entering dairying, and from his 40-year career in the stock and station industry he was able to deliver the straight facts with no ‘spin’!  He had seen and could relate, the very best and the very worst of what could happen when buying and selling a dairy herd.

Keys to success
I strongly recommend anyone in the business of buying or selling a herd of cattle to read and digest the following words of wisdom by Ric Dawick. If you are a purchaser, make sure you read the information for vendors, and vice versa.  Appreciating what’s involved in the other side of a transaction can be invaluable in avoiding problems.

You need to seek help from as many sources as possible and keep asking questions wherever you go.  Be prepared for conflicting advice, and for things that sound too good to be true – they usually are!

Seek help from reliable people who will get a lot more satisfaction from helping you before you make a move, than trying to dig you out of what can be a very expensive and stressful legal hole.

Disclaimer
This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Buying and selling a dairy herd: A guide for purchasers and vendors. Part 2: Purchasers’ advice.

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, management, business, trading, buying, selling, practical advice, purchasers, vendors, contracts, avoiding pitfalls.

Part 2. Purchasers’ advice

By Ric Dawick

Vendors also take note: This section contains valuable information that will assist you in selling your herd.

Rule 1. Seek quality advice - Find yourself a mentor.

• Seek quality advice from people with a reputation in the business.
• They need to be professional, sincere and candid.
• You want people who will tell you the truth, and not what you want to hear.
• Buying your first herd is both an exciting and scary business – and your emotions can easily get in the way and out of control.
• Find someone knowledgeable in the dairying industry who you respect, to act as a sounding board or mentor.
• Their job is to keep your feet on the ground, and keep you focussed on cold hard facts and not what you may want to hear.
  

Rule 2. When using a Specialist Dairy Agent or Stock and Station Company.

• It’s vital that besides being competent, your dairy Agent’s company must have a sound financial backing.
• Your credit worthiness will be checked, so do the same to your Agent, bearing in mind that you will be entrusting large capital funds to their company’s care.
• Request an “Annual Report” or perhaps a prospectus from the Agent’s company.
• If you find these reports difficult to follow, get some independent professional help to explain them to you.
• Check the Agent’s company are a financial member of the New Zealand Stock and Station Association. This is a positive sign demonstrating that they have a highly responsible attitude to their business.
• You have much at stake, and you owe it to yourself and others to have all this checked out should something go wrong.
• Top Agents stand out (enquire through your farming mentor) and will be well known in the business. They are professionally thorough, will take time over negotiations, and more importantly, are genuinely interested in you and your future.
• They realise you have much at stake and want your repeat business. So it’s clearly in their interest to look after you.
  

Rule 3. Give clear instructions.

• Give your Agent clear instructions. An Agent cannot read your mind!
• Your Agent will treat your financial situation and arrangements in strict confidence.
• Inform the Agent fully about your budget and the parameters around it – i.e. how much flexibility you have. However having done so, request client confidentiality.
• Be totally honest and up-front about this. There’s nothing that wastes more time or causes more ill feeling, than when people find out promised money has not been arranged or is not available.
  

Rule 4. Do your homework.

• Do your homework before inspecting the herd. This will save hours of frustration and time.
• Initially it’s not your job to spend hours or days searching for the ideal herd – it’s the Agent’s job, so use the service provided.
• If you want to do your own initial research or assist your Agent, request a “Condensed Herd Listing”. This describes the key features of the herd quotes on the Agent’s books at that time.
• There may be “Sole Agencies” or interesting fringe quotes worth investigation on the list.
• Better still - check if your Agent has a website containing a comprehensive search engine that you can use to save time.
• Condensed listings and a well-designed Internet site (with photographs) have the added advantage of being able to view all available herds quickly from your home, thus satisfying yourself that all options have been considered.
  

Rule 5. Request full formal quotations.

• When you have selected a herd for further scrutiny from the condensed list or downloaded from the Internet – then request a “Full Formal Quotation”.
• It’s extremely important that you are satisfied with the following points:
• That the Vendor has signed a declaration stating that all descriptions contained therein are to the best of their knowledge true and correct.
• That you are authorised to view and/or investigate any information contained therein pursuant to the Privacy Act 1993.
  

WARNING! If the above are not declared, then stop until remedied. If it cannot be resolved – then purchase another herd that does comply. Ignoring this advice may inherit unpleasant consequences.

• Formal quotes should be very comprehensive and always accompanied by supportive information.

Rule 6. Arrange finance before herd inspection.

• Arrange your finances before seeing any herd. Do not be persuaded by well-meaning friends or mentors to visit herds to “test the water”. It wastes vendor and Agent’s time and will not help your credibility when things get serious.
• Without organised creditable finance, you’re not in a strong position to negotiate with a vendor. You can’t negotiate from strength from a negative position.
• Your Agent will want to be assured of this before taking you to a herd.
• If you are a 50/50 sharemilker, your Agent will also want to know if your contract has been signed with your farm owner. Do not look until it has been.
• Remember to calculate your GST, which is added to the purchase price.
• GST is also added to the 10% deposit.

Rule 7. Inspect the best three herds.

• Don’t waste your time or your Agent’s inspecting endless herds – three is ideal.
• It’s potentially very confusing to look at more than three herds, and indicates one of the following three things.
• (a) The Agent did not listen to your instructions.
• (b) Your instructions were not totally clear.
• (c) You have changed your criteria without telling the Agent.
• If you don’t get the herd you want after looking at three – change your Agent.

Rule 8. Check the Agent’s Company Dairy Herd Contract.

• This contract is your safeguard.
• Don’t get emotionally trapped by signing a poorly-drawn-up contract for what appears to be a “great deal”, even if it seems quite genuine.
• At the time of writing this guide the best herd contract being used is Allied Farmers Livestock’s 2007 contract. Extensively revised by leading dairying specialists and experienced field staff the contract safeguards Purchasers and Vendors to a new level of best industry practice. Although conceived in 1977 the first contract did not roll out until 1989 due to long-held prejudices of the ‘shake hand’ era not recognising the rising sophistication of the dairy industry.
• The beauty of Allied Farmers Livestock Limited’s contract is that it is a ‘living document’ thus its reputation for equitable fairness has spread far and wide because of the continuing security it offers. Whether you are a Vendor or Purchaser make it your business to check one out - especially before signing anything else (especially private treaty sales where no agents are involved) – to avoid potential pitfalls. Better still for a fee it can be used for private treaty deals and administered by the company as if it was a normal transaction.
• Caveat emptor (buyer beware)! While on the subject of farmer to farmer private treaties… A number of these are transacted every season. Many on simple contracts. The main incentive for this is:
• (a) The Vendor saves paying commission thereby gaining more money.
• (b) The Purchaser assumes budget savings for the same reason. Both can’t be right. Negotiations invariably end up by agreeing to split the commission down the middle. There lies the irony! Both parties have settled close to market value. While solicitors do a good job the agreement will come at a cost thereby negating some of that perceived commission savings.
• In 46 years the writer has never seen a solicitor squelching about in mud resolving disputes. On the other hand reputable Stock & Station Agency companies, especially where large capital livestock investment monies are involved, play a more active roll - most of the time gratis.
• Commission (or a third party fee suggested above) fast becomes a moot point in lieu of the security of a knowledgably controlled well drafted professionally administered contract. Disputes big or small take on a completely different persona when no friendly shoulder is present to lean on to buffer potentially fractious circumstances.
• Note: 90% of the contract should be about ‘the transaction’ and 10 % about ‘the Agent’ or ‘the represented company’. Should this ratio of legal description be reversed – look out!

Rule 9. Check guarantees and warranties in the agreement.

• The herd Purchase Agreement must include full guarantees and warranties to protect your investment.
• Strong penalty clauses must be included, clearly spelling out the Vendor’s and Purchaser’s remedies, should either fail to settle.

• The main ones to check for are the following:
• A secure trust account for your deposit (normally held by the Agent’s company).
• Will you the Purchaser get the interest (less RWT)? You should plus a pro-forma account to assist you claiming back GST prior to the delivery/settlement date?
• Clear finance conditions, delivery + GST clauses.
• Clear settlement clause.
• A comprehensive care clause (Vendor’s contractual obligation to care for your stock after signing).
• Comprehensive in-calf clause that also covers retention monies for bone fide non in-calf claims.
• Purchaser’s inspection clause. This is extremely important (see more information later in vendor’s section ‘AFTER PURCHASE’).
• Rejection rate clause that should also incorporate… an ‘Insufficient Numbers’ clause (protecting the Vendor from not being able to deliver the full agreed tally due to reasonable deletions caused through sickness, deaths or unsoundness) and a ‘ Negative Index Variance’ clause (protecting Purchasers when insufficient numbers negatively vary the indices [BW, PW & RA] too much from the original quotation that justifies a formulated price adjustment according to the severity and/or annulment).
• A clear Pro Rata clause when sharing a line of stock with another buyer and/or multiple buyers.
• A comprehensive drying off warranty that includes an agreed somatic cell count threshold + treatment.
• Calving duration and individual calving clauses (that includes compensation for animals calving too early or late in accordance to their stated dates).
• Warranties on SCC, TB, EBL plus Lepto inoculation responsibilities stating who pays (based on the inoculation timing), Condition Score, (see Rule 10 for more information).
• GST and income tax clauses.
• Comprehensive disputes/mediation/arbitration clauses.
• Clear data clause spelling out Vendor’s responsibilities.
• Animal health clauses comprehensively covering Tuberculosis, Facial Eczema and Biosecurity issues.
• Final inspection clause prior to delivery/settlement.

