THANK GOODNESS

We are delighted to see that the appalling Crafar farms are in the hands of the receivers.

The whole country has been disgusted at the welfare issues surrounding this operation which were brought to the attention of the nation by the blogger journalists Brian Spondre and Bernard Hickey.

However, we are even more appalled that the socialists over at Red Alert reckon that the Crafar farms be sorted out by Landcorp. Now as much as we have much admiration for the stirling management of Landcorp by Chris Kelly, its a bloody stupid idea.

Although we love this line :

Jim Sutton the Chair and Chris Kelly the CEO are both drier than a Hawkes Bay drought but in the end pragmatic and very good at hard negotiations.

It shows that an acute lack of understanding of the business dynamic. The farms need to be sold on the open market and the receiver will undoubtedly work out if they are better kept as one operation or sold as individual lots.

Good farmers will ensure good practices are put in place and restore the farms to high producing sustainable farms. Its simple really, as good farm practices ultimately mean better returns.

There is no benefit in Landcorp being involved. Just in case you haven't noticed Trevor , the Nanny days are over .

SWEET HOME WAIRARAPA

SUPERB - BILL AND BEN.

LESSONS FROM A LAMB ON THE RAM

We now understand about the ram

this from Lambcut

As Lambcut has stated before, BB is a wannabe rustic. She is in fact an
urban numpty. Upon the succulent smell of ovine pudenda, Rams curl their lips in
lurid anticipation, awaiting the precise time of ovulation. In a commercial
situation, a single Ram may be responsible for serving (yes it is called a
service) between 100 and 200 ewes.



The ratio depends on a number of factors, not the least being the
parsimoniousness of the farmer who must spend quite a bit for a good ram.
Ovulation generally occurs in three cycles, which cease when the ewe is
successfully served. The second cycle is the most fruitful.



Vasectomised teaser rams are sometimes used during the first cycle to get
the ewe’s juices flowing and to increase conception rates by only introducing
entire Rams in the lucrative second cycle. But on any reckoning, a Ram may serve
up to 200 ewes, and may serve many of them more than once. He does all of this
in no more than a 6 week period. Do the math.



On that basis, you too would curl your eager lips while waiting for the
optimum moment. Let Lambcut assure you, there is no lack of enthusiasm in a Ram.
In preparation for tupping a farmer feeds his rams prodigiously, trims their
feet, and trims around their pizzles (rustic for penis).

This, inter alia, is to avoid pizzle rot (a cruel and stinking disease, the details of
which are better known only unto rustics). Depending on the wooliness of the
breed, the farmer may also eyewig the Ram (eyewigging is rustic for an eyebrow
trim). This is so they can properly sight the salubrious nether organ of their
target.

Though the Rams are presented to their harem at the beginning of tupping in
optimum physical condition, they invariably return pale and emaciated. Some die. They will copulate even unto death.

LAMB CUTS UP ROUGH

We have for quite some time tried to get Lamb Cut to blog. She must be bored. She commented on our post on a Southern Tourism venture. She is a bit of a policy twonk and a rabid advocate of all things rural. We think Alf Grumble and Home Paddock will appreciate Lamb Cuts words of wisdom. And we hope that she blogs some more.

Here is her post in full.

Lambcut wishes Southern Dive all the best in its private venture but has some concerns about the current governmental drive toward funding of tourism generally. Lambcut knows that in these troubling times the government wants to be more than a bit magnanimous toward good ideas and new business.

That’s all well and good but government has a history of squandering funds on fiscal pups. (Lambcut doesn’t think that Southern Dive is one of those but wants to rant about government spending on tourism in Southland).

The ratepayers of Southland contribute approximately 85% percent of Venture Southland’s operational income (VS is Southland’s economic development agency and it spends the vast bulk of its funding on tourism). Farming businesses contribute about 70% of the overall rate take in the Southland District. On that basis, farming businesses contribute the same proportion to the Local Authorities that fund Venture Southland.

Given farming’s disproportionately large contribution to Southland’s tourism funding, VS and government generally might do well to consider why farming businesses should contribute disproportionately large amounts to other businesses, such as tourism and hospitality.

Selective state promotion of industries such as tourism and hospitality (funded primarily by farmers, in Southland at least) diverts resources, investment and employees to those other industries, at agriculture’s expense.

Imprudent governmental jerkings and tweakings of the economy have, in recent history come to naught, except a pouring of people’s money down a fiscal black hole. Lambcut urges caution and fiscal prudence in the spending of ratepayer and taxpayer money. Unnecessary administrative costs and spending on woolly social process activities are a deviation from Local Authority’s and indeed government’s core functions and should not be allowed to burden taxpayers.