Hosted by Otago-Southland Club

Queens Birthday weekend Fri 3rd June – Mon 6th June 2011 At Elmwood Garden Function Centre, 309 Dee St Invercargill.

Programme Friday Evening: 7 pm: An informal get together at Homestead Cobb & Co, Cnr Dee and Avenal Sts. Meal available at own cost if required. (Indication of numbers requiring a meal appreciated) Saturday: Elmwood Garden Function Centre 10.30 Registration 12.00 Lunch 1.00pm NZHCS 2011 AGM 6.00pm Dinner Sunday Bus Tour 9.15 Leave to visit Richardson Truck Museum. Morning Tea at the Lignite Pit Café and Gardens, Kapuka. Scenic tour through the South, including some Highland Cattle. Lunch To Wyndham Town & Country Club Cheese Tasting and presentation from Retro Organics, a local cheese and yoghurt maker. Greenway Gourmet Highland Pie tasting and presentation from Stu and Jacqui Dreaver, local highland breeders

who market their own highland pies. Back to Invercargill for dinner at Elegance at 148 on Elles. Monday Make your own way around open folds.

AGM and Southern Muster, Invercargill

AGM Accommodation

Homestead Villa Motel

As Invercargill has several other events on this weekend we recommend you book a.s.a.p.

Please mention NZHCS AGM when booking for the special price.

Accommodation at Homestead Villa Motel, Cnr Dee and Avenal Sts. 30 rooms held $116.50 inc GST single/twin share per night.

Ph 0800 488 588 www.homesteadvillamotel.co.nz This accommodation is adjacent to our venue.

Or Queens Park Motel,85 Alice St

Ph 0800 800 504 www.queensparkmotels.co.nz Finalist AA Supreme Host of the Year Award 2010

Approx 1km driving distance from venue. A quiet, peaceful setting in the corner of Queens Park.

Studio $120, 1 bedroom $125, 2 bedroom $160 Early Bird specials available if paid for before March 31 2011:

3 nights: Studio $330, 1 bedroom $345, 2 bedroom $450

Also if needed Balmoral Lodge Motel, 265 Tay St Ph 0800 225 667 www.balmoralmotel.co.nz

This motel is 3 km across town so it would be better to have a vehicle if staying here. $112.75 incl GST single/twin share per night.

What’s been happening…..Area reports

Counties / Manukau - report by Martin McLeod My very best wishes to all for the New Year, by the time you read this ¼ of it may be over already ! I thought I may resist mentioning the weather in this re-port, but if ―farmers‖ do not talk about it, what is there left for discussion. Though it came with a vengeance, it was certainly good to finally get some rain in the later part of January, with silage and hay safely tucked away the paddocks have regained a green tinge which should set us up for autumn and beyond.

Northland—report by Doug Sheldon It is wonderful to have at last some long overdue rain—we were getting incredibly dry. Much harvesting has been done in the north, helped by the dry weather, however yields were very much down. We have planted sorghum this year, which in the best of the three paddocks we have sown has grown to an amaz-ing three quarters of a metre high from seeding in mid December (five weeks!) We will harvest this for baleage and hay and should get three cuts by mid April. Show season is upon us again and we‘re looking for-ward to a good turnout of Highlanders at our local shows with 24 Highland Cattle at the Warkworth Show. Some of us will attend the forthcoming Royal Franklin Show, and also our own Helensville and Kumeu Shows which are coming up shortly, followed by the Royal Easter Show. With the dry weather once again causing concern, it was a real pleasure to get wet in the latter part of the day at Warkworth! Once again we will have some cattle at the Northland three day Field days at Dargaville in March and will be representing NZHCS there, so please look us up on site 212. Plans are under way for an overnight (optional) get-together in our area but this is at the fledgling stage at present. With a wedding coming up very shortly, some home entertaining to do and overseas guests to house, our focus turns away from all but essential Highland matters to the all-consuming rush! Essential Highland matters include the RAS/other High-land breeds issue, the continuing bull assessment/evaluation training and promotion of these unique ani-mals. While at the Warkworth Show, some calves were no-ticed which had been ―fitted‖ with the old tags rather than the new NAIT tags. The NAIT system goes ―live‖ on 1 November 2011, at which point all animals need to have the new tags, although there are some exemp-tions. Certainly all cattle being shown from 1.11.11 must have the new tags, regardless of their age. To check out details, the website is http://www.nait.org.nz/nait_Transitioning_to_NAIT.cfm

Show season is well and truly in full swing, it has been great to see some ‖newbie‘s‖ getting stock out and enjoy-ing success. Congratulations Clan Cameron for their Pu-hoi show awards. Ardargie and Te Mata Hills crossed the bridge north for some fine Warkworth hospitality on the 22nd Jan with Ginni taking out supreme highland exhibit with a lovely 2 yr old. I hope to see good numbers at Franklin for the royal event and we can reciprocate the hospitality. Should anyone require grazing please let me know and I will assist. The club Xmas dinner was well attended with awesome hospitality provided by Joy and Gary Cederman at their lovely new property in Ramarama. Remember the next club event scheduled is a field day on the 27th March (all welcome), further detail will be communicated shortly or phone Ginni Alexander 09 2928004. We offer our sincere condolences to Ginni and family fol-lowing the passing of Ginni‘s father in law, Doug Sim, in mid January. See you around the ―traps‖ and/or in the ring - Martin (09 2928225)

Waikato, Bay of Plenty Report … by Judy Smyth By November the warm days of spring across this region had quickly turned into a scorching summer heat, with grass only being maintained by heavy deluges of rain at the 11th hour, never the less cattle have been beautifully maintained, particularly for showing purpose. The Waihi show on the 13th of Nov hosted Highland rings for the first time ever. Netta and Errol Clark, John and Judy Doull, Jan and Clark Dudding, along with a very en-thusiastic new member Margaret Harvey, turned out beautifully presented and conditioned animals. Although rings didn‘t have huge numbers, all animals pre-sented were a credit to the breed and breeder. It certainly was wonderful to see the progeny that followed behind very nice cows, looking like they have the potential to bet-ter their parent, a tribute to their breeders. Our Christmas function held at Mills Reef, was designed to coincide with Saint Andrews day, Summer sunshine, great food and wine enabled a smaller group of members to catch up with each other, without debate around cur-rent issues the society faces, just a really pleasant re-laxed afternoon for all. Thanks to those of you who trav-elled and swelled our numbers. Christmas came and went with other priorities taking precedence over High-lands, and it wasn‘t until Jan 22nd that our wonderfully supportive show ring ―groupies‖ caught up with each other and showed stock in The ―All Breeds‖ classes at the Tau-ranga show, pitching themselves very successfully against Angus and Charolais cattle. Again I can only con-gratulate all breeders for the calibre of the stock they showed and the Doull‘s for presenting their Reserve Champion Senior Bull. The Tauranga show was immediately followed by the Ro-

Welcome New Members

Helen and Nick Tyler Silverdale Aaron and Wendy Merrick Waihi

Suzy and Dave McMenamin Te Awamutu Karin FJ Dirkx Masterton

Oscar Bellett Christchurch

Fiona and David Bellett Christchurch

John and Sally Howard Kaiapoi

Mrs Wendy Fraser Timaru

Otago Southland Report – by Janice Bulling In November we had a field day at Ken and Sonia Deverys at Kapuka with a pot luck lunch, a time to catch up on fellow Highland breeders and look at their cattle. Then we moved down the road to look at Leigh and La-chie Smiths Cattle. Thanks to the Deverys and Smiths for their hospitality. We are still preparing for the 2011 NZHCS AGM in Inver-cargill and it seems to be coming together well. See the advertisement in this magazine and also on the NZHCS website. The website will be updated with any extra infor-mation we need to get to you. Please get your registrations in early as it is difficult to plan an event when we don‘t know how many intend to come. If you are not sure enough to register at this stage but think you will come please phone or email me with your intention so we can get an idea of numbers. Accommodation adjacent to the venue is the Homestead Villa Motels which we have booked out. We won‘t be able to hold other accommodation for too long without book-ings so please book early. For those of you who can spend some time in the South, make a holiday of it and enjoy some of the attractions we have to offer. Highly recommended is a trip to Fiordland

Philip 1st of Hi-Arrow The NZHCS have been advised by the Canadian and Australian Highland Cattle Societies that DNA testing has proved Bart of Benmore to be the sire of Philip 1st of Hi-Arrow. This means that the grade of any progeny registered in our herd-book will remain the same as before. New certificates showing the revised pedigree are being printed and sent to those known to have animals already registered with NZHCS. We have a copy of the DNA results should it be needed by anyone and a photo. His pedigree is attached. Bart of Benmore was a reserve cham-pion bull at the Oban sales approximately 1992/93 and was sold to Canada after that.

