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The monitoring of a high fecundity ewe flock in the Te Anau basin demonstrates the process of improved feeding to improve lamb survival and growth to weaning. Feed budgeting was changed from traditional to tailored feed requirements based on measured ewe liveweight with wastage of 15% factored in. Feed allocation was changed from monthly to weekly increases during late pregnancy, and set stocking was delayed until the planned start of lambing. This increased late pregnancy feed allocation from 99 kg DM/ewe to 128 and 144 kg DM/ewe for twin and triplet bearing ewes, respectively. Ewe body condition score was maintained at between 3 and 3.5, with condition score loss between scanning and lambing being reduced to zero. Lamb survival and lamb liveweight gain to weaning increased in both twin and triplet bearing ewes. Pregnancy scanning increased from 200 to 222 lambs per 100 ewes, between 2007 and 2012, while lambing percentage (lambs weaned/ ewe mated) rose from 132% to 165%, with more ewes rearing lambs and rearing multiples. Lamb wastage declined from 37% in 2007 and 2008, to 25% in 2011 and 2012, though scanning percentage rose by 20%. Lamb weights increased from 27.5 to 36 kg/lamb at 100 days of age. The increase in the liveweight of lambs and ewes at weaning reduced the calculated feed requirements over summer and autumn, potentially releasing 70 to 110 kg DM/ewe to provide feed to meet the extra winter feed requirements. Keywords: ewe body condition score, feed allocation, lamb survival, lamb weaning weight

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With 1 Figure) Before the development of selective media for lactobacilli, it was almost impossible to determine the numbers of these organisms during the early stages of cheese ripening, when the starter streptococci were dominant. Early workers (i, 2) consequently assumed that the lactobacilli did not reach significant numbers until the streptococci had declined appreciably in numbers. This view is still expressed in recent text-books (3,4). Recent British work (5) however, using a medium which inhibited growth of the starter streptococci, indicates that the lactobacilli grow slowly but steadily from the beginning of