Rule 10. Herd inspection day
(NB: Assumes an Agent is involved but still largely applicable to private treaty sales as well).

Maybe a good day to go and look at a herd to see how they are being looked after?

• Take your farming mentor with you.
• If buying from a sharemilker, will the current employer approve?
• Ensure the Agent instructs the Vendor to draft out all cattle not involved in the deal before viewing.
• Unsuitable cows are not part of your normal 10% rejection rate (NB: The reject rate can vary). Only ‘sound and in-calf cows’ are considered suitable for capital transactions. However…
• Request that the unsound cows are also placed on view for inspection as it will provide you with a ‘management indicator’ of the herd’s wellbeing.
• Request the vendor be present and if this is not possible – delay your inspection.
• Head for the kitchen table first with the Vendor to thoroughly understand the herd’s data history before physically inspecting them.
• It’s here that the vendor will sell him or herself to you – or not.
• Accurate records are paramount to your success. Make sure they are.
• Ask the vendor why the herd is being sold.
• Clearly discuss the average and minimal Condition Scores (CS) required for your farm and how the vendor is going to achieve these by the delivery date. If you buy the herd include the answer in the special conditions clause (for writing in verbal guarantees - every contract should have one).
• It’s important (and fair) that the Agent emphasises to the vendor before signing that the agreed scores are the very minimum standards expected and NOT the highest and what the consequences could be are if they are not achieved.
• Be realistic when negotiating CS if herds are situated in challenging areas.
• In Allied Farmers Livestock Limited’s contract once the condition score clause has been mutually agreed the vendor has a contractual obligation to present the herd regardless of… i.e. droughts, milking longer than agreed ‘Because feed is ‘plentiful’ and so on.
• The only exception is a ‘Force Majeure’ situation (i.e. extraordinary factors beyond reasonable control such as… floods, earthquakes, disease, theft, etc) however the vendor must immediately notify you (and Agent if involved) in order to facilitate, if possible, any reasonable/practical mitigation.
• Question the Vendor about the current herd health status and if they are shed drenched or fed supplements during milking.
• Check the vendor’s culling policy and reasons for culling.
• 'Double-check the mating programme, calving pattern, and individual calving dates. Check to see if natural matings have been recorded. Investigate this thoroughly, as it’s the cause of many traumas. Ask if you can consult the veterinarian if a PD has been carried out or approach the AB technician for verification on the how the insemination program went.'
  
• Observe the milking set-up. Perhaps ask the vendor if you can attend a milking before signing.

• Appraise the farm as well as the herd. Check things like stocking rate, soil fertility levels, fertiliser use, if crop or feedlot supplements are fed, how many calves are reared and so on.
• Is the herd is being managed/milked by farm employees? If so it’s important to sound them out. Are they genuinely interested in the herd – sound out their knowledge? Is their attitude keen or is it “Just a job”?
• Depending on the time of the season when you view the herd… have they been sharp at detecting anestrus cows and accurately recording mating dates? Listen carefully as there is a lot at stake – especially if the Agent’s contract does not have a ‘Individual Calving Date’ warranty (ICDW).
• (CAUTION:- ICDW penalties are far stricter than ‘Calving Duration’ warrantees'. If neither of these clauses appear in your contract, insist they must be included. If calving goes pear-shaped, you could sustain a financial loss after delivery if you don’t. Conversely, vendors mutually benefit too as the contract protects them from invalid claims.
• A well-drafted herd will sell itself! However, satisfy yourself that there are no abnormalities other than the obvious 10% (NB: The reject rate can vary) of sound in-calf cows you may reject later.
• As a last request, if you like the herd, ask the vendor if you can approach some of the farm services – i.e. Farm Consultant, Veterinarian, AB Technician and so on. A positive response will confirm your favourable impressions.

Rule 11. Decision time.

• If you’ve done your homework well, and are happy with the result – don’t procrastinate. You could lose the herd so move firmly but deliberately.
• Don’t be put off because it’s the first herd you have seen. If it is, and it meets your criteria – compliment your Agent for doing a good job for you.
• Go over the contract again with your Agent before meeting the vendor – get everything crystal clear. Ask if the Agent has offered the same courtesy to the vendor. This importantly gives both parties time to thoroughly digest what they are agreeing to or ask more in-depth questions before signing.
• Have your deposit monies ready (plus GST) for immediate payment after signing.
• Request a deposit receipt from the Agent and make sure the interest is credited to you. In the Allied Farmers Livestock Limited’s contract the deposit is legally described as ‘a deposit in earnest’ meaning… ‘in part payment’ and therefore does not pass over to the vendor (as Real Estate deposits do) and accumulates interest is in the Purchaser’s favour. When Allied’s contract was first reviewed by Federated Farmers they were especially praiseworthy that purchasers’ deposit interest went towards payment – especially where sharemilkers and first time dairy farmers were involved.
• Also query if you will receive a monthly trust account statement appraising the current accumulated interest – if not request that you do.
• Check that you will get a competitive interest rate.
• Negotiate with authority and make a realistic first offer for the herd. Keep in mind that the Vendor’s comprehensive guarantees and warranties are worthy of respect.
• Once your offer has been accepted, the vendor, your Agent and you need to spend some quality time signing the agreement. This allows time to discuss again the contractual obligations and will avoid problems between signing and delivery. Don’t be rushed!
• Congratulations! You are now a “secure” owner of a dairy herd. Don’t settle for anything less.

Rule 12. After the contract has been signed - inspection and drafting tips.

• Inspections: If the weather turns dry shorten your regular inspections to fortnightly ones. February to April is the critical time for vigilance. Responsible vendors will keenly discuss events and negotiate actions for mutual benefit.
• Drafting Rejects: Do your homework well beforehand to determine prospective culls. Make it a condition that the vendor keeps you updated with the latest Herd Testing data, non in-calf cattle, deaths and culls.
• Give the vendor the tag numbers of the 10% (NB: The reject rate can vary) sound rejects so they can be drafted out before you arrive on the drafting day for easier viewing and to alleviate separation stress. Better still – definite goers should be declared to the vendor asap, especially if conditions are dry, to facilitate early disposal.
• On drafting day, when drafting your rejection rate of sound stock, take your mentor along with you.
• On arrival walk through the herd and with your mentor’s help, reject any on eye appraisal. A sincere vendor will assist you here by making helpful suggestions.
  

Draw up 5 columns on a sheet of paper and record cows that fail on these criteria:

• Poor final herd test results.
• Late calvers.
• High SCC cows.
• Low PW (more important than BW).
• Miscellaneous.

• If a cow appears more than once in a column, then she is a possible reject.


AFTER PURCHASE ACTION: To ensure a smooth delivery/settlement.

• Confirm your delivery date early with the vendor especially if inter-island. This enables the vendor to plan a feed budget in order to achieve the agreed condition scores plus give carriers time to organise fuel saving back-loads with the good chance of a lower transportation cost.
• Plan ahead for the drafting and final inspection days. On the signing day with the vendor diaries in advance the dates you will perform inspections. Request all parties (if going through an Agent) are to be present on those days. If adverse climatic conditions prevail, shorten to fortnightly inspections.
• Inspections: At the very minimum you, or your nominee, should inspect the herd at monthly intervals. This is very important. It not the responsibility of your Agent or the Company to keep an eye on them. It’s your’s! In responsible contracts purchaser inspections are a contractual obligation.
• If you are not available to carry out any monthly inspection, then employ a registered Farm Consultant, Veterinarian or a trusted third party to act on your behalf. Responsible vendors appreciate consistent constructive feedback on their herd’s progress.
• If the vendor is busy on the farm on a inspection day ask if you can pass your impressions before leaving. Solutions for any problems are more easily resolved when all parties are timely informed and can indulge in open and honest rapport.
• It is also very important that you, or your nominee, complete a final inspection one week before the Delivery Day. Make a checklist of your contractual rights, and obligations, and carefully work through them before uplifting any beast. Once loaded onto trucks or driven off the vendor’s farm certain vendor contractual responsibilities immediately cease. Do not be caught out!
• Delivery Day – Double check all tallies.

Trucking:

• Preferably with the vendor present, check the tally with the Carrier’s when counting livestock onto trucks. If you do not agree count them again until you do.
• If you are unable to be present on the vendor’s farm meet the carrier to count off at the destination – particularly if the cattle are being agisted on a grazing farm.
• If there are any tally variances where you or the vendor could not be present then the carrier’s tally will be deemed legally correct.
• Whether you are tallying at the beginning or the end of the delivery you should always ask the Carrier to confirm the tally in writing regardless.