2011 SUBSCRIPTIONS Due now. Pay before 30-03-11 to receive a discount.

Full $100 reduced to $90 before 30-03-11 Junior & Associate $55

reduced to $50 before 30-03-11 Post to the Treasurer or direct debit

TSB New Plymouth 15 3953 0511620 00

torua show whose Highland entry classes had a wider definition of Breed Standards, than those of the NZHCS (eg allowing Hummels to be shown) but small Highland entry numbers meant Highland competitors were eventu-ally absorbed into the ―All Breeds‖ rings. Breaking news is that Doull‘s are now the proud custodians of The Kin-tyre Highlands Trophy for the champion Highland calf and the Drew Steen trophy for Supreme Champion High-land. Future shows that I believe members of our group are intending to enter, are *Franklin Royal for Beef classes 18/20th Feb 2011 *Morrinsville 4/5th March 2011 *Royal Easter show, late April. Good luck, may you continue to enjoy your cattle and yourselves!

Canterbury Westland Report – by David Leslie The branch has not been busy with the last main event being our St Andrews day dinner. Probably not as well attended as in the past but great to see a few new faces over a good meal. Wyllie and Cynthia also had showing some of the footage they had taken at the International Gathering, so good to get their thoughts and impressions. The next big event is the Oamaru show. I am sure this will be well attended and as well organised as it has been in the past.

staying in Manapouri or Te Anau with a trip to Doubtful or Milford Sound. Queenstown is also a highly rated tourist destination. A visit to Bluff, Riverton or through the Catlins is also worthwhile. For those of you with limited time Queens Park, Southland Museum Tuata-ras, the Water Tower and E Hayes & Sons motor bike collection including the worlds fastest Indian are all recommended. Tourist brochures will be in the regis-tration packs but if you need some before you arrive please let me know.

The Royal Easter Show is celebrating 100 years at the Auckland Showground‘s; it is also our 168th Show and we are very excited and looking forward to another great show in 2011.

The show runs from 21st – 25th April 2011, and is clearly the ‗Shop Window‘ of the changing fashions of

the Country life, agriculture and enterprise as well as annually bringing the ―Country to Town‖.

As a celebration of the 100 years our show has spent at the Auckland Showgrounds, Epsom, we are pleased to announce that the Auckland A&P Association are publishing a collectors book of the history

of the Association. This book will be available to purchase during Easter.

We have been very pleased with the response from many Societies who have agreed to provide promotional and educational material for display during the show and also those who have already

secured trade space.

We welcome and encourage you as members your support in being part of this prestigious and historic show.

Gaylene Ashton For The Royal Easter Show

WAIHI SHOW Judge: Judy Smythe Waihi A & P Society was pleased to welcome Highland cattle and their breeders to their show on 13th November 2010. Four breeders took ten animals to the show and we were please to welcome new member to our Society, Margaret Harvey. Margaret brought along two yearling heifers Results:- 3 years and over 1st Serena of Glen Elgin With calf Tess of glen Elgin 2 years heifer 1st Hattie of Hinterland John and Judy Doull 2nd Ruby Raey of Glen Elgin Margaret Harvey 3rd Sophie Raey of Glen Elgin Margaret Harvey Heifer calf 1st Tess of Glen Elgin John and Judy Doull 2nd Brechin of Craigower Jan and Alan Dudding Yearling bull 1st Sir Gordon of Glenburn Errol and Netta Clark Bull Calf 1st Perri of Craigower Jan and Alan Dudding 2nd Sir Gillie of Glenburn Errol and Netta Clark 3rd Angus of Craigower Jan and Alan Dudding Pair of Yearlings Ruby Raey & Sophie Raey of Glen Elgin Margaret Harvey

Champion Female Serena of Glen Elgin

Reserve Female Champion

Hattie of Hinterland

Champion Bull Sir Gordon of Glenburn

Reserve Champion Bull

Perri of Craigower

SUPREME CHAMPION SIR GORDON OF GLENBURN

TAURANGA A & P SHOW Judge: Judy Smythe All breeds beef Heifer calf 1st Angus entry 2nd Tess of Glen Elgin John and Judy Doull 3rd Charolais entry 4th Brechin of Craigower Jan and Alan Dudding Bull calf 1st Angus of Craigower Jan and Alan Dudding 2nd Angus entry 3rd Sir Gillie of Glenburn Errol and Netta Clark

Junior Champion Angus entry

Reserve Junior Champion Angus of Craigower

Cow 3 years and over 1st Charolais entry 2nd Serena of Glen Elgin John and Judy Doull Yearling heifer 1st Ruby Raey of Glen Elgin Margaret Harvey 2nd Angus entry 3rd Charolais entry

Champion Female Charolais entry

Reserve Female Champion Ruby Raey of Glen Elgin

Yearling Bull 1st Charolais entry 2nd Sir Gordon of Glenburn Errol and Netta Clark Bull 2 years and over 1st Carisbrook of Glen Elgin 2nd Charolais entry

Champion Male Carisbrook of Glen Elgin

Reserve Male Champion Charolais entry

SUPREME CHAMPION Charolais cow and calf entry

John Doull with Serena and Tess of Glen Elgin

Errol Clark with Sir Gordon of Glenburn

4th International Gathering Update

Council has decided that this will be held in November 2014. This gives us 3 ½ years to plan, which seems ideal, however this is going to be an awesome event and opportunity to display how New Zea-land deals with farming generally and Highland Cattle in particular. We need to put in lots of thought

and suggestions are invited from everyone.

SORGHUM – WINTER FEED This year we had some paddocks which were badly invested with weed, and decided to try a cereal crop for winter fodder. After research, we decided that sorghum sounded exciting. From http://www.specseed.co.nz/sorghum.asp : “Forage hybrids are typically drilled in the late spring and harvested over summer until early autumn, mostly in mid to upper North Island. Sprint is a new variety with successful crops grown from South-land to Northland. “Forage hybrids yield well during dry seasons. Overseas trials show little dry matter yield difference between irrigated and un-irrigated crops. As they are a rapidly growing crop, forage hybrids rarely need weed control and don’t require pest control thus making the cost of production lower. Forage hy-brids are more flexible than summer forage brassicas as they can be harvested either by eating or made into balage/silage.” We seeded three paddocks in mid December, and took the photographs in early February. There is a lot of information about sorghum on the internet, and there are a number of hybrid varieties, of which we chose Superdan 2 because it’s a smaller variety with less stalk, and we considered this would be better for our harvesting process. Sorghum can be harvested in a number of ways – made into hay, baleage or silage, and can also be grazed (very drought hardy). Our first cut has been made into baleage. It will be very interesting to see how this works out for us – watch this space. In ideal conditions, sorghum can yield between three and five cuts per season, and the time between cuts is about four weeks. It is an annual, so at the end of the season the paddocks need to be re-grassed. A final, and important note; sorghum must not be fed to horses. Doug Sheldon

Cattle Registrations

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

Transfers

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

To- 6 26 47 61 52 78 168 113 219 198 229 274 391 319 338 338 344

Herd Registrations

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

Presidents Report I hope members had a good Christmas and New Year. The weather posed challenges for many and I hope all came through unscathed. The drought appears to have broken in the north while on the east coast of the South Island and in Southland dry conditions continue to chal-lenge many. For us, rain after Christmas kept the bale feeder in the shed and we are scraping by. Our stocks of supplementary feed are good but we have had to pay good money for them. Knowing we will have sufficient feed to get though the winter without penalising the growth of young stock in particular takes some of the pressure off. The show season is well underway with some great success in the ring. Unfortunately I won't make the NZHCS South Island Show in Oamaru at the end of Feb but numbers look good and I am sure it will be a success. The Fairlie Show (Easter Monday) has Highland Cattle as the feature breed this year and I know they are looking for good numbers of entries. If you haven't taken cattle to the Fairlie Show before this year would be a good time to give it a go as it is a great day out. Highland Cattle are entered in the Royal Event for beef breeds at the Franklin Show on 12-13 Feb and the entries close soon for the Royal Easter Show. For those who have entered or plan to do so – I wish you every suc-cess. I ask members to take the time to look at the pro-posed constitutional changes. The new constitution is the document which determines the functions and rules around how the NZHCS operates and as members it is important that you take the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes. Opening the discussion on the development of a long term plan at our February Council meeting was very positive. It is hoped that this plan will provide some strate-gic direction and also provide a timeline structure for initi-ating project work and also ensuring that these are carried through to completion. Time will be set aside at forthcom-ing council meetings to complete the plan. Performance recording is something that many breeders have been asking for and a project that council feels can be implemented fairly quickly and would be of benefit to all members. As we are starting from a zero base it was felt that introducing some simple and relatively easy recording such as weaning weights would be a good place to start. Please read the magazine article for a full breakdown on the project. I encourage you all to take the plunge and get weighing – it will provide a bench mark of your animals now and in time as information builds up provide useful information for progress within the herd and help identify dams and sires with potential. I also encourage you to become involved with you local/regional NZHCS breeder groups. These are usually organised by local councillors and keen breeders and pro-vide a great opportunity for getting to know other breeders in your region, learning opportunities at field days and most enjoyable of all socialising and talking all things Highland. Cynthia Christie

