The hectic life of a compulsive list maker

Useful tools in life abound and I reckon that lists are one of the handiest tools around. I have lists to remind me of people I need to ring, things to do in town, phone messages to pass on, important dates coming up, jobs to do, and groceries-we’verun-out-of.

Sometimes bits of lists are written on bits of paper and often they are simply stuff in my head to mentally tick off.

Another useful application of this tool is the pros and cons list. I find this list a helpful way to weigh up options and think things through.

Having weaned nearly all my lambs and calves I’m reflecting on what we have learnt and comparing the cost/benefit of calf and lamb rearing.

The big advantage of lambs is that they’re born on our place whereas bobbies are bought in. The main plus of calves is feeding them only twice a day right from the start and soon dropping to once a day.

Lambs require more work and time commitment as I bottle feed newborns every three hours, reducing to three times a day for two weeks before down to twice, then once.

Another consideration is that house cow milk left overs can feed calves after pigs, pups and people have their fill.

But I have experienced problems with lambs on full milk. Hand-reared lambs suffer from the dreadful condition abomasal bloat which is usually fatal and up to 25 per cent can be affected. The cause is sarcina bacteria build up

Nowthat it's December I'm better to focus on important lists I can do something about and make plans for Christmas.

fermenting lactose in milk producing excess gas.

Preventative measures include feeding less milk more often, feeding cold milk, and feeding yoghurt. Over the years I have tried all those ideas and brewed buckets of yoghurt.

This season I took advice and mixed only whey powder for lambs with thankfully no deaths, although the number we reared was only a quarter of last year.

Which brings me to another list of pros/cons to ponder. Is it worth taking one lamb off all triplets, leaving ewes to rear twins while I feed a big mob? This year all lambs stayed on their mums which saved me lots of work but there is a cost as triplet paddock docking percentages weren’t much over 200 per cent. Lambs were lost and some look like they have been on the back tit, if there was one.

So to finances. Adding milk powder and Moozlee the 20 lambs cost on average $60 each to weaning with 12 calves twice that at $125 each, plus purchase price of $100.

The benefit will be revealed at time of sale but realistically neither venture won’t quite double my money. And of course that hasn’t included any time expense, which is difficult to put a value on.

Returns to farmers are affected by the value of the dollar, Brexit issues, trade deals, supply/ demand competition between works, effect of international markets and supply, price for byproducts such as wool and offal, and of course grass growth and the impact of weather.

That’s a long list of factors we have absolutely no control over and we’re ‘‘price takers’’.

Now that it’s December I’m better to focus on important lists I can do something about and make plans for Christmas.

Joyce Wyllie lives on a sheep and beef farm at Kaihoka on the west coast of Golden Bay.