Droving:

• Count the stock twice into a paddock near the boundary gate before exiting the vendor’s property. Once your cattle have left the vendor’s farm boundary tallies become your responsibility.

Ear tagging

• Do it before leaving the vendor’s property.
• Herds coming on new properties have to put up with a lot upon arrival - prodded off trucks, strange sheds, jabbed with needles, ear tagged etc. Not a great introduction to a new milking shed is it?
• The remedy is to tag on the vendor’s farm so they will not associate the new shed with pain and stress.
• Another important aspect for tagging on the vendor’s farm is to confirm that all lifetime ID’s are correct and perfectly match the Vendor’s LIC or AMBREED records before inputting them onto your data base. It’s a job that has to be done sometime so get it right on the vendor’s farm - not yours.
• Tagging errors are more easily dealt with before delivery too, and becomes even more important if the vendor’s farm is separated by the Cook Straight.

SHAREMILKERS
Condition Scoring upon arriving on your Employer’s farm

• Approximately one week after the herd has arrived, arrange to have all animals professionally condition scored with your employer present.
• Record the result into your sharemilking contract.
• Note: Ensure that all parties initial the addition to the agreement.
• When your sharemilking tenure finishes, ensure that 'incoming condition score' becomes the benchmark for the herd’s 'outgoing condition score' upon leaving the employer’s property.

Disclaimer
This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Buying and selling a dairy herd: A guide for purchasers and vendors. Part 3: Vendors’ advice.

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, management, business, trading, buying, selling, practical advice, purchasers, vendors, contracts, avoiding pitfalls.

Vendors’ advice

By Ric Dawick


Purchasers also take note: This section contains valuable information that will assist you in buying your herd.

You have a new partner!
The dynamics of your herd ownership is about to change. Once it is has been sold, be prepared that you are not going to have a normal dairying season. You now have a new ‘partner’ with a vested interest in your cattle who must now be considered/informed in all farming decisions you make affecting the herd - especially if you are sharemilking with ‘fiduciary employer responsibilities’ to juggle as well.

Preparing to sell
Some excellent selling information can be gleaned from the advice above but before any Agent or purchaser steps on your farm to view your herd, tidy it up. A good tip while doing this is to take the position of a buyer to consider what would put you off buying it.

DON’T fall into the all too common mindset of - 'the buyer (or Agent) will see past that, wont they?” Frankly, complacency never works, and depending on the scale of the transaction, may set a false impression that you:

1. Are not a motivated seller.
2. Care little about detail.
3. Could be unreliable about calving records, herd condition, animal health, etc.
4. May even be difficult to deal with.
   

As with a lot of things first impressions count a lot. If you are going to employ the services of an Agent, then treat the first visit as if a potential buyer is coming. The fact is Agents are potential buyers! If an Agent leaves your farm genuinely enthused with your presentation, then you are half way to selling your herd.

So do not put your Agent in the position of having to make excuses why your herd looks untidy etc. to potential purchasers. A huge amount of investment money is at stake for all parties, but sadly poor presentation and lack of preparation happens far too often so make sure you avoid this by the following checklist.

Checklist

• Having all your records 100% up to date.
• Culling or drafting aside anything you would honestly not buy for yourself. Be aware that these animals have nothing to do with the Purchaser’s rejection rate (normally 10% but can vary). Also aged cattle and any with three functional quarters etc., do not qualify either. True ‘Rejection Rate’ cattle must always be genuine sound stock.
• Replacing all missing ear tags.
• Ensuring your tags/IDs absolutely match your database records – this is extremely important as purchasers can rightfully claim compensation from you if incorrect.

Records needed
Gather up all your records into one place and make up a herd CV folder.

• Your current Herd Test; Herd Profile records.
  
• Last year’s final Herd Test.
  
• Latest Animal Health records (TB and EBL status certificates, Leptospirosis certificate).
• Somatic Cell Count reports (Dairy Company milk dockets as well as the Herd Test SCC reports).
• AB technician’s insemination book.
  
• Natural mating chart.
  
• Veterinarian’s pregnancy diagnostic (PD) reports (if relevant)
• Any other information that will give a good honest impression of your herd and capital replacements.
  

Also important

• Provide the Agent with a copy (if you are selling through one) to pass on to interested buyers to gain a thorough background before viewing the herd.
• Offering refreshments before showing the herd gives you and the buyer a chance to get to know each other and a great opportunity to sell yourself.
• Inviting genuinely interested buyers to approach the professionals involved with your herd, i.e. veterinarian, farm advisor, AB technician and if you are sharemilking, your employer. Being an open book will set a favourable impression.
• Extending an invitation to milk the herd. Providing all goes well, it will often lead to an offer.

If you employ a manager or farm workers, see that their knowledge of your herd is sharp and are especially vigilant during mating time, detecting anoestrous cows and accurately recording service dates. Ultimately, if too many cows calve outside of their due recorded dates, this will rebound back on you.

Inspections, securities and credit checking.
Sit down with the purchaser and diary in advance all monthly inspection dates, the drafting day, the final inspection date and trucking date. If Agents are involved include them in too, as all parties should be present on those dates. Maintaining excellent communications between all parties throughout the contract’s tenure is the key to a successful closure on delivery/settlement day.

In capital dairy herd transactions NO livestock company or private agent guarantees payment.
The normal 14 day terms for livestock auctions (i.e. saleyards and clearing sales) and paddock sales, conducted by reputable Stock and Station companies where ‘the company guarantees the buyer (legally termed a ‘Del Credere’ policy) does not apply to capital herd sales.

This is to cope with the huge bottleneck of herd sales transacted every year on 31 May and 1 June involving substantial amounts of monies that stretch even especially arranged short term bank over-draft arrangements to the limit. Hence why herd sales are treated like real estate sales. Payment must to be paid up front by the Purchaser before delivery can be allowed.

Once received Stock and Station Agency companies and solicitors then convey these payments on to Vendors (less service fees for discharging mortgages, liens, commissions etc). While a competent Agent (if involved) would have approached the purchaser about payment before stepping onto your farm, it still is advisable to satisfy yourself that everything is in order before signing too.

Letter from bank or solicitor
Immediately after signing request from the Purchaser that a formal letter from their bank, or solicitor, is to be sent to you or your solicitor, to substantiate proof of payment. Your contract should have clear finance and payment terms covering these matters and more - check that it has. Should you have any doubts do not proceed with signing – even if an Agent is involved, until these matters are sorted out to your satisfaction.

Note: Where no agents are involved be absolutely clear who is paying GST to Inland Revenue and write it into the contract.

To expedite the payment process, check early to see if there are any registered charges against your livestock under the Personal Securities Act 1999. If you are unsure, approach your solicitor or livestock company to check. If you have any, they must be discharged before the settlement/delivery date in order to give clear title to the purchaser on the delivery/settlement day.

Recommendations for a smooth ‘delivery/settlement day'.
Paying full attention to the following key points will avoid stress and expensive claims, on or after the delivery/settlement day. These are:

1. Condition score at delivery - don’t make it a problem
There is no middle ground on condition score. Financially there is a lot at stake for all parties and your delivery day presentation will either be highly phrased or soundly criticised. The key factor is to plan ahead so that everyone wins.

Important: An agreed CS is lowest expectation you must meet and NOT the highest! Any misunderstanding of this point can create testy relationships especially if the destination is inter-island (if it is, ask to be inform as early as possible).

Knowing where you stand means you can confidently forward plan your feed budget plus when to precisely start progressively drying off all light conditioned lactating cows - especially in-milk two year heifers and three year olds. Even if you are knowledgeable about condition scores still seek your Veterinarian’s expert opinion at critical times of the season as a back up of the herd’s progress.

This will stand you in good stead with your Purchaser plus give you peace of mind. However it is important to note if a C S challenge does arise an independent Veterinarian will probably be employed whose qualified opinion will be binding on both parties. If this is not included in your contract then make sure it is. The 2007 Allied Farmers Livestock Limited’s contract comprehensively covers this matter to equitably protect both parties.

2. Make sure the calving dates are as accurate as possible - YOU are guaranteeing them!
It’s imperative for your peace of mind to PD your cows to verify calving dates (A though - a prudent gesture could be to invite the purchaser’s veterinarian to do it). All natural mating dates after AB has finished must be faithfully recorded to avoid late calving date claims.

Attention to detail here is extremely important. In the Allied Farmers Livestock Limited's contract for example, there are two calving warranties. The 'Calving Duration Warranty' and the ‘Individual Calving Date Warranty’. Both clauses are very specific and incorporate sensible calving tolerance criteria that once exceeded, invoke penalties to compensate fair purchaser claims.

The best action to take is to PD all mated sale cattle no later than six weeks after AB has finished, AND six weeks after all service bulls have been removed from the herd. This becomes especially important if you employ a manager or farm workers. A responsible approach to this job is to imagine yourself in the purchaser’s position at calving time, and what their likely expectations would be.