Karamu Fold Valerie & Robin Speirs PH: (07) 8298825

FOR SALE NZHCS Registered Cow, Cows & Calves, Yearlings

ARDO FOLD Malcolm and Rachel Phillips

Levin ardo@farmside.co.nz Phone: 06 368 7080

Mobile: 021 50 69 90

Cows/Heifers – Grade, Year Born, Colour PX 2010 White PX 2010 Light Yellow P4 2005 Red P4 2007 Red P4 2007 Dun P4 2010 Dun P4 2010 Red P3 1998 Red P3 2002 Red B 2001 Red Bull FB 2006 Dun Quiet Cow - Dehorned P3 1996 Red

DISPERSAL SALE

Quality Stock in a range of Grades, Colours and Ages

Prices negotiable, come and have

a look, visitors welcome

The question is often asked whether to leave a bull calf entire. All bull calves look beautiful at a young age but they will not necessarily make the grade as a Stud bull or even as a commercial bull. There is a limited demand for stud bulls each year as the good, older bulls will also get passed around. How-ever if a young bull has the potential to improve the breed he is highly marketable. Most Breeders will be looking for the best bulls so that they can improve their herd. A good indication is would this bull improve the quality of Highland Cattle in NZ. You may compare against your herd but as you would be selling the bull to another breeder it is those ani-mals that that need to be considered. If you still have doubts then consult with another experienced person – they do not necessarily need to be a Highland Breeder but should be a good judge of cattle. Consider market forces – what grade of bull do Highland breeders look for. Generally Fullblood bulls will be in greater demand than Purebred bulls. Growing out and registering a bull is relatively costly so you need to achieve a good financial return. If your bull is deemed not suitable for stud use it may well have potential as a commercial bull. Commercial Bull Explore the market early. If there are opportunities the bull must be of sound structure, fertile and have a good growth rate potential – the commercial breeder is selling meat. The dairy industry has been identified as a large potential market for bulls and the easy calving ability of a highland bull is a desired trait for the dairy industry but ultimately the progeny will go into the beef market. Bulls destined for the commercial market must be dehorned. It will be very difficult to sell a horned animal to a commercial farmer. He has many breeds to choose from and these are in the main polled – horns may put him off buying yours even if it is the best choice from another perspective. If there does not seem to be an opportunity to sell into the commercial bull market or your bull does not have marketable characteristics then it should be castrated and dehorned. A Steer It can then be sold as a weaner to a finisher or you can finish it yourself. Castration does modify growth potential slightly but the animal will be much easier to manage. As a de-horned animal it will be accepted at the abattoir and sale yards, transport companies will not be reluctant to move it etc. Most stud breeders will have identified potential stud bulls at a very early age and definitely prior to weaning. Dehorning and castrating are much less stressful when carried out on a younger animal and much less costly too. The following guidelines might help you make that choice:

A Bull or a Steer?

1.Is the cow a good example of a Highlander, as in the breed standard? Is she structurally sound e.g., good udder, feet. Does she milk well, is she a regular breeder, calve easily and then is able to rear that calf. Is she of good temperament? 2. Would her bull calf be a P2 or higher? Y N

Did you mate your cow to breed a bull calf?

Y

N

Is the Bull calf healthy and free of genetic defects including crop ear?

Dehorn as soon as possible. Castrate early with a rubber ring. N

Y

1. Has the calf reached your expectations? Is it structurally sound? 2. Has the calf grown well on its mother? 3. Do you have room to carry a bull until it is assessment and/or sold? 4. Does the bull have a good temperament?

Y

Y

As a yearling Do you see a future for this bull? Does he have above average Highland characteristics? Is he structurally sound, free from diseases and fer-tile? Does he have above average growth rate? i.e. greater than or equal to 0.6kg/day Does he have appeal or a pedigree that maybe desired by other Highland Breeders? Does it have potential for a Stud Bull?

Castrate and dehorn. Ask a vet for assistance to ensure you meet animal welfare regulations.

Would the bull be suitable to mate to dairy heifers, or Would the bull be suitable as a beef sire in a crossbreeding enterprise?

N

N

Did the bull get a good assessment by the 3 Assessors? Did they indicate whether they thought he would make a stud bull?

N

Y

Y

Select a sire to mate with your cow so that: Select a sire to mate with your cow:

1. The resulting progeny potential will be better than your female 1. So that the resulting Heifer calf will fit in with your herd and

2. If is a bull calf then you could use it yourself 2. With the idea of steering a bull calf

3. It will be of interest to other breeders

At Mating time:

Birth to 2 Months:

Weaning 6-8 months:

Assessment:

Yes? Register him with the NZHCS Get the Vet to dehorn and grow on until sold – no need to register

Open Fold Day 2011 Sunday April 17th2011

If you are willing to open your fold to members of the public, please

contact the Secretary on secretary@highlandcattle.org.nz, or 07 3323303 by March 15th 2011. Include your address details,

instructions on how to find your farm, time your fold will open and close, and contact details.

2011 Budget

Category Description 2011 2011

Budget Budget

INCOME EXPENSES

ADVERTISING INCOME $ 3,000.00 ACCOUNTANTS FEES $ 600.00

AGM & GATHERING INCOME $ 15,000.00 PHOTOCOPYING

DNA $ 500.00 POSTAGE $ 3,000.00

STATIONERY & OFFICE $ 1,000.00

INTEREST $ 1,000.00 TELEPHONE & TOLLS $ 900.00

MERCHANDISE INC. $ 5,000.00 WEB SITE $ 3,000.00

MERCHANDISE - CALENDARS AGM EXPENSES $ 15,000.00

BULL ASSESSMENT INCOME $ 2,700.00 CLUB FUNDING $ 5,000.00

HERD REG. INCOME $ 2,500.00 COMMITTEE EXPENSES $ 11,000.00

REGISTRATIONS INCOME $ 21,000.00 INSURANCE $ 1,500.00

TRANSFER INCOME $ 12,000.00 LAWYERS FEES $ 500.00

SHOW INCOME $ 800.00 MEMBERSHIP PACKS $ 3,000.00

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP $ 2,000.00 NEWSLETTER EXPENSES $ 9,000.00

FULL MEMBERSHIP $ 33,000.00 HERD REIGSTER EXPENSES $ 1,200.00

JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP $ 150.00 MERCHANDISE EXPENSE $ 2,500.00

NEWSLETTER CONTRACT $ 3,000.00

PUBLICITY EXPENSES $ 8,000.00

BULL ASSESSMENT EXPS $ 2,500.00

REGISTRATION EXPENSES $ 1,000.00

REGISTRAR CONTRACT $ 13,000.00

ROYAL SOCIETY FEES $ 3,000.00

SECRETARY CONTRACT $ 10,000.00

SHOW/VIRTUAL SHOW EXPENSES $ 500.00

AUDIT $ 500.00

DNA ON-CHARGE $ 500.00

TOTAL INCOME $ 98,650.00 TOTAL EXPENSES $ 99,200.00

Excess income/expenditure -$ 550.00

2011 Budget Deficit -$ 550.00

Highland Cattle Coat Colour Basics Dr Glen Hastie

24th January, 2011 Once explained by educated guesses based on folk law and assumptions, we can now predict colour in our Highlands based on science with a fair degree of certainty. At the end of this discussion there are some charts to help you work out what colour calves you can expect with certain matings. The reason we can do all this is that DNA tests can now be performed to evaluate the actual colour of Highlands. I am sure you have all heard of DNA (and no it is not an anagram for the 'National Dyslexic Society'). DNA is best considered as long strands of genetic material with thousands of locations ('loci') along these strands – like long streets with pairs of houses ('loci') on each side. These strands, or 'streets, are called chromosomes & cattle have 30 of them. One entire side of the street comes from the sire, and the other entire side comes from the dam. There can be only one person ('gene') living in each house. Generally there are only a handful of genes that can exist at each locus.

There are literally thousands of genes that make each Highland in your paddock exactly what they are. Genes that control feed conversion, frame size, horn shape and of course coat colour. In all mammals there are 6 loci that contribute to coat colour, and in Highlands, it is known that 3 of these can account for 98% of the colours that we see. That we are aware of at the moment, the loci & gene options are as follows:

(*) written with more dominant gene first. Each locus has an original gene (E+, +, A) which is known as the 'wild type' gene, or default colour of what is thought to be all British breed cattle, and possibly the auroch.

