Improved early life nutrition has also been to shown to have positive benefits for beef animals.

Research data and practical experience, from New Zealand and around the world, has shown that youngstock rearers can positively influence lifetime productivity of calves, kids and lambs, simply by feeding them well in the first eight weeks of their lives.

Farmer interest continues to grow as a Massey University research project to determine the benefits or otherwise of the self-shedding Wiltshire sheep is underway. The project is five years in and has two more years to go. It was done mainly in the light of low wool prices and the cost of shearing. Peter Burke recently went along to the annual field day held Massey's Riverside farm in the Wairarapa.

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