3. Double check all ear tags
Double check all ear tags. Make sure they correctly correlate to lifetime ID’s. Purchasers can rightfully claim full reversal monies plus cartage if proven incorrect. (For more comprehensive see information on ear tagging in the purchaser’s section)

4. Tidy up any missing Animal Health Board tags
As soon as you have signed start tidying up any missing AHB tags. Don’t put this job off until trucking time. That’s when everyone else is doing the same causing tagging manufacturing companies to run short at critical times - in your case trucking time. The law is very specific on this matter. Trucking companies by law cannot uplift any cattle if they don’t have AHB tags correctly displayed in their ears. Consequently settlement payments will be held up until rectified.

5. Transfer Location Certificates
The best times to pass over 'Transfer Location Certificates' to the purchaser are on the drafting or final inspection days. Handing them over does not give the purchaser clear title – only full payment does.

Your solicitor should OK this, once the purchaser’s finance has been confirmed in writing. Order them as soon as possible or electronically transfer them to the purchaser’s database after your solicitor’s approval. Similar to AHB tags LIC get bogged down with late requests – DON’T be caught out on the delivery/settlement day.

6. Double check all tallies
When trucking: Preferably with the purchaser present (or their representative) check all tallies with the carrier’s when counting onto trucks. Recount again if you do not agree until it’s right. If there are any tally variances where you, the purchaser (or representative) could not be present, then the carrier’s tally will be deemed legally correct.

When droving: When droving, count the stock twice into a paddock near the farm’s boundary gate before exiting your property, an agreed run-off or grazier’s agistment property. Once your cattle have left the farm’s boundary etc, tallies become the purchaser’s responsibility.

7. Animal Health Board Status Declaration forms
These are your last delivery requirement. Finally, do not forget to provide a fully filled out signed AHB approved 'Animal Status Declaration' (ASD) form to the carrier before the stock leave your farm or agreed grazing property. Should you inadvertently overlook this statutory requirement, delivery will inevitably be held up until remedied. Don’t let this simple task spoil your deal and purchaser goodwill at the last moment.

At the end of the day everything written above is good old fashioned common sense that New Zealand farmers are blessed with in plenty.

Disclaimer

This material is provided in good faith for information purposes only, and the author does not accept any liability to any person for actions taken as a result of the information or advice (or the use of such information or advice) provided in these pages.

Bringing bulls on to your farm: Avoiding health risks

Agriculture, farming, animal husbandry, animal health, bulls, health risks, how to avoid risks, protecting herd health

Bringing bulls on to your farm: Avoiding health risks

By Dr Clive Dalton


On farms where Artificial Insemination )AI) is not practical or cost effective, bulls are used  for natural mating.  On dairy farms this is done after the AI period is finished and only a few cows should be returning to oestrus.  It's clearly not worth dairy farmers keeping a bull for 12 moths just for mating over a 6-week period.  So bulls are leased from specialist bull farmers and there are clearly health risks involved in this.

On small farms where bulls are shared and moved from farm to farm, there is also a risk of disease spread.

Here are some health issues to consider, and for which you should seek veterinary advice :

• Leptospirosis:  Has the bull got a record of its vaccination history?  If not it should  be considered as a risk of carrying Lepto and should be treated him on arrival with an appropriate antibiotic. 

•  EBL:  Is the bull from a clear herd or should you insist he be tested before arrival?

•  BVD:  Should the bull be tested for EBL, and what are the risks of introducing the disease?  Has the the herd been vaccinated?

• TB:  Check the Tb status of the herd the bull comes from and/or the testing history.

• Internal parasites: Is there a risk of a bull introducing drench resistant worms?  Quarantine drench all bulls on arrival with a broad spectrum drench.

• Fertility:  Will the bull be fertile?  It’s no good finding out three weeks after he has been put with the cows and those mated start to return to oestrus.  Vet testing  consistently finds 10% of bulls are infertile.  Make sure the bull comes with some guarantee of having been checked by a veterinarian which means a semen test.

• Libido:  This is the sex drive to mate cows and is not necessarily linked to fertility.  In beef bulls reared in homosexual mobs, surveys have found up to 20% of bulls have low libido and are slow to mate cows on heat.  Some breeders give their bulls a libido test, which must be done under veterinary supervision.
  

Beef Cattle Breeding: Selecting beef bulls to mate dairy cows

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, animal breeding, beef bulls, for mating dairy cows, breeding dairy beef, need to use top bulls

Background to blog

By Dr Clive Dalton

'Dairy beef' heifers bred by a Hereford bull mated to Holstein Friesian cows

"Dairy beef" produced by mating purebred beef bulls to dairy cows (which are not needed to breed herd replacements), is the main source of New Zealand's export beef. It's also the main source of beef consumed and exported in many other countries such as the UK.

'Dairy beef' in New Zealand started off with a very bad image in the eyes of purebred beef breeders, and I was heavily involved in this debate, researching different breeds of beef bulls for the job. 'Grass fed' dairy beef is now accepted as a quality product in the 'grinding beef' (hamburger) markets of the world,

The late Alastair Reeve was a highly respected NZ Angus stud breeder, and passionate in his drive to get dairy farmers to appreciate the need to use only the very best performance-recorded beef bulls(regardless of breed) on dairy cows to breed efficient dairy beef.

I got Alastair to write these notes below in 2001, and the principles he stressed then are still relevant today. Alastair was a great mentor for young people in farming being a pioneer in setting up the NZ Farm Cadet Scheme in the 1960s.

Beef Cattle Breeding: Selecting beef bulls to mate dairy cows

By Alistair Reeve

Where to start?

• Go to a registered breeder and ask to see the records.
• Look for Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for the traits.
• Go for low EBV for Birth Weight (BW). It can be seen at a glance.
• The optimum figure should be +3,and certainly below the breed average.
• Calving Ease (CE) must be a positive EBV, as this indicates an ability to produce calves unassisted. 80% of calving ease is influenced by birth weight.
• Target minus values for Gestation Length (GL) EBV. Shorter GL is associated with lighter birth weight and easier calving.
• These three EBVs (GL, BW, CE) are the most important influences in all beef sires destined for dairy herd mating. The aim is to get your cows milking as quickly as possible, with a minimum of fuss and to have them settled again. Trouble at calving will delay all this.

Dealing with your beef bull breeder

• Know your breeder. Know you can go back to him or her in the event of unexpected difficulties.Ask the breeder for a signed written copy of EBVs and positive ID for the sires you have bought.
• Frequently crossbred bulls are sold as purebreds and will not breed true to type and may cause problems.
• If you buy bulls with no EBVs or ID - then there’s no bitching if you strike trouble.Good healthy discussion will resolve most difficulties – don’t blame all your problems on the bull breeder. You the dairyman also have responsibilities.
• Some dairy sire catalogues have bulls with 73% calving ease. That means there’s potential for 27% problems! Where did that come from? Beef bull? not if you bought right.
• Some dairy breeds are not recognised as easy calving and need all the help they can get!
• Use a low BW dairy bulls. BW, CE, GL, are the same three factors as for beef breeds.

Check your management

• Management also adds to the equation. Extremes of feeding both overfeeding and particularly underfeeding need to be addressed.
• Monitor cow condition scores diligently, learn how to do it properly.
• Calves produced under the above criteria will have a built-in premium. More live calves;- reduced stress for both man and beast;- and magically reduced veterinary bills.
• If you only want cows in calf and calves for the bobby truck, then above criteria are still " fit for purpose"

Profit is in growth rate

• Selling calves to professional rearers requires growth EBVs to be factored in, to produce calves acceptable for that market.
• Tap into the highest growth rates compatible with BW CE & GL as above. Most important are 200 day &400 day traits which will target finishing before the second winter.
• Fleshing and thickness of the bull selected increases the finishing ability of crossbred dairy beef.
• Extreme growth rates will very often mean cattle will need to be kept after the second winter to finish, and the finisher will not be happy as it adds to costs and delays cash flow.
• With thoughtful selection you have now produced a premium type calf.
• You now need to target a rearer who is looking for this premium type of calf.
• With the bull breeder’s help and EBVs, sale premiums become a reality for these purpose bred calves.
• Progeny from sires of this type will grow significantly quicker within any given regime, automatically generating 'spin off ' benefits from conception to customer consumption.
• Benefits are live calf from short GE sire with strong growth rates, shorter time to sale, faster turnaround of capital.
• Calf rearers should contact dairymen and specify the type of calf they need.The above format will result in a premium type calf being available.
• Rearers may purchase the type of sire they want and make him available to dairy farmers in return for access to all calves from that bull used in that herd. This could be a cost saving for the dairy farmer. The rearer gets the calf he wants.
• This is an inbuilt win/win concept that financially benefits everybody in the production chain by producing a premium product.

The figures to look for
As a guideline the following EBVs should be targeted and can be found.