Locus Function Known genes at this locus(*)

E determines black vs red ED, E+, e

D dilutes black and red colours DH, +

A brindle pattern (when E+/e or E+/E+) Abr, A

One locus with a pair of genes (one gene from the sire, and one from the dam)

------ ------ ------ ------

------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------

Red Yellow White

Black Dun Silver Dun

Brindle

Genetic make-up of each of the seven known colours:

The E Locus This has been known about for some years and accounts for the 2 basic colours – red and black. Black (ED) is dominant as in black An-gus. This means that for an animal to be black, it must have one (or possibly two as in Angus) of these ED genes. For a Highland calf to be black (or dun or silver dun), one of it's parents must have given it the black ED gene, and so must have been black (or dun or silver dun) themselves. Therefore a black (or dun or silver dun) animal can not come from two red parents (or yellow or white). The only way this could happen is if there was another gene for black somewhere that was recessive – and this may be possible but hasn't been detected in DNA tests so far. There appears to be a higher prevalence of black offspring from brindle parents. If anyone has any of these such black calves born, I would love to follow them up. I have only had the opportunity to follow one of these up thus far, and sadly discovered that the sug-gested sire was not the sire (on DNA parentage verification tests) – someone jumped the fence!

Coat Colour E locus D locus A locus

Black ED any + + Abr or A Abr or A

Dun ED any DH + Abr or A Abr or A

Silver Dun ED any DH DH Abr or A Abr or A

Red e or E+ e or E+ + + A A

Yellow e or E+ e or E+ DH + A A

White e or E+ e or E+ DH DH A A

Brindle E+ e or E+ + + Abr Abr or A

Animals that appear red can be e/e or 'wild type' (E+/E+, or E+/e) but they all look the same. In some 'wild type' animals (only bulls that we are aware of), there will be some quite obvious black hairs stippled around the face and down the neck and legs. The 'wild type' (E+) gene is required to show up the brindle colouring when the brindle gene (Abr) is present on the A locus. On a small number tested, the bus dubh pattern (black muzzle ring) appears to only show up on e/e animals, although the location of the bus dubh gene has not been uncov-ered.

Red (e/e) Wild Type ( E+/E+, or E+/e) Bus Dubh

White Silver Dun

The D Locus The actual gene that dilutes red & black coat colour in Highlands (SILV del or DH as I have named it for simplicity here) has only been uncovered in the last few years by Dr Sheila Schmutz and her paper on this should be released in the next 12 months. As per the Genetic Make-Up table below, one dilution gene (DH/+) makes a red animal yellow, and a black animal dun. Two dilution genes (DH/DH) makes a red animal white (or cream as some say) and a black animal silver dun. This is all pretty straight forward and was sus-pected for some time. Some breeders have trouble distinguishing white from silver dun. Silver dun Highlands have grey pigment on their nose, and black pigment in their hooves and tips of their horns. At the moment, all white animals have been DH/ DH on DNA tests performed, and so must have received a dilution gene from each parent (that is neither parent could be red or black). A white animal from a red or black parent suggests that there may be some other gene related to white as has been shown in other species. This may be possible in Highlands and I would be interested to hear about any of these calves as well.

When researching the gene that dilutes Charolais (DC) to white the authors found a gene that appeared to soften any colour even fur-ther (makes a red animal light red, nearly yellow for example) and this may well be present in Highlands and could explain some of those 'in between cattle colours'. They also postulated another gene that may darken coat colour slightly.

The A locus The A locus has been shown to contain a dominant brindle gene in Highlands (Abr) which gives rise to coats with black stripes to varying degrees on a red background. Two of the animals in the study performed last year however did not fit exactly with this and so it is suspected that there is another gene that contributes to this pattern in Highlands. As mentioned earlier, at least one copy of the E+ gene must be present at the E locus for the brindle pattern to be seen. Brindle patterns in dilute red animals (yellows and whites) are exceedingly rare and so it appears that the dilution gene may mask these. Yellow brindles appear to occur occasionally though. These are another colouring where more work needs to be done & I would be happy to discuss these with anyone further

Reasons why genetics and reality don't match up 100% of the time: 1. Breeder's eyes and their idea on what colour is what will vary. While a yellow animal is quite obvious on DNA analysis, not all

breeders will necessarily register the animal as yellow. 2. There may be other genes that marginally change the shade of a colour. 3. Another reason is that colours can change with age (up to even 1-2 years of age) and the colour we register as a three month

old calf as is not always the colour it ends up at maturity. 4. Coat colour changes occur with time of year (longer hair observed in winter will be lighter than the shorter undercoat exposed

in summer).

Parti-colour This is the presence of large white patches on an otherwise normal colour background. These animals pop up rarely in the breed, and can do so from two normal parents. This suggests a simple recessive mode of inheritance and will likely be on the S locus (not men-tioned above) as is the similar gene involved in Holsteins and Herefords. White udders or under-bellies would likely be a gene on the same locus. It appears relatively common in the breed (compared to parti colour anyway) and so would be a separate gene.

Calf Coat Colour Changes There are some amazing colour changes that can occur in nearly every Highland coat colour but is most dramatic in black and dun ani-mals. Many black and dun calves are born a 'chocolate', a colour that slowly is lost by 8-12 months where their underlying black colour becomes more apparent. The amount of pigment in the muzzle is the best clue here.

Black calf born black Dun calf born grey Silver dun calf born light grey

Black Calf born 'chocolate' Dun calf born 'chocolate'

Photo: Una Flora Cochrane Photo: Una Flora Cochrane

What colour calves to expect? Where the black (or dun or silver dun) animal has only black gene (ED/-) (This would be 95% of black Highlands out there and 100% of black Highlands with only one black parent themselves.)

Assuming black, dun and silver are heterozygous (ED/-)

Sire / Dam Colour

Red Yellow White Black * Dun * Silver *

Red Red - 100% Red – 50% Yellow - 50%

Yellow - 100% Red – 50% Black - 50%

Red – 25% Yellow – 25% Black – 25% Dun – 25%

Yellow – 50% Dun - 50%

Yellow Red – 50% Yellow - 50%

Red – 25% Yellow – 50% White - 25%

Yellow – 50% White - 50%

Red – 25% Yellow – 25% Black – 25% Dun - 25%

Red – 12.5% Yellow – 25% White – 12.5% Black – 12.5% Dun – 25% Silver - 12.5%

Yellow – 25% White – 25% Dun – 25% Silver - 25%

White Yellow - 100% Yellow – 50% White - 50%

White - 100% Yellow – 50% Dun - 50%

Yellow – 25% White – 25% Dun – 25% Silver – 25%

White – 50% Silver - 50%

Black * Red – 50% Black - 50%

Red – 25% Yellow – 25% Black – 25% Dun - 25%

Yellow – 50% Dun - 50%

Red – 25% Black – 75%

Red – 12.5% Yellow – 12.5% Black – 37.5% Dun – 37.5%

Yellow – 25% Dun - 75%

Dun * Red – 25% Yellow – 25% Black – 25% Dun - 25%

Red – 12.5% Yellow – 25% White – 12.5% Black – 12.5% Dun – 25% Silver - 12.5%

Yellow – 25% White – 25% Dun – 25% Silver - 25%

Red – 12.5% Yellow – 12.5% Black – 37.5% Dun - 37.5%

Red – 6.25% Yellow – 12.5% White – 6.25% Black – 18.75% Dun – 37.5% Silver - 18.75%

Yellow – 12.5% White – 12.5% Dun – 37.5% Silver - 37.5%

Silver * Yellow – 50% Dun - 50%

Yellow – 25% White – 25% Dun – 25% Silver - 25%

White – 50% Silver - 50%

Yellow – 25% Dun - 75%

Yellow – 12.5% White – 12.5% Dun – 37.5% Silver – 37.5%

White – 25% Silver - 75%

Cuil nan Lochan Highland Cattle Fold Dispersal

Due to a change in family circumstances, we are having to reluctantly sell our lovely girls.

There are 7 P1 and P2 cows and heifers for sale. $1750 each or $1500 per animal for multiple sales to one person. Transport and insurance is the buyers responsibility.

More details available on application.

Great chance to establish or add to your fold at a very reasonable price.

Contact Michelle or Andy Urquhart on 07 3323303

Email: mitchu@paradise.net.nz

What colour calves to expect? Where the black (or dun or silver dun) animal has two black genes (ED/ED) (This would be only a small percentage of black Highlands out there, and can only come from two black parents)

* Assuming black, dun and silver are homozygous (ED/ED)

☻For a more detailed coverage of Highland coat colours and the genes controlling them, see the articles on the website – www.bairnsley.com .

