By Judy Barnet, Ag Columnist
Just a short column this week as I am off to the Apple Isle tomorrow. It is 7 pm now and I haven’t finished cooking dinner, nor have we packed a single thing!
CJ lavishes a lot of care and attention on all the poultry but the three little ducks, well actually they are not so little anymore, get even more attention. The cottage guests love to have them eating out of their hands and every morning CJ lets them out of their house for a runaround. It’s as funny as a picture and they run around and around the cage. We are not game to let them out all day due to the present cat and fox problem. Anyway, when she let them out as usual yesterday the Shropshire sheep were hanging around the duck house hoping for a feed. The Muscovies went straight up to the sheep and started preening them around their faces, eyes and necks, picking out burrs and other vegetable matter. The Shropies were absolutely loving it!
I took some lovely photos this morning while taking Dora for a walk, just as the fog was starting to lift. We usually head on down to the dam but this morning I thought we would head off in a different direction for a change. It is amazing what you can see when you stop and look around, taking time to notice your surroundings. I hadn’t really noticed the beautiful yellow and red autumn colours of the tree in the front yard before but this morning it looked magnificent. The gums are flowering and some are changing their bark.
Well, I had better go and do some packing. I look forward to sending you some photos and telling you about my journey to the Apple Isle. Stay warm everyone x
Update on the Future Farms Fund for the Rare Breeds Trust
There is currently no systematic collection of the sperm or embryos of rare breeds in Australia. The RBTA was established to preserve, protect and promote those breeds of domestic livestock that are in danger of extinction. Consequently, we are establishing a gene bank to help ensure breed diversity is preserved into the future.
All donations—either financial or of genetic material—will be gratefully received. The RBTA is run entirely by volunteers. We receive no government funding, with the gene bank funded solely by donations and membership fees.
We hope to grow the gene bank into a comprehensive collection that will safeguard our breeds and bloodlines into the future. Semen and embryos will be stored in more than one facility, and for the sole purpose of providing a safeguard for breed viability into the future.
Conservation need will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Directors of the Rare Breed Trust of Australia and will be used in animals that have been inspected and deemed suitable. Semen and embryos from any viable stock are in turn to be donated back by the recipient to the RBTA for conservation purposes.
CURRENT GENETIC MATERIAL:
Belmont Red, Tuli, Mandalong Special, British White, Timor Pony
Belmont Red, a cattle breed developed in Australia by the CSIRO, was purchased by the RBTA when the CSIRO sold their straws in 2019. Straws are currently stored at JustGenes in Brisbane who, generously, do not charge us. At present this breed is listed as Recovering.
Tuli, a critically rare cattle breed, has had straws generously donated by Julia Jose of Wolvi, Queensland, in 2021. The Tuli material is stored at Beef Breed Services Wacol, Qld. Andrew Kennett kindly funds this; he is the current RBTA cattle coordinator. The Tuli bulls are Kikami (43), collected in 1991 – light red, polled, and Lupala (23), collected in 1991 – dark red, polled.
British White, a Vulnerable cattle breed, donated by Craig Cross of Nanthes Stud of northeast Victoria, stored in Brisbane.
Mandalong Special, a rare Australian cattle breed, five straws from Charlton Park Beef Cattle bought and donated by Yan Keynhans, 2022.
Timor Pony, a breed that occurs on Timor Island and on the Coburg Peninsula in the Northern Territory where it is threatened by government eradication as a feral animal, and where Reg Wilson arranged the capture of these little stallions on Coburg in 2011. Two mares were also captured, they and the two stallions were donated by him to good homes, to keep the breed alive. Stallions are Snowy Xanthos (160 straws) and Snowy Ginger (159 straws). They are stored at Ovasem, Victoria. The collection of straws cost many thousands, kindly arranged and paid for and then donated to RBTA by Tess Wallis.
Contact: the RBTA Managing Director, Anne Sim, rarebreedstrust@gmail.com or RBTA Genebank Coordinator Janet Lane, rarebreeds.equine@gmail.com