• B.W (birth weight) +3 The higher these values the greater the potential for problems.
• Lower values are more ideal for heifer mating.
• For the best results target values below breed averages.CE.(calving ease- direct) +0.8 The higher this figure the more likely you are to have unassisted calvings.
• GL.(gestation length) - 0.9 Target minus values. This is the time between conception and calving, e.g. 5 days early calving gives 5 days extra production.
• 200 day weight + 25 This is a measure of early growth to weaning. Faster growth means earlier turnover of cattle and cash.
• 400 day weight + 45 A measure of growth up to the time of slaughter. This should be before the second winter if you have done the job right.

Remember

• These figures(+ or -) are above or below the mean average and are expressed in kilogram equivalents.
• Always remember that half of the values come from the sire and half are from the dam.
• Time spent on selection of bulls will reap rewards in quality product produced. An increased purchase price will be an insurance premium.
• Purchasing bulls from unregistered breeders, or buying on the spot market are not likely to carry guarantees such as those that bone fide breeders will stand by.
• This is very definitely a concept that has balanced benefits for all parties so why not be part of a profitable system?

Farm Animal Reproduction - Basic Principles

Agriculture, farming, animal husbandry, reproduction, principles, puberty, breeding seasons, breeding cycles, signs of oestrus, pregnancy, future technological developments, glossary

Farm Animal Reproduction - Basic Principles

By Dr Clive Dalton

Puberty
At a certain stage in an animal's life it reaches "sexual maturity". This is when it is capable of mating and reproducing. Size and liveweight are important factors affecting puberty, but breeding activity is controlled mainly by "physiological development" which is much more than just an increase in size or weight. It is how the body organs, especially the reproductive organs have developed.

Here are some average ages at which puberty occurs in farm animals, but realise that this can vary greatly, depending for example on how well the animals have been reared and fed.

Cattle 6 - 10 months
Sheep 7 - 8 months
Goat 7 - 9 months
Horse 1 - 2 years
Pig 4 - 5 months
Dog 6 - 9 months
Deer 14 - 18 months (varies with species)
Rabbit 5 months
Poultry 5 months

The Breeding Season and its Control
Under natural conditions animals don't breed when we want them to - they have a very definite "breeding season". This is strongly affected by the daylight and dark pattern - the scientific term "photoperiodicity" is used to describe this. The period when animals are not breeding is sometimes referred to as the "anoestrus" period.

Species vary, so for example the female sheep (ewe) starts her breeding season in the autumn as the days get shorter. The same occurs with the female goat (doe) and the female deer (hind in Red deer and doe in Fallow). Near the equator, sheep do not show this very seasonal breeding behaviour.

The males of these species will mate all the year round if a female in heat appears, but they show a greater desire to mate in the autumn. Male deer (Red deer stags and Fallow bucks) show a definite "rut" when they are very active and herd their mates into a group or harem and guard them. To some extent this behaviour is seen in male goat (buck or Billy), and in male sheep (ram) to a much smaller extent.

The female horse (mare) is the opposite to the above species. Her breeding season is stimulated by increasing daylight so she starts to breed in the spring a few days after giving birth. She is most sexually-active from November to January in New Zealand. The male horse (stallion) will mate all the year round if given the chance, but is also most sexually active in spring.

In the sow, her breeding cycle is stimulated by weaning the piglets. She comes on heat a few days after weaning which takes place at 6 or 8 weeks after birth. Sometimes taking the piglets from the sow for 24 hours is used to trigger breeding activity.

The cow is different again and will breed most of the year round but shows less breeding activity in the winter. Bulls will mate any time of the year.

This effect of daylight is clearly seen when animals are moved from one hemisphere to another. They alter their breeding seasons to suit the new light pattern. Near the equator with equal day and night, animals tend to be less seasonal in their breeding patterns.

Breeding seasons (Southern hemisphere)

• Animals that breed in Autumn (Feb. - May) – sheep, goat, deer
• Animals that breed in Spring (Sept. - Feb.) – horse
• Animals that breed all year – cattle, pig, dog, rabbit, poultry
  

The Breeding cycle
Once the female animal has come out of the anoestrus period and starts its breeding season, it then shows a definite cycle when it will mate. We say that the animal has started to "cycle" and at set times in this cycle she will be willing to let a male mate with her.

Each species differs in their breeding cycle. Below is a summary giving an average value and a range around that average. Note the wide variation in some species.

Breeding cycles in farm animals
Cattle 21 days (range 18 - 24 days)
Sheep 17 days (14 - 21)
Goat 21 days (19 - 22)
Horse 21 days (19 - 40)
Pig 21 days (19 - 22)
Dog 6 months
Deer 18 days (14 - 22)

Heat or Oestrus
First note the spelling. "Oestrus" is the noun and "oestrous" is the adjective. Estrus is the American spelling for the same thing. We do not use it in New Zealand.

Heat or oestrus is the length of time that the female will stand to be mated or "served" by the male. There are a number of words used to describe oestrous, for example:

• On heat (general use)
• In oestrus (general use)
• Bulling (in the cow)
• Riding (in the cow)
• Brimming (in the sow)
• Hot on (in the mare)
• Tupping (in the sheep)
  

Here is a summary of some average values for time on heat, and a range which you will find with animals in a real farm situation.

Oestrus lengths in farm animals
Cattle 14 hours (range 10 - 30 hours)
Sheep 24 hours (4 - 72 hours)
Goat 48 hours (2 - 3 days)
Horse 5 days (4 hours - 11 days)
Pig 24 hours (12 - 60 hours)
Dog 7 days (5 - 15 days)
Deer little known. A few hours

Signs of heat
Species vary greatly in their behaviour, and within a species there is great variation as well. So you have to be very observant and for example look for a combination of one or more signs of heat to confirm your diagnosis.

A female will not let a male mount and serve during the whole of the oestrous period. So you have to recognise the actual period of "standing oestrus" or standing heat when she will stand both to be mounted and served. It seems that nature has designed this behaviour to frustrate the male and concentrate the sperm in his reproductive tract. The main practical point to accept is that the mating pair may need time and impatience on the part of the stockperson will not do any good at all.

Cow:
There are a number of signs to use such as:

• Mucous discharge from the vulva.
• Swelling of the vulva.
• Bellowing and restless.
• Seeking the company of other cattle (sexually active groups).
• Riding and being ridden by other cows in a group of 3 - 5 others.
• Mud on her flanks showing she has been ridden.
• Withholding her milk - lowered production.
• Walking around the paddock a lot.
• Hair (or applied paint) rubbed off the tail bone and pins.
• Standing to be mated by a bull.
  

Sheep and goat
There are very few signs of heat in the ewe, even when a ram is near. Ewes go and seek out the ram but do not mount each other like cows. The ram "hunt sniffs" through the flock and if a ewe on heat is approached by a ram, it will "tail fan" or waggle it's tail, stand still and turn its head to the rear to look at the ram.

The goat has similar behaviour to the sheep.

Pig
The sow vulva swells and in white pigs becomes pink. A sow on heat stands rock solid when pushed from behind. In AI the sow is straddled by the stockman and if she stands this is a sign of peak heat. Sows wander around a lot looking for a boar, often with ears pricked and making short high pitched grunt.

Horse
The mare is restless, will urinate a lot and stands with her hind legs splayed. If a stallion is near she "winks or flashes" her vulva. This is called "clitoral or vaginal winking" when she lifts her tail and exposes her vulva to a prospective male. She will call out to other horses and responds to the stallion's high pitched call.

Deer
There are very few signs of heat in deer other than the animal's response to the stag. Hinds will preen themselves and go and rub themselves and preen the stag. Courtship and mating is very rapid in deer.

Dog
The vulva of the bitch will become red and swollen and thick mucous and blood may be seen. She will urinate and the smell of this will excite the male. She may stand and then race around and play and tease the dog. He may solicit this behaviour too. If the male is slow to mount the bitch may mount him. Other females may mount the bitch in heat. In standing heat, the bitch stands with her back curved and tail held to the side.

Bull's Reproductive Organs
Learn to draw the male reproductive organs and label the different parts.

The bull's reproductive organs are present at birth and after puberty he is able to produce and deliver sufficient sperm to fertilise females.

Sperm or spermatozoa
These are the male contribution (called the male gamete) to the offspring and contain his genes which are carried on chromosomes in the nucleus of the cell. The normal healthy sperm is like a tadpole under the microscope and has a head with the nucleus inside, a body and a tail which moves rapidly to propel the sperm. Abnormal sperm under the microscope have bent tails.

The testicles
The male has two testicles held in the scrotum or purse. At puberty they drop through the inguinal canal (a hole in the body wall) so that they benefit from the lower temperature outside the body. This helps the sperm to remain fertile.

Bulls with large testicles have been shown to be more fertile and have greater libido than those with small testicles. Beef breeders now select for scrotal circumference in their bulls as a good indirect measure of fertility.

Testicles that do not descend through the inguinal canal in the body wall may cause problems. An animal with one or more undescended testicles is called a "rig" and some of them are fertile.

Squeezing the testicles back out of the scrotum and then removing the scrotum with a rubber ring makes the animal infertile as the testicles are kept at a higher temperature either back up through the inguinal canal of more likely under the skin along the belly of the animal. The animal still grows as fast as an "entire" male as it has the full benefit of its testosterone. It is called a "cryptorchid". But beware, there is always the chance that one of them could produce enough viable sperm to get a female pregnant as they certainly have the libido to try.