Acknowledgments: Dr Sheila Schmutz (University of Saskatchewan, Canada) Una Flora Cochrane

Sire / Dam Colour

Red Yellow White Black * Dun * Silver *

Red Red - 100% Red – 50% Yellow - 50%

Yellow - 100% Black - 100% Black – 50% Dun – 50%

Dun - 100%

Yellow Red – 50% Yellow - 50%

Red – 25% Yellow – 50% White - 25%

Yellow – 50% White - 50%

Black – 50% Dun - 50%

Black – 25% Dun – 50% Silver – 25%

Dun – 50% Silver - 50%

White Yellow - 100% Yellow – 50% White - 50%

White - 100% Dun - 100% Dun – 50% Silver – 50%

Silver - 100%

Black * Black - 100% Black – 50% Dun - 50%

Dun - 100% Black – 100% Black – 50% Dun – 50%

Dun - 100%

Dun * Black – 50% Dun - 50%

Black – 25% Dun – 50% Silver - 25%

Dun – 50% Silver - 50%

Black – 50% Dun - 50%

Black – 25% Dun – 50% Silver – 25%

Dun – 50% Silver - 50%

Silver * Dun - 100% Dun – 50% Silver - 50%

Silver - 100% Dun - 100% Dun – 50% Silver – 50%

Silver - 100%

ANIMAL TAGS From 01-11-2011 it will be compulsory to have all animals tagged with a National Animal and Identification and Tracing (NAIT) tag. All animals that may go off your property will have to have one of these tags. That is animals that are sold, animals to the works and ani-mals that go out to shows, etc. Animals with old tags will have to be re-tagged. We strongly urge you to get your NAIT tags now to avoid having to re-tag. Your usual tag supplier will have information about what may and may not be on the tags. You can also go to www.nait.org.nz Please remember also that if you re-tag let the Registrar know so that the herdbook can be altered accordingly.

Choosing between a Stud Cow and a Finisher  The focus usually goes on the bull and its suitability for entry into the herd book as a stud animal.  The cow is also contributes to breed improvement and like a bull she should also go through a selection process before registration. Such a decision will often relate to whether a heifer will meet the needs of your own plan for your fold – it could be a colour or grade preference or it could be an aim to correct a fault such as poor udders or milking ability. The impact of selecting a female for the herd carries a long term impact and if one gets it wrong it can take a long time to re adjust via further selection.  Good quality heifers could be registered and kept within your own fold or sold to another breeder. The market for females will always reward those that sell high quality stock. Heifers that may not reach your desired standard but are structurally sound could be sold unregistered to a commercial operation. The rest should be sold for finishing.  The number of heifers required as replacement stock will dictate the number of heifers retained at weaning to go through to the later stages of the selection process.  The following guidelines might help you make that choice 

  The following guidelines might help you make that choice: At Mating time: 

  

    

                    

 

  

        

 

                         

                      

 Dehorn.  Ensure you meet Animal welfare regulations 

finish for beef or sell for finishing 

                  

   

   

                                            

               

  

 

1. Is the dam a good example of a Highlander, as in the Breed Standard?  2. Is she a regularly calver, give birth easily and then rear the calf without problems. Does she milk well? 

Do you see a future for this heifer? Does she have above average Highland characteristics? Does she meet your fold requirements? Does she have above average growth rate? Does she have appeal or a pedigree that may be desired by other Breeders? 

Would the heifer be suitable as a beef cow in a  Commercial enterprise? 

Select a sire to mate with your cow so that:The resulting progeny potential will be betterthan its dam.So that the resulting Heifer calf will fit in with the breeding plan for 

your herdIt will be of interest to other breedersIf is a bull calf then you could use the bull or steer selection chart

Select a sire to mate with your cow so that:So that the resulting heifer could be used for commercial breeding 

or finishing.With the idea of castrating a bull calf

Has the calf reached your expectations?Has the calf reached a high daily growth rate.Do you have the ability to carry heifer calves

Do not register, grow on to breeding age and sell pre mating or earlier.  Dehorn.  

Register and put in to own herd or market to other breeders

Yes Yes 

Yes  No 

Birth to 2 Months: Did you mate your cow to breed a heifer calf? 

No Yes

Is the heifer calf healthy and free of genetic defects?   No 

Dehorn as soon as practicable 

Weaning 6­8 months: 

Yes 

Yes  No 

8 – 12 months 

No  No

We have a new Bovine, an American Bison calf named Caltus. He is 8 months old and arrived at Stoney Oaks from the South Island just before Xmas and is now best friends with Mystery our dun highland heifer. They hang out together and are best mates. He is different to other cattle. For one thing He likes to trample his hay or lucerne into the ground before eating it. He also rolls in the dust like a horse although cant roll right over because of the hump on his back so just does one side at a time. He also grunts like a pig instead of mooing so I often wonder if Mystery has any idea as to what he is talking about. He‘s a new learning curve that‘s for sure especially as when fully grown he will weigh over a ton and stand two metres tall at the shoulder. Cheers Gail Simons

Lord Montagu of Old Greenlaw

Semen Available (single Shipment to NZ – April 2011)

SCOTTISH

AI sire. (A$100 / straw)

(UK DHO9500002)

For

good feet,

muscling & temperaments.

This is a structurally sound bull with considerable size (over 1,000kg) and excellent muscle expression. He will add character, good feet and sound temperaments to his calves (he can still be haltered in the paddock). The photo above was taken at 15 years

of age while he was working, so he has longivity and is obviously a good doer.

For further details on the shipment or more information on Monty, contact: Glen & Karen Hastie – Email: highlands@bairnsley.com

Web: www.bairnsley.com

Jim and Julie McMurray of Putaruru, after a hard bush session everyone needs a rest!!

2nd place—Class 5—Cow 2 years—People’s choice Carrie of Stoney Oaks Sire:Hansome of Stoney Oaks/Dam:Angel of Stoney Oaks, born 24/4/2009, owned by Gail Simons

Virtual Show Results Congratulations to Gail Simons, Jade Simons and Garth and Win Gadsby on their placings in the Highland

Cattle Virtual Show. The overall winners were from Denmark and Germany. Go to www.virtualcattleshow.com for complete results.

2nd place—Class 1 –Junior Bull Dundee of Berwick sire: Jock of Pennan/Dam:First Lady of Berwick, born 17/12/2008, owned by Garth and Win Gadsby

2nd place—Class 8 - Funny Photo to include a Highland , Jade Simons, aged 6

3rd place—Class 3—Senior Cow—People’s choice Penny of Stoney Oaks Sire: Gillie Coir of Pen-nygown/Dam:Sweeti of Stoney Oaks, born 2401/2007, owned by Gail Simons

3rd place—Class 7– Most Scenic Photo, People’s choice, photo by Gail Simons

Champion Female and Supreme Champion Monica von Heise Sire: Sokrates vom Wotanstein/Dam: Morag 23 von Heise, born 14/9/2006, owned by Falk Pommer, Germany

Champion Bull Nordgaards Cicero Sire: Zeus of Swains/Dam: Lady Ruadh 2nd of Mapleview, born 13/4/2007, owned by Charlotte Skou, Denmark

Clevedon A & P Assn. Show 14th November 2010

Judge: Mr Kevin Hill Heifer Calf 1 C Atkinson & M McLeod – Peebles of Te Mata Hills 2 Ginni Alexander – Aster of Ardargie Heifer Yearling 1 C Atkinson & M McLeod –Jade of Te Mata Hills 2 G & J Cederman - Cody of Sunnybrae 3 Ginni Alexander –Mirza of Ardargie Junior female Champion Champion: C Atkinson & M McLeod – Peebles of Te Mata Hills Reserve: C Atkinson & M McLeod –Jade of Te Mata Hills Heifer 2 years 1 Atkinson & M McLeod –Sorrento Storm of Te Mata Hills 2 G & J Cederman – Melanie of Sunnybrae 3 Ginni Alexander –Faith of Ardargie Cow with Natural Progeny at Foot 1 Atkinson & M McLeod – Gilleena of Te Mata Hills 2 Ginni Alexander – Agnes of Ardargie 3 Atkinson & M McLeod – Petra of Te Mata Hills Senior female Champion Champion: C Atkinson & M McLeod – Gilleena of Te Mata Hills Reserve: C Atkinson & M McLeod – Sorrento Storm of Te Mata Hills Bull calf 1 Ginni Alexander – Hagrid of Ardargie 2 Atkinson & M McLeod – Woodstock of Te Mata Hills Bull Yearling 1 J Hunt Dunstan of Karaka Berry Champion & Reserve Champion Bull Champion: c Reserve: J Hunt Dunstan of Karaka Berry Group – 1 Bull & 2 Females 1 Ginni Alexander – Ardargie 2 C Atkinson & M McLeod - Te Mata Hills Supreme Champion Highland C Atkinson & M McLeod – Gilleena of Te Mata Hills

