RANGIORA NISSAN, 29 Southbrook Road,Rangiora Ph: 03 941 3175 www.rangioranissan.co.nz rangioranissan.co.nz
219<strong>16</strong>56 FENCING • Post Driving • Stock Fencing • Stockyards • Post and Rails • Lifestyle etc Ph Andy Horn 021 214 1201 or (03) 314 9460 Season’s Greetings We wish all our clients avery merry Xmas and Prosperous New Year. Noel, Jenny and Angus. Fencing -Barns -Stockyards Noel 0274 330 980 or (03) 312-8666 preencontractors@gmail.com RURAL LIFE The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>December</strong> <strong>16</strong>, <strong>2021</strong> Stud breeders call it aday after 50 years By TIM CRONSHAW CustfarmersColin and LizSmith have madethe bigcalltoexit studbreeding after 50 years. Aquestionfromtheir stockagent Anthony Cox about whether they wanted to selltheir BankheadDorset Downstud planted the seed. Theyhad talkedabout this before,but the difficultparting wasnevergoing to be asimple exercise. For astart, there’s alot of history attached to number 46 in thestud bookfor the breed. Colin Smith saysthe more they thought about it,the more they becameconvinced the time wasright. The crunchcame at lambing time this year, he says. Colin (74)had aewe with twin lambs which were not drinking. After severalhip and backoperations, he struggledtoget them on to the trailer and that made the decisioneasyfor him. ‘‘I thoughtthis is hopelessand we can’t carry on like this, so thatwas the confirmation we had to do something. ‘‘Itwould’ve beennicefor someone to comeinand buythe stud, but that was not meant to be andCoxy is veryenthusiastic about this sale.’’ So on January 21 theywill bidfarewellto the stud flock at adispersalsale. Justover 90 mixedageewes, 23 twotooth ewes and 38 ewe lambswill go under the hammer. Colin’s father, Andrew, bought ewes fromthe BoydClark family in Blenheim and registered the stud in 1964,after starting aSouthdown studinthe 1940s. Colin can recallthemasbeing big, upstanding animals, andmarvellingat their easeof lambinginthe early 1960s. He says theDorset Downs werevirile animals, producinglambswith‘‘getupand go’’. Theywerebigger framed sheep then and producedlargerlambs. Equally, the Southdownswere renownedfor producing twins and triplets. Commercial clientswouldoftenbuy two of each, to getmore meatontheir mainly CorriedaleorRomney flocks, he says. Whenhis father died in 1972,Colintook overthe studs and, eventually, puthis own stamp on thesheep. Thatwas theyear he andLiz got married.Both of her parents had been on farms and it wasaneasy transition moving fromChristchurch to WestEyretonand later to Bankhead. ‘‘The DorsetsIalwaysthought were big, almostbadtempered,and they werein thatday, theywere prettyfiery,’’says Liz. Whether in the showring or the salesyard, Colin’s competitive instincts pushedhim to be the best he can. Thatstems fromhis rugbyplaying days, whenthe Oxfordseniorsidehad three All Blacks. ‘‘You aretryingtobreed theperfect sheep but younever do,’’hesays. ‘‘There’s no perfect animal likethere’s no perfect human being.’’ Bankheadhas beenscaled down over the yearswiththe Smithsonly farming 110ha now, andanephew leasing half of this. Aheritage homeofseven bedrooms dating backto1865was burnt downin 2011. Colin and Lizwere in Akaroa at thetime whenthe blaze ignitedat2am from recently installedfaulty wiring. Justaboutall theirpossessions, including studrecords,were lost,and a new homehas since been built. Colin’s grandfather bought the property in 1911.His father took thisonin1947after adding another drylandproperty on <strong>16</strong>0ha of flatlandatWest Eyreton in 1929, where WILTSHIRE SHEEP SALE SALE DAY January 19 th , 2022 at 12 noon Contact: Willy Pears: 027 641 0055 Andrew Heard: 021 272 7522 Mt Cass Station Symonds Rd, Waipara 243<strong>16</strong>31v2 2334418 37 Record price .. . Cheviot farmers Ted (left), Jo, Mark, Ian and Trish Stevenson paid a whopping $17,500 for atwo tooth Dorset Down ram bred by Liz and Colin Smith, of Cust, at a2019 onfarm ram sale. PHOTO: FILE sheep weremostlyrun. Cowswere milkedatBankhead untilthe year2000whenasuccessful partnership of 25 years betweenColin andhis brother was dissolved. The brothersbasically swapped farms, withColin and Lizmoving to Bankhead and converted it to sheep. The Downs providedgoodsheepcountry and a30ha block over theroad was reserved forbeefcattle. Colin continued the Southdown stud until 2007. ADorset Down rammade the record price of $17,500 in 2019 at thecombined Gumsand Bankhead RamSale withthe Stevensonfamily at Cheviot. 2410273 ONLINE MEAT SALES MEAT2U.NZ HOME KILL &WILD GAME MEAT PROCESSING 313 0022 •Lifestyle blocksupto largepaddocks •Spread up to 24m •Tracmap proofof placement •Autosteer GPS for accurate placement •Widerange of productsapplied in one pass •Deliverytruck available Reduce your urea cost by applying your nitrogen in liquid form Phone Eric 027 699 6763 lfscanterbury@gmail.com Add us on Liquid Fertiliser Solutions THE FARMALL Lifestyle RANGE BIG PERFORMANCE IN ASMALLPACKAGETheCaseIHFarmallBcompact Case tractor range is perfectly suited to lifestyleblocks, smallfarms, landscaping, equine,municipal and hirecentres. 50% DEPOSIT OVER 2YEARS 25B hydro $19,100 +gst 35B hydro $26,500 +gst 50B hydro $32,500 +gst LOADERINCLUDED $23,100+GST LOADERINCLUDED $32,500+GST LOADERINCLUDED $39,000+GST AMBERLEY 03314 9055 |LEESTON 03 324 3791 |ASHBURTON 03 307 8027 |TIMARU 03 688 2179 |OAMARU 03 688 2179 |WEST COAST 022 0960 088 |www.cochranes.co.nz