The testicles continually produce sperm which is then stored and matured in the coiled tube or "epididymis" at the base of the testicle.

Sperm then move up the narrow tube called the vas deferens into the urethra or tube down the centre of the bull's penis along which both sperm and urine from the bladder flows.

Testosterone
The testicles also play an important role in the male's sexually behaviour. There are cells in the testicles (sometimes referred to as testes) called "interstitial tissue" that produce a hormone called "testosterone". Its production is stimulated by another hormone called "pituitrin" produced in the pituitary gland below the brain.

Testosterone has four functions:

• It gives the bull it's sex drive or "libido
• It increases the growth rate of males
• It develops male characteristics
• It develops the accessory glands
  

Accessory glands
Near the base of the bladder there are a number of "accessory glands" which provide fluids that lubricate the sperm. These are called the:

• The prostate gland (note the spelling)
• The seminal vesicles
• Cowper's gland
  

The mixture of sperm and accessory fluids is called "semen".

The penis
The bull's penis is a strong muscular organ. When the bull becomes sexually excited testosterone causes an increased blood flow to the penis and it goes from a "flaccid" state to the "erect" state. The arrector muscle pulls the bend out of it so that it protrudes from the sheath or "prepuce" ready for entry into the vagina and on "ejaculation" discharges the semen and fluids.

A single ejaculate of about 5-10 ml contains about four billion sperm. At current dilution rates of sperm this one ejaculate could inseminate 6 - 8,000 cows. Each insemination contains about 2 million sperm.

The end of the penis is called the "glans penis" and varies in different species because of the shape of the cervix in the female. The bull for example has an arrow head type glans while the ram has a worm-like structure on the end (villiform appendage). The boar has a corkscrew shape on his penis which locks into the sow's cervix with a left hand thread action. The stallion has a large chrysanthemum-like structure on its glans, while the dog has a bulbous gland on its penis which inflates after ejaculation and locks the dog inside the bitch for a while. He dismounts and remains "knotted". They should not be pulled apart of have water thrown over them!

Cow's Reproductive Organs
Learn to draw and label the reproductive system of the cow.

The vulva and vagina
The vulva are the outside lips of the vagina. The shape of the vulva with its extended lips project the urine off the body of the animal when it urinates.

The vagina leads into the main body of the reproductive tract and is where sperm from the male is deposited at mating. It is also where the entrance to the bladder via the urethra can be found.

At the end anterior end of the vagina is the cervix with the entrance called the os.

The cervix and uterus
The cervix is the neck or entrance to the uterus or womb. The actual entrance to the cervix is called the "os" (pronounced oss). The cervix is a muscular structure made up of many folds. This is a natural barrier to keep infection out of the uterus, and has to be penetrated by the pipette when the animal is artificially inseminated. With natural mating the sperm have to find their way through the cervix and many perish on the way.

The cervix of sheep is much more muscular than in the cow, and in the sow the boar has to be locked into the cervix before ejaculation occurs.

The uterus is made up of two "horns" and is where the fertilised ovum or "embryo" is attached. In animals that have more than one offspring or have litters (called multiparous), these can develop in either or both horns. In single-offspring species (called uniparous), the "foetus" grows in the main body of the uterus. In pigs for example, you will find a foetus along the length of each horn and the "runt" or small member of the litter is usually found in the top of the horn and is born last.

The Fallopian tubes
These are the narrow tubes down which the egg or "ovum" flows from the ovary and where fertilisation takes place. The ovum coming down meets the sperm coming up. Sometimes the term "oviduct" is given to this part of the system. At the top of the Fallopian tube is a cup-like structure called the "infundibulum" which catches the egg after it has been shed from the ovary.

The ovary
This organ produces the ova or eggs from the female. A young heifer calf for example has many hundreds of thousands of eggs in its ovaries ready to develop after puberty and which will mature and be produced over the animal's lifetime.
The ova are produced in waves

Hormonal Control in the Female
Successful reproduction in the female depends on a number of separate organs working together. These are:

• the hypothalamus or lower part of the brain
• the pituitary gland - a gland the size of a pea under the brain
• the ovary
• the uterus

Hormones are "chemical messengers". At puberty a hormone from the pituitary gland activates the ovary and a number of ova start to develop. This hormone is called "Follicle Stimulating Hormone" or FSH.

One ovum wins the race (in species that produce one offspring), and it matures into a follicle which looks like a red blister on the ovary surface. In animals that produce litters, both ovaries will carry these ripening follicles.

While the follicle is developing, it secretes a hormone into the bloodstream called "oestrogen". This causes the animal to show signs of heat or oestrus.

As well as causing oestrus, oestrogen stimulates the pituitary gland to produce a hormone called "Luteinising Hormone" or LH. This causes the follicle to rupture and the egg drops into the Fallopian tube to work its way down to meet the sperm when present. Fertilisation takes place in the top one third of the Fallopian tube and on about day 4, the fertilised egg or embryo is implanted into the wall of the uterus.

After the follicle bursts, the membrane that covered the follicle and the cells lining the follicle cavity produce a structure called the "Corpus Luteum" or CL. It is sometimes called the "yellow body" and has the important function of producing a hormone called "Progesterone". This is the "hormone of pregnancy". It stimulates the wall of the uterus to accept the fertilised egg and stops other follicles from maturing. This continues until the foetus can produce enough of its own progesterone to maintain the pregnancy.

If the female does not become pregnant, a hormone called "prostaglandin:" is produced by the uterus and this dissolves the Corpus Luteum so the whole cycle starts again.

Fertilisation
The sperm meet the egg in the top third of the Fallopian tube. The rhythmic contraction of the uterus waft the sperm up the tubes and there are still millions of them present at this stage of their journey despite huge losses on the way. Sperm gather around the egg vibrating the shell, all trying to penetrate. This vibration alters the pH of the shell and assists penetration of the sperm. Only one succeeds and then the shell becomes impervious to the others which then die.

The seminal fluid from the accessory glands has an important role. Initially its role is to provide a fluid to help the sperm to flow. However, after a time it then changes its role and kills off the sperm. It seems as if Nature has intended the sperm to have a limited life and this varies greatly with species.

Pregnancy
The sperm and egg are each single cells, and after joining start to multiply from two cells to four to eight, and so on. It is at these early stages before the eggs have attached that they can be flushed out of the Fallopian tubes and implanted into other animals.

This is called "Ovum Transfer" (OT) if they are collected and transplanted before fertilisation, or "Embryo Transfer" (ET) if collected and implanted after fertilisation.

They can also be split at this time or the contents called "germ plasm", which is a jelly-like substance, can be taken out and put into other egg shells.

In the cow implantation takes place on the same side of the uterus as the ovary from which the egg is shed. Attachment is caused by cells in the shell which form membranes that attach to the wall of the uterus. They serve to surround and protect the new embryo and start to form the "placenta" by which the embryo is fed from the dam.

In the cow this placenta forms into a bag around the calf which is seen at birth as the "afterbirth". The contact between the cow's blood supply and the calf's blood supply is through structures called "cotyledons" which work rather like Velcro and pull apart at birth. If they do not separate at birth the cow end up with a retained afterbirth which has to be treated to prevent infection of the uterus or "metritis".

In the horse and the pig the placenta does not have cotyledons but lines the entire uterus. This is called "diffuse" placentation in contrast to "cotyledenous" placentation. In the mare the placenta or afterbirth comes out as a large two-horned bag after the foal is born.

The dam not only feeds the calf through the placenta, but also removes all waste products as well. So the blood flow through the placenta is very important.

The first organs to develop in the calf or "foetus" are the brain and central nervous system, the heart and blood vessels. By the end of the first quarter of pregnancy most of the internal organs are formed and functioning in the foetus.

Pregnancy in different species
Cow 282 days (9 months + 3 days)
Sheep 140 - 150 days (5 months)
Goat 150 - 156 days
Horse 340 (325 - 347 days) (11 months & 11 days)
Pig 115 days (3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days)
Dog 58 - 63 days (9 weeks)
Deer 226 - 233 days. (Wapiti - 255 days)
Rabbit 31 days

Note the wide variation in some species.

Birth
During pregnancy the muscles of the uterus remain inactive. Shortly before birth the muscles in the cervix and the vagina relax in preparation for birth. The cartilage and ligaments in the pelvic area also become more flexible ready for the calf to pass through the pelvic cavity.

At birth, the muscles of the uterus undergo spasms or contractions to push the calf out towards the birth canal though the pelvis. In normal presentations this is head and feet first like a diver. Normally the placental link with the mother - the umbilical cord, remains intact until the calf hits the ground. Once born this is broken and the lungs inflate to allow the calf to breath on its own.

When calves are born backwards (breech presentations) the cord may break before the animal can breath through its lungs, and it can drown if the delivery is delayed.

The triggering of birth comes through a hormone from the foetus and not the mother.


Control of Reproduction
Good farm management requires control of animal reproduction. For example we want calving to coincide with the time when grass growth is at its peak, or we may want animals to give birth to suit particular markets. To improve animal performance we want to breed from the best and cull the worst. This demands control of reproduction.

There are a number of techniques used to influence the natural reproduction pattern. These include:

• Castration
• Vasectomy
• Cryptorchids
• Speying
• Hormonal treatment - injections, implants under the skin, vaginal insertions (CIDRs)
  

CIDRs are used to get anoestrus animals to start cycling, and also to "synchronise" the breeding activity of those that have started to cycle so that they all come on heat together.

Future developments
Advances in reproductive technology are the way these genes will be multiplied and made commercially available. Here’s a brief description of some of these techniques which are at varying stages of commercial availability:

MOET: “Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer” - sometimes called “super-ovulation and embryo flushing”. The cow is stimulated to produce many more eggs (oocytes) than normal at ovulation, then after insemination the embryos are flushed from the uterus through the vagina. Very large numbers of embryos can be harvested but five good quality ones per flush is a realistic average. These can be implanted in to other cows treated with hormones to be at the correct stage of their cycle, or frozen for later use or sale.

TVR: “Trans-vaginal recovery” – also called “ovum pickup”. In TVR oocytes are taken directly from the cow’s ovaries and the operation can be performed on yearlings or cows soon after calving or even in early pregnancy. Oocytes can also be taken from cows immediately after death; this is called GR or “genetic rescue” and is an ideal way of exploiting the genes of former top-performing cows in the herd.

IVP: “In vitro production” is where embryos are grown in the laboratory and there are three stages to this. First is IVM or “in vitro maturation”, then IVF or “in vitro fertilisation” and lastly IVC or “in vitro culture” – the whole process taking eight days.

Sexed semen: This has been possible for some years (currently with 90% accuracy), but is not commercially available on a large scale yet. It’s ideal for an AI programme to breed females for replacements or males for beef.


Embryo genotyping: Here the genotype of the embryo can be checked before implantation. The aim is to avoid spreading defective genes and multiplying good genes – once they have been found. Currently there are only a few available but as the cow genome or genetic map is researched, more will be commercially available.

Embryo multiplication: This is the process of taking one embryo and dividing it up at the appropriate (early) stage to produce identical twins, triplets, quads – or more.

JIVET: “Juvenile in vitro embryo transfer”. This is where IVP is done on calves (one month old) and when perfected will be a powerful tool to reduce generation interval which is limited by the age of normal puberty. Currently results are not commercially satisfactory.


Clones: Clones are totally identical in their genetic makeup and have been produced from body cells as opposed to sperm or eggs. Dolly the sheep for example was produced from a cell from her mother’s udder. Cattle have been cloned and used commercially in AI to produce two bulls to meet a large demand for semen that one bull could not supply.

Short-gestation semen: Semen from bulls that have been selected to produce calves which are born less than the average 280 days gestation. The best bull currently available will shorten gestation on his calves by 8.4 days. These bulls are used by dairy farmers at the end of their AI programme to reduce calving spread.

Freeze-dried semen: When this is available commercially, it will make transport and delivery of semen easier.


Glossary
AB: Artificial Breeding ( same as AI)
Abortion: premature expulsion of the foetus.
Accessory fluids: fluids produced by glands to help sperm to flow.
Accessory glands: glands that produce accessory fluids.
Afterbirth: the membranes (placenta) that have surrounded the developing foetus and attaching it to the dam.
Amniotic fluid: the protective fluid around the foetus.
Anoestrus: the non-cycling period when oestrus is not shown.
Artificial vagina or AV: device a male serves into to for semen collection.
AI or Artificial insemination: placing sperm inside the female tract with a pipette.
Barren: failing to reproduce or incapable of reproducing.
Bearing: protruding or collapsed vagina.
Birth rank: the number born eg singles, twins, triplets, etc.
Breeding crate: a box designed to take the weight of a heavy male (eg boar) when serving a smaller female.
Bulling: see oestrus.
Buller: a nymphomaniac cow.
Amniotic fluid: the fluid around the foetus.
Castration: removal of the testicles of a male.
Cervix: the opening or neck of the uterus.
CIDR: a device in the female vagina to control breeding by slow release of hormones.
Colostrum: the first milk of the dam rich in antibodies.
Conception: fertilisation of an egg by a sperm.
Conception Rate (CR): percentage of females that do not return to oestrus, or are diagnosed pregnant.
Copulation: the act of mating.
Corpus Luteum: the structure which develops from the follicle after the egg is shed. May be called the "yellow body". Plural is "Corpora Lutea.
Corticosteriods: hormones produced from the adrenal glands and used to induce parturition or birth.
Cotyledon: the structure by which the foetal and maternal placenta are joined in the cow.
Cryptorchid: a male made infertile by pushing the testicles up into the body cavity and removing the scrotum.
Cycling: same as oestrus.
Chin ball harness: a device fitted to a bull to leave an ink mark on the mounted cow.
Dry: a animal that has not reproduced, or has finished lactating
Dystocia: birth difficulty.
Egg: same as ovum.
Ejaculate: ejecting the sperm from the penis. Or what is collected from this action and made up of sperm and seminal fluid.
Electroejaculation: collecting semen from a male using electrical stimulation.
Embryo: the early stage of development of the young in the uterus or shell
Embryo Transfer (ET): transferring embryos from one female to another.
Endoscope: same as a laproscope.
Entire: an uncastrated male.
Fecundity: a measure of the number of offspring born or reared.
Fertility: a measure of the female to conceive and produce offspring, or of the male to fertilise the female.
Fertilisation: the act of male sperm meeting female ovum and causing pregnancy.
Flushing: washing ova or embryos from the female's reproductive tract.
Flushing: in sheep feeding ewes well 2-3 weeks before joining with ram to increase the eggs shed and hence lambs born.
Foetus: the unborn animal in the womb.
Follicle: the structure in the ovary where an ovum matures.
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): hormone produced by the pituitary gland which controls ovulation in females and sperm production in males.
Fostering: making a mother accept an offspring from another dam, or giving an offspring to another dam to rear.
Freemartin: in cattle, a female born twin to a male is usually infertile.
Gamete: a reproductive cell (sperm or ovum).
Gestation: the time of pregnancy between conception and birth.
Glans: the structure on the end of the male's penis.
Gonads: a general term for the reproductive glands (ovaries & testicles)
Gonadotrophins: hormones from the pituitary gland that control the reproductive system.
Heat: the period when the animal shows willingness to be mated.
Hermaphrodite: a bisexual animal that has both male and female sexual organs.
Hormone: a "chemical messenger". Secretions from special glands that circulate in the bloodstream and affects different body functions.
Induction: a technique to cause early onset of birth buy using hormones.
In utero: a term which means in the uterus.
In vitro: means outside the body.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF): fertilisation in a test tube.
Joining: putting a male with a female animal for mating.
Laparoscope: a telescope for examining inside an animal's body through a small incision.
Laparoscopy: the examination done with a laparoscope.
Luteinising Hormone (LH): hormone from the pituitary which controls ovulation in females and testosterone production in males.
Libido: sex drive or urge to mate.
Mating: the act of mating. Animals may be joined but not mate.
Mating harness: a device fitted to males to colour mark females after mating.
Mortality: a measure of offspring born dead or died soon after birth.
Mothering: same as fostering.
Mothering ability: the ability of a dam to look after its young.
Mounting: one animal jumping up on another in an attempt to mate.
Multiparous: a dam that has many offspring or had many pregnancies.
Non parous: a female which has not given birth.
Nymphomaniac: female in continuous oestrus
Oestrogens: female steroid hormones secreted by growing ovarian follicles and which are concerned with oestrus.
Oestrus: period when the animal will stand to be mated.
Oestrous (adjective): same as oestrus.
On-the-drop: female about to give birth.
Out-of-season breeding: breeding animals outside their normal season.
Ovary: the female organ that produces the ova or eggs.
Ovulate: the act of shedding the egg or ovulation.
Ovulation rate: measured by inspecting the ovary and counting the corpora lutea.
Ovum: a single egg. Plural is ova.
Ovum Transfer (OT): collecting eggs from the female and putting them into other females.
Parity: how many pregnancies and animal has had.
Parous: a dam which has had offspring.
Parturition: same as birth.
Pellet: a small lump of frozen semen.
Perinatal mortality: mortality of young around birth.
Pheromone: chemical secreted by one animal that influences the sexual behaviour of another.
Pituitary gland: gland at the base of the brain which secretes hormones that control functions like reproduction and milking.
Placenta: the organ which attaches the offspring to its dam and through which it is fed.
Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotrophin (PSMG): a hormone used in reproduction control to stimulate ovulation.
Pregnancy diagnosis (PD): finding out which animals are pregnant by hand palpation or using an electronic instrument.
Post-calving interval: the time between calving and first heat.
Premature: an animal born before its full term.
Prepuce: the sheath of skin around the protracted (withdrawn) penis.
Progesterone: a hormone produced by the Corpus Luteum which stimulates the uterus to accept the embryo and then maintains pregnancy.
Prolapse: eversion (turning inside out) or the vagina, uterus or rectum.
Prostaglandin: hormone produced by the uterus and used in reproduction control.
Puberty: the stage when the animal reaches sexual maturity.
Reproductive wastage: loss of eggs or embryos between mating and birth.
Returns-to-service: females that do not become pregnant and continue to cycle.
Riding: same as mounting.
Rig: an animal with one or both undescended testicles.
Season: "in season" is the same as "on heat"
Semen: the male reproductive cells made up of spermatozoa and accessory fluids.
Service: the act of the male mating the female.
Service interval: the time between services received by a female.
Sheath: another name for the prepuce, or the plastic cover for the pistolette used in AI.
Synchronisation: getting animals to show oestrus all at the same time using hormones.
Sperm or spermatozoa: the male sex cells or gametes.
Speying: surgical removal of the ovaries to prevent pregnancy. The Fallopian tubes many also be tied to prevent sperm meeting ova.
Springing: showing signs of birth such as udder development.
Straw: the fine plastic tube semen is packed in for AI.
Super ovulation: stimulating the female to produce larger than normal numbers of ova.
Tail painting: Putting paint on the tail head of cows which is then rubbed off or scuffed when mounted by other cows and denotes oestrus.
Teaser female: female with ovaries removed and used to stimulate males.
Teaser male: a vasectomised male.
Testicle: the male organ where sperm are produced.
Testes: same as testicles.
Testosterone: hormone produced by cells in the testicle.
Tubal ligation: tying the Fallopian tubes as in speying.
Uterus: the female organ in which the calf grows.
Vagina: anterior part of female reproductive tract.
Vulva: the outside lips of the vagina.
Yellow body: same as Corpus Luteum.

Beef Cattle Husbandry: Reducing stress before slaughter

Agriculture, farming, husbandry, beef production, meat quality, pre-slaughter preparation, pH, pratical advice

By Dr Clive Dalton

Importance of meat quality
With such a high emphasis on 'Quality' in export markets, it’s vital that farmers recognise this in the paddock because this is where Quality starts. Stock that are stressed before slaughter will have high pH in their muscles and the meat will have limited shelf life and consumer satisfaction.

pH levels
Ideally meat should have a pH of around 5.5, and it’s acceptable up to 5.8. This will produce good red meat that will be excellent to eat. In a range from 5.8 to 6.2, the meat begins to be unacceptable and tough. Above 6.2 and up to pH of 7.0, the meat will be relatively tender but will go a dark colour and will spoil quickly and have little flavour on cooking. Dark meat when displayed in a supermarket has little customer appeal and shoppers assume it is “going off”.

Controlling pH is all about handling stock before they go for processing. The amount of glycogen in the muscle determines the pH of the meat and acute stress before slaughter causes glycogen breakdown thus increasing pH.

Advice for farmers
Stock buyers are urging farmers to do the following:

• Sort out stock for slaughter at least a week before they are transported.
• Put them on good pasture to build up their glycogen levels.
• In their new groups they will have time to sort out their social order.
• Leave them in this group during yarding, and trucking. The meat company will keep them together right up to the point of slaughter.
• Handle them quietly with no dogs or sticks, especially during yarding and loading. Give your stock plenty of time.
• If the transporter is late – don’t let your stock be sacrificed by rushing them, in a bid to make up time.
• Make sure the yards have nothing to damage hides or bruise flesh like protruding bolt heads, nails or splintered rails.
• Get your veterinarian to dehorn any stock intended for slaughter at least a month before slaughter.
• Don’t buy stock with horns in future.
• Ensure the loading ramp is safe and the truck can back up squarely leaving no gap for legs to get down.
• Make sure the truck is clean before your stock are loaded.
• Ensure the truck operator does not mix you stock with others to save space.
• Empty out stock for at least 8 hours before trucking, giving them access to good clean water.

Northumbrian poetry: "The Great Daft Laddies' Waal" by Donald Clegg

Don Clegg (on left) and Tom Batey -resting after

completion of the " Great Daft Laddies Waal"

THE 'GREAT DAFT LADDIES' WAAL

By Donald Clegg

There is a little cottage standin’ on a windy Highland brae,
The bonniest Butt and Ben inventeed, definitely, Aa wad say.
Way, way up a hillside in an Aberdeenshor glen,
It belangs to school-day friends, that stay theor noo and then.

It hes a country garden, tended both by Tom and Beth
And a view ‘cross to the Grampians to make ye haad yor breath.
But the braeside nuw is slumpin’, Tom thinks it’s gan’in te faal.
So Tom and me decideed, we wad hev to build a Waal.

A waal to keep the garden up! It wad be quite a feature.
Strang, stoot and gappy too – a heme for ivvery creature.
Bords, moosees, bugs and beetles, it meks nee odds at aal.
It’d be a boon for wildlife, wad the buildin’ of the Waal.

We stumped aboot aal day wi’ lots of scratchin’ 'o wor heeds,
Amang brambles, burrs and nettles, and plenty other weeds.
We measured and stuck sticks in – an’ then we changed wor minds.
Wor heeds was fairly abuzzin’ with the choice of grand designs.

At last we got it settled, and decided on a corve.
Not ower big or ower hee – just moderate wad sorve.
Part 'o the top might just be right to mek a viewin’ bench
So, full of hell, we started oot to dig the footin’s trench.

The soil was lowse and sandy and, tho’ the dust blew int’ wor eyes
We raked aboot and fund a bowldor – just the varry size
To get the buildin’ under way - and two/three mair anaal
‘Twad be a simple process, wad be the buildin’ of the Waal!

Sand and cement at 4 to 1 was saen browt into play
And bowldor followed muckle bowldor aal throughoot the day
We sweated, strained and laboured till the dyke began to grow
‘Till at last we reached the other end – as far as we meant to go.

Noo we’d done the footin’s, it was time to build the coursees,
So we pulled and pushed mair stones aboot, like two dementeed horsees.
Wi’ pinch bar and sledge hammor, we winkled bowldors oot
That hedn’t seen the light 'o day since Adam was aboot!

Tho’ bodies creaked and muscles groaned, we went on wi’ wor labours
Just stoppin’ yence or twice to a crack wi’ passin’ neebors.
Tea, coffee, sandwiches wor aall eaten in the shade,
Sittin’ in the wheelbarrow, or just leanin’ on the spade.

Some staenes wor easy worried oot, and quickly buildeed in
While some, nee mattor huw ye tried, ye simply couldn’t win!
But in spite of aal the akward yins, that seemed to be unwillin’
We soon got roond that problem, cos’ we used them for back-fillin’.

The day arrived for toppin’ oot, thor was a great debate.
“Where wad the initials gan? And what aboot the date?”
A flat stone from Northumberland was used to cap it aal
And we stood in admiration of wor grand, completed Waal.

It beats the one in China and Hadrian’s muckle dyke.
It beats that yin in Bykor, folks hev nivvor seen the like.
That yin in Borlin didn’t last for varry lang ataal
‘Cos it didn’t hev the craftsmen like the 'Great Daft Laddies’ Waal'.

It stands se strang and prood against the worst of Scottish weathor.
We think it’s got a canny chance of standin’ theor for ivvor.
So, if ye gan te Scotland and want somewheor to caal
Pop in to Aberdeenshor and see the 'Great Daft Laddies Waal'.

Falstone 2009

Profile of Tom Batey by Clive Dalton
Dr Tom Batey was born at Broomhill farm in West Woodburn where his parents farmed before moving 'doon country' to Gilchesters at Stamfordham in 1939. There Tom grew up and after his secondary schooling (where he met Don Clegg), he went on to Kings College, University of Durham in Newcastle upon Tyne where he did an agricultural degree specialising in soil chemistry.

While being the main stay on the home farm, Tom completed a Ph.D at Kings under Fred Hunter looking at the productivity of hill land in Northumberland. I can recall a memorable day with Tom up the Coquet 'howkin holes' on Blindburn, looking at the soil profiles and fencing some small plots to keep the yowes oot!

Tom spent the first part of his career working as a soil specialist for the UK Ministry of Agriculture 'doon sooth', initially in East Anglia then based at Reading. Then followed over 30 years teaching land use and soil management north of the Border at Aberdeen University. During this time he came to the deep sooth and had a short exchange at Lincoln College in New Zealand.

In his later career Tom acted as a soil consultant, specialising in assessing damage to the land following the installation of oil and gas pipelines. He loves 'sittin aroond a hole in the grund' spouting on about soils to anyone who will listen- including quite a few farmers in Australia! He and his wife Beth are in retirement in Aberdeenshire, where Tom recently bought himself a set of Northumbrian pipes! Now he can sit on his new waal and practise.



In 1988, Tom published an excellent book called 'Soil Husbandry - A practical guide to the use and management of soils'.
ISBN 0-951-3605-0-7.

Without question, it's the best book available if you want good, easy-to-read basic information on soils and their care, because of Tom's complete understanding of the role of science in practical farming.