All Breeds Beef Judges: Mr Bob Tilsley Mr Kevin Hill Heifer Calf 1 C Atkinson & M McLeod – Peebles of Te Mata Hills 2 Ginni Alexander – Aster of Ardargie Heifer Yearling 1 C Atkinson & M McLeod –Jade of Te Mata Hills 2 Maine Anjou 3 Ginni Alexander –Mirza of Ardargie Junior female Champion Champion: C Atkinson & M McLeod – Peebles of Te Mata Hills Reserve: Ginni Alexander – Aster of Ardargie Cow 2 Years 1 Karoo Brahmans 2 Karoo Brahmans 3 C Atkinson & M McLeod – Sorrento Storm of Te Mata Hills Cow 3 years & over with calf at foot 1 C Atkinson & M McLeod – Gilleena of Te Mata Hills 2 Maine Anjou 3 Ginni Alexander – Agnes of Ardargie Champion Cow & Reserve Champion: C Atkinson & M McLeod – Gilleena of Te Mata Hills Reserve: Karoo Brahmans Bull calf 1 Maine Anjou 2 Ginni Alexander – Hagrid of Ardargie 3 Atkinson & M McLeod – Woodstock of Te Mata Hills Champion Bull Champion: Maine Anjou Reserve: Ginni Alexander – Hagrid of Ardargie

Supreme Champion Beef Animal – Woodzone Trophy Gilleena of Te Mata Hills

(Catherine Atkinson & Martin McLeod)

NZHCS caps $20.00 each (one size)

NZHCS shirts Blue shirts available in various sizes Mens short sleeve $50.00 Mens long sleeve $50.00 and Womans 3/4 sleeve $50.00

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

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

If you wish to purchase any of these products contact the secretary on secretary@highlandcattle.org.nz

or 07 3323303

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

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

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

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

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

All prices include GST. Postage extra unless indicated.

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

HELLO FROM THE DEEP SOUTH By Cathy Watts Show season is well underway again, so far the weather during the shows, has been kind to us! Rosalie & Brian Hutton and Grant and I showed our Highlanders at both the Balclu-tha and Milton A & P Shows with success. Both these shows are smaller but great fun. More recently three breeders exhibited cattle at the Otago/Taieri A & P Show, where the heifer calf section was really well represented. Senior cow with calf 1st Margarita of Pottidoon - Grant & Cathy Watts Heifer 2 yrs 1st MacKenzie of Pottidoon - Rosalie & Brian Hutton Yearling heifer 1st Celina of MacRose - Rosalie & Brian Hutton Heifer calf 1st Maili of Springhill - Lyn Samuels 2nd Bella Margarita of Pottidoon - Grant & Cathy Watts 3rd Anabal of Springhill - Lyn Samuels 4th Katriona of MacR- Rosalie & Brian Hutton Senior Bull 1st Barack of Pottidoon - Grant & Cathy Watts

Supreme Highland of Show - Barack of Pottidoon

REGISTRAR’S REPORT - FEBRUARY 2011 Since the last meeting there have been:-

54 Cattle Registrations 58 Transfers 3 Herd registrations

BULL ASSESSMENT Well the numbers ducked and dived a bit with people in fact not requesting a bull assessment and others realising that they had missed the date but with the permission of the respective co-ordinators were able to be squeezed in. So in fact we ended up with 31 bulls for assessment with six being carried over to the next round for various reasons. The only hiccups appear to be that some of the old forms are still being used. All NZHCS documents have a date on them and if you are uncertain whether you have the latest date then please check with the secretary or registrar. REGISTRATIONS It is interesting to note that registrations by the end of the year were exactly the same as for the year before. Transfers and herd registrations were both marginally up. On reflection this is probably not a bad result considering the market forces and all the other issues that have come up over the last 12 to 18 months. As for bull assessments there are many members using very old registration forms. The latest registration form is dated 04-02-11. A new one is enclosed with this magazine, can be downloaded off the web-site, e-mailed or posted to you upon request. Remember also that as from last AGM a DNA sample is to be sent with every animal being registered. SHOW PASSPORTS Many of you have requested show passports for your animals and keep asking me where they are. As I write the first 58 animals should be appearing on the RAS web site any day. A list is finally in the making but as yet no date has been given for when this will be posted to the web site. However there are still over a hundred NZHCS animals awaiting ap-provals. The Council and I are trying to get this to move on. The sub-committee delegated to handle this process has had considerable discussions over the process. It needs to be reiterated that to be acceptable in the show ring animals must in the case of females be P1 or higher and in the case of males P2 or higher with four recorded generations in the background. Originally I sent any request made by our members for an animal to be approved but the sub-committee and the full Council have agreed that I should initially check that all animals do have the four recorded generations and only send those that do on. To date I have only pulled three and two of them had already been sent. Of the pedigrees sent so far by the other two groups NZLH have submitted 25. Of the 25 NZHCS have approved 3 sub-ject to amendments and declined the rest. Reasons - lack of unique animal ID, grading errors, lack of four generations, lack of access to background animals in pedigrees. NHR have submitted 65 to date. Four were approved first time round. Seventeen were approved subject to corrections. These corrections have been made and now these are ap-proved. A further 18 were not approved and reasons given. These have been acknowledged and in the main cor-rected. Two were partially corrected and have been sent back subject to all amendments being made. That makes 37 approved. As of time of writing 28 are not approved. Reasons –have been given for each individual animal and should further infor-mation be supplied chances are that some would still get approval. PHILIP 1ST OF HI-ARROW This issue has been resolved and fortunately his sire has been proven as a fullblood so there was no need for the Soci-ety to have to consider what to do about the animals registered from him. The register has been changed to reflect the correct sire and new certificates sent where appropriate. Anyone with animals awaiting registration should now feel free to apply. Anyone who has not received an amended certificate please advise me. Council recently held a two day meeting as which were able to discuss at length the constitution. There have been a number of grey areas develop over time as the Society has evolved . My role in this as registrar is to make the process of registering and transferring animals easier for our members at the same time preserving the rigorous system of checks to insure that the herd book is as accurate as possible. This is an on-going project but it is looking very positive. HERD RETURNS Finally, the herd return is probably our most valuable document. I use the word ―our‖ to include every member. This form up-dates the status of all live animals on the register owned by current members. Please take the time to fill it out and return as soon as you can. Don‘t forget to put the run with bull (RWB) dates both commencement and finish or state that the bull is still with the cows. If advising of dead or worksed animals please specify which. Culled is a very ambigu-ous word in animal circles. It can mean the animal is deceased or it can mean it has simply been got rid of as in sold as a pet or some such similar. Please be as specific as you can. Hope the heat and humidity hasn‘t been too bad for you all and for your animals. Jenny McDonald, NZHCS Registrar

Council Corner The council meet on 8/9th February in Rotorua. There was a comprehensive agenda to get through however, we made some good progress on many projects. Discussion was held on developing a long term plan with the objective of taking the breed and the NZHCS forward in to the future. Council plans to continue further development of this plan, includ-ing prioritising objectives and planning how to action those objectives over the coming months. This is not an instant process but we all believe it is a worthwhile one. You will read some articles on animal selection and simple performance recording in this magazine which describe some more im-mediate projects we plan to get started. The marketing plan for the National Open Fold Day is underway and will be similar in structure to last year. Those interested in opening their folds to the public should contact Michelle by mid-March so she can coordinate the local advertising. This was a very successful day last year and council would like to build on this in 2011. Council agreed with the promotions subcommittee recommendation that the International Gathering be held in NZ in November 2014. The review of the constitution moves to the next stage in the planned process and will be ready for the next round of consultations. Council reviewed the planned changes to the format and wording. These will make the document much more workable. The draft breed standard (published elsewhere in this magazine) was reviewed and is open for comment. A proposal to trial a new concept for the bull assessment scheme based on the UK Vet Check was accepted. Council has agreed that in the April round once bulls have had their assessment com-pleted a small number will then be randomly selected for this trial to determine if it is a workable option. The RAS show verification system is progressing with difficulty and more slowly than Council would like. Your council endeavours to continue to work with all parties involved sp that the scheme functions efficiently and in a timely manner. The NZHCS Secretary has made a decision to study law part time at Waikato University. This means that the time she has available for her role with the Society will be impacted on greatly. While this is exciting news for Michelle and we wish her every success it poses some issues for the management of day to day business. Council has decided to migrate some secretarial activities to the Registrar/Treasurer while at the same time undertaking a complete review of the roles that effec-tively make up the Society’s day to day management structure. This review fits in with the develop-ment of the long term plan. Any changes in communication details will be advised in advance. While it is expected that the transition will go smoothly please bear with us in the event of the odd glitch. . Planning for AGM is progressing well and we look forward to being in Invercargill in June. Next meeting 26th April

Mystery and Friend Bramble the rabbit

Here's Cheeky the Pekin bantam checking out Mystery the Highland calf. She didn't mind the bantam crawling all over her. It was so cute

Photos supplied by Gail Simons

The NZHCS Breed Standard – 2011 (Draft 14 Feb 2011)

Introduction Highland Cattle are a traditional Scottish beef breed. They are a mid-sized animal and well adapted to live under difficult climatic con-ditions as experienced in their native environment. Highland Cattle are recognised for their browsing ability and will actively forage to seek food. They can survive on limited poor quality grazing, but they are also well adapted to be highly productive when feed of rea-sonable quality is readily available. The Highland cow has an extremely strong mothering instinct and calves are vigorous at birth. Highland Cattle are considered to be a slow maturing breed. In their home environment females are not bred until 3yrs old to enable full mature size to be obtained. This late start compared to other breeds is compensated for by a very long breeding life and it is not uncommon to have 15-18yr old cows in the breeding herd. Highland Cattle have been exported to many countries. NZ'ers have established the breed via importation of animals, semen and em-bryos and by cross breeding programmes using foundation stock of other breeds. Highland Cattle are a unique breed with quite distinctive characteristics that set them apart from other cattle. As well as these distinc-tive characteristics they should also be structurally sound to enable optimum mobility, fertility, longevity and overall productivity as a beef animal. The NZHCS breed standard is adapted from the Highland breed standard published in Scotland by The Highland Cattle Society on10th June 1885. The Head The head must be in proportion to the body, be broad between the eyes while short from the eyes to the point of the muzzle. The muz-zle must be short, broad and with large distending nostrils. The jaw should be proportionate when compared with the head. Teeth must meet evenly with the pad. Eyes should be bright and clear. They can be any colour. The dossan (forelock or long hair growing from between the horns) must be present. It should be wide, long and thick. It may cover the eyes and be either straight or curly. Ears The ears should be symmetrical and well formed. Crop ear is considered to be an undesirable trait in Highland Cattle. Males with crop ear are not accepted in to the NZHCS herd book. Females with crop ear are accepted but their pedigree will record the presence of crop ear. Male progeny from ―crop eared‖ cows will not be accepted in to the NZHCS herd book. Horns Highland Cattle are a horned breed. Horns in both males and females should be symmetrical and be characteristic of the breed. In males the horns should be strong but not too heavy. They should come level out of the head, curving slightly forward and may rise slightly towards the points. Any downward angle (or droop) between the head and the start of the curve is undesirable. Horns rising directly upward from the head are also considered undesirable. In females there are two distinct styles of horns. In both cases the horns are finer than those of a male. They should not curve down-wards before rising. The first style comes out squarer from the head than in the male, they rise sooner and are longer. The second style come out level with the head have a set back curve and a very wide sweep. Neck The neck should be clear, without a dewlap and be of sufficient length to allow for the natural lift of the head. It should form a straight line from the head to the shoulder. Mature bulls should have a thicker neck and have developed the distinct crest common to males of bovine species, thus exhibiting mas-

Definition of Crop Ear Crop Ear is a genetic trait found in Highland Cattle as well as some other cattle breeds. It is always found in both ears of an affected animal. Expression of the trait is in the form of ears with pieces missing (like an ear mark) or ears with raggedy edges. In some cases it is manifested as abnormally small ears. The amount of ex-pression or crop ear present can vary greatly between animals carrying the gene. Also the gene can be present but its expression may be so weak that it can be extremely difficult to detect visually in an individual animal.

The breed standard is a key document that forms part of the new constitution. This draft document is open to comment from members – please email Cynthia Christie on wcchris-tie@ruralinzone.net or phone on 03 3022656. It will also be available on the NZHCS forum.

NZHCS Constitution Review Firstly thanks to members who have contributed to discussion on the review of the constitution, herd book and breed standard. We have had feedback via letter, phone calls, the Council and of course the on-line forum. The key discussions have been about the breed standard and the herd book in support of the standard. A copy of a re-draft of the breed standard is below. It builds on our current and the UK standard. One of the important issues for the core constitution is what level of member support for future changes to either the constitution, breed standard or herd book should we build into the new constitution. Currently we only need a simple majority to effect a change. Given we usually only have about 80 postal votes and 30-40 votes at the AGM it leaves the Society open for changes to be made without the full support of the silent majority. The Council would like to suggest we adopt a higher threshold (say 2/3rds majority of votes required to pass a remit) along with a minimum number of members required to vote (say 100) below which the proposed change would be invalid. A change along the lines suggested would require members proposing the change to ensure they canvass members widely, stimulating member interest in voting. A full draft of the proposed changes to the constitution, breed standard and herd book will be published in the coming weeks on the Forum and will be included as a hard copy with the next issue of the magazine. If you would like an email version before then, let me know. Please let us know your thoughts on these ideas and the draft breed standard. Doug Maclean NZHCS Forum: www.nzhcs.lefora.com 06 328 8778 or 021 982 696 maclean@xtra.co.nz

culinity. Body and Hindquarters From the shoulder to the back the top of the animal should be straight with no hollows or lumps. The back should be wide and well rounded. The animal should not narrow over the heart i.e. behind the shoulders nor should the shoulders protrude or be too prominent. The ribs should be well sprung and be both well rounded and deep. The body should be long with the under belly running parallel to the back line. The thighs should be deep, well developed and be as full as possible. When viewed from the rear the hindquarters appear square and the body should not be split up to any great height by the legs. When viewed from the side the body should appear rectangular. The legs should be of moderate length and strong. The bones should be broad , straight and strong. Hooves should be well set, have, suffi-cient depth to heel and toes lacking faults. Legs should have a good covering of hair. Highland Cattle are considered to be a mid sized breed with mature weights typically in the range of 400-600kg for females and 600-900kg for males Hair and Coat Highland Cattle have two coats of hair. The outer coat is long and strong and may be straight or slightly wavy. The undercoat is soft and downy. Each coat is renewed separately. In warmer areas much of the coat may be shed to aid temperature regulation. It regrows once temperatures cool. Coat colour in must be full and one of the six NZHCS designated colours. All are equally acceptable Animals with broken colour or ―parti colour‖ are not accepted in to the NZHCS Herdbook as fullblood or purebred registrations. Red – very light reds to very dark rich reds Yellow – ranges from dark cream to very light reddish colouring Black - clearly black at 12 months, calves may exhibit other shades at birth White – obviously white Dun – silver to all shades of greys and browns Brindle – black striping evident on face neck and body, more easily seen in summer when outer coat is shed. Second colour may range from reds to yellows. White colour on the belly from the navel back to the udder and/or a pale tail switch are both acceptable in Highland Cattle. Udder The udder on females should not be fleshy, coming well forward in line with the body and well up behind. It should have four perpendicu-lar teats well apart and of even and moderate size. Sheath and Scrotum The sheath should not be loose or pendulous. The scrotum should contain two testicles, well let down and of good and even size. General Structural Characteristics Theses parameters are common to all cattle. The following information is adapted from several sources as a guide. (not inserted yet but will use the diagrams and information already in the members pack)

Harmony Highland Beef venture update It is regret that I must let you know that the Harmony Highland beef venture has been withdrawn due to lack of cattle numbers. For Harmony to have been able to run this programme successfully (profitably) their carcass requirements were such that we were unable to supply. Of the stock we did supply they were most impressed with the quality. I would like to thank those of you that supported the programme by providing high quality stock and the finisher for his efforts. While working through this programme it has highlighted a few things to me that may help us move the breed forward.

If the highland breed is to be considered a viable commercial option in the beef industry, breeders must start adapting to that market. A planned approach to stock / farm management needs to be adopted amongst our farmers. Those with large herds are probably already doing this however the hobby farmers (the majority of breeders) don’t appear to be.

While the horns are a magnificent sight on our beasts, they play no part in the beef industry and in fact are a huge

negative when doing yard work, trucking, and selling to both the works and at sale yards. Also, as many of you have found out, if your circumstances change and you have to sell breeding stock you have the issue of having to dehorn adult stock before sending them to the works. This I believe is a huge animal welfare issue that, for the large part can be mostly avoided.

A lot of the cattle are in situations where they are in overstocked paddocks being underfed, which causes growth

checks and delays in maturation. This is then being misinterpreted, as they are just slow growers. I have never had an animal take longer that 2yrs to reach a maturity of 500kg, unless it has been sick. This may also come back to a gene thing also and breeding quality animals, not just ones that look good! In the UK, no cattle can go to the works over 30 months of age.

Not all ‘breeding’ stock should be breeders. There are a fair few out there that are nothing short of dogs and should

be culled if we are to protect the gene pool that ‘we are so proud of’! These may be of some commercial value though. Having these inferior animals out there, registered, has possibly had a bearing on the breeding stock prices as well. If it is good enough to assess the bulls, surely we can have some sort of assessment for REAL quality heifers/ cows, over and above the simple registration process so that these animals stand out. Other breeds use standardised Breed Values. Maybe we should relook at this again now that our society is maturing.

We have no New Zealand research data on NZ bred Highland cattle - things like growth rates and yearly growth hab-

its, feed conversion, and exploring things like facial eczema resistance (which could be a marketing tool). This would need to be a society driven activity, but possibly funded and performed by some farming related academic group. Even a society-led database that farmers can access to input their own data may be a starting point.

My last comment for all to think about is lets look at how the Angus breed has expanded. They had some very clever marketing strategies’ to push their cattle into the beef industry first, and the natural roll on effect has been to create a demand for breeding stock and Angus x-breeds. Even the Hereford breeders found the need to group together and market their beef to improve sales. We need to get people to eat it, not just breed it. Has our society and the other highland groups got its focus in the wrong area? I applaud our society for developing a beef subcommittee and having a steer section on the website but what else is planned? I will now pull my head in and go back to farming highlanders the best I know how to make them commercially viable. I love my highlanders and want to see them succeed in the beef arena. I congratulate those of you that have also gone out on your own to market your beef as I had done. It is a long tough road. I am now ready for a rest! I will be concentrating on developing our farming strategies to maintain our financial investment in the highland gene pool while having them still pay dividends. Part of this will be developing our visiting cow programme with the option of 2 bulls depending on the farm-ers and cows requirements at our new block in Bombay. Lastly I would like to thank all those like-minded farmers who have supported and encouraged us over the last 6 years that we have been selling Highland beef. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to be a spokesperson for the breed in the public domain. Sue and Dave Cole Glen Tannock Fold

0211348750 / 092363921 daveandsue@xtra.co.nz

Recording of many performance indicators is mandatory for many beef breeds. The aim being to lift the level of per-formance of the breed on a within herd and national level. The ultimate objectives are twofold 1. To provide breeders with information on their own animals to be used in the herd selection process. It also aids the stud breeder in the purchase of sires and dams. To provide the buyer of commercial bulls/dams with information about important traits that will give the improved productivity and profitability within their beef farming operations. Performance recording data is collected by breeders and then sent to companies that specialise in data recording and management (e.g. the creation of EBV's). Highland Cattle Societies overseas already implement or are encouraging their members to implement performance recording within their folds. Some NZ breeders have made the decision to record their own herds and feed back is that it is making a real difference to identifying better performers and is aiding selection of progeny. Providing performance information to members was identified as an objective of the long term plan discussed by Council in February. As we are starting from a zero base effectively it was decided to focus on weight recording with a priority on 200 day (weaning) weight. Weight gain in a beef breed is a key performance indicator. We would like both bulls and heifers to be weighed at weaning by as many breeders as possible. Naturally not-ing the age at weighing is vital. Initially this information would be used to provide a benchmark of current averages and ranges. As time goes on information collected will be used to identify bulls and dams that pass on good weight gain traits to their progeny. As the system develops the recording of other pertinent information may be requested There is a lot of work to do behind the scenes on detail and as to who might manage data and what data should be recorded. Further details on how to send the collected data to the society and how that will be dealt with and summa-ries published are yet to be determined (no individual animal or fold information would be published without prior permission). In the mean time we encourage members to start recording. The three important weights 200 day weight (typically a weaning weight), 400 day weight and birth weight. 200 day weight – this is our top priority. It is easy to do and the exact number of days can range from 190-210 so that there is some flexibility with getting calves in to the yards etc. 400 day weight – this is our second priority. It is also easy to do and provides information on growth after weaning. Birth weight – this is our third priority, because, whilst it is desirable information, weighing can pose safety risks – if you choose to record birth weight, please do not risk your safety. Birth weight should be taken as soon as possible after birth. Scales are required and note whether or not the calf has fed. How to weigh Scales are the most accurate and simplest way to record. Should scales be unavailable, use a weigh tape; ideally, for consistency everyone should use the same brand of tape. The Coburn beef tape is available from the Shoof Cata-logue for ~$14.00. Record the following information on a spreadsheet Calf Identity and sex, Date of birth, Dates weighed, No. of days since birth, Weights (kg) Weighing method i.e. weigh tape or scales

Performance Recording – lets get started!

Magazine Extra Copies

Available $3.50

Contact:secretary

Pay directly to the New Zealand Highland Cattle

Society bank account number 15 3953 0511620 00.

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

Back copies of Herd Regis-ters available for $25.00

Contact: secretary

NZHCS Council 2010 President Cynthia Christie 03 302 2656 wcchristie@ruralinzone.net Vice Presidents Doug Sheldon 09 420 4065 09 420 4085 jenny.sheldon@xtra.co.nz Gavin Reid 03 443 4636 greid@ihug.co.nz Councillors Martin McLeod 09 292 8225 martin.mcleod@portacom.co.nz Judy Smyth 07 543 0925 rosemoor@maxnet.co.nz Doug Maclean 06 328 8778 maclean@xtra.co.nz Paul Simpson 06 372 7896

Garth Gadsby 06 756 6495 overbraecroft@xtra.co.nz David Leslie 03 693 7499 graliedwpk@hotmail.com

NZHCS Secretary NZHCS Registrar NZHCS Magazine Michelle Urquhart Jenny McDonald Noelene Gallagher 72 Jackson Road 220B Oturoa Road, PO Box 136 RD 6, Rotorua, 3096 RD2, Rotorua, 3072 Drury, 2247 Ph: 07 332 3303 Ph: 07 332 3953 Ph/fax: 09 292 7923 email: secretary@highlandcattle.org.nz Fx: 07 332 3954 email: ditor@highlandcattle.org.nzmail: registrar@highlandcattle.org.nz

Articles for newsletter to: Noelene Gallagher

PO Box 136 DRURY 2247

editor@highlandcattle.org.nz Phone 021 211 9456

Deadlines—1st of each month: 1st February

1st April 1st July

1st November

Year Letter 1 Jun'10-30 May'11

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

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

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

Fees (inclusive of GST)

Sub Committee Members Policy: Doug Maclean (Chair) , Gavin Reid, Cynthia Christie, Michelle Urquhart

Bull Assessment: Doug Sheldon (Chair), Cynthia Christie, David Leslie, Martin McLeod, Jenny McDonald.

Liaison: Jenny McDonald, Judy Smyth, Gavin Reid, Doug Sheldon, Doug Maclean (Chair),

Finance: Jenny McDonald, Martin McLeod, Gavin Reid (Chair), Doug Maclean

Promotions: Garth Gadsby, Judy Smyth, Michelle Urquhart, Noelene Gallagher, Doug Sheldon (Chair)

Beef: Judy Smyth (Chair), Martin McLeod, Michelle Urquhart, David Leslie

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

FULL BLOOD and PUREBRED Cattle for sale

EADON HIGHLAND FOLD

Doug and Jenny Sheldon 108 Kanohi Road, Kaukapakapa, North Auckland Phone 09 4204065 / 021 938641

Email: jenny.sheldon@xtra.co.nz—Web: www.eadon.co.nz VISITORS are welcome—please phone first.

Stud Bulls are: Black Bear of Ruatiti—sire of many champions Braco Tempest—sired by Rushmore Bracken Eadon Cailean—from Glen Cannich / Braeburn Folds Eadon Victor—sired by Braco Black Sambo

We have approximately 100 Highland Cattle in our Fold, including red, yellow, black, brindle and dun colours.

Sale cattle include: Weaner Heifers One year old and two year old bulls Yearling heifers Two year old heifers In-Calf cows

Come and inspect, or we can send photos.

Winter Show ad

“A NZHCS Premier Event” “A NZHCS Premier Event” “A NZHCS Premier Event”

2011 Nth Island Winter Show2011 Nth Island Winter Show2011 Nth Island Winter Show Sunday, 1st May 2011, Starting 10am

Claudelands Showgrounds, Hamilton

(In conjunction with the Waikato Winter show) * Classes for all cattle registered with or qualifies to be registered with NZHCS.

* Classes for Steers.

* Novice classes so ‘give it a go’. Your Councillor will be able to assist you.

* This year the show is all under cover and the cattle will be housed in sheds.

* Cattle can be stalled on Saturday.

* Light Lunch & afternoon tea provided. 2009 Supreme Exhibit

Sponsors or prizes towards the show and assistance on the day will be appreciated.

(Please contact Shirley Blanchard)

Free entry to the showgrounds.

Free entry to the public.

A coloured Alpaca show alongside us.

For a Show Schedule and entry form Contact: Shirley Blanchard, ph 07 888 1919 or e-mail: braco@xtra.co.nz Or look on the NZHCS web-site www.highlandcattle.org.nz

I caught Sweets tak-ing her daughter Daz-zler over the river to the greener grass--brainy thing except she decided to cross back and forth when it suited and didn't’ even worry when the river was flooded and they were almost swimming at times to get there so in the end I decided it was time Dazzler was weaned ---about time as she’s 7 months now.

Photos supplied by Paul Simpson and Alex de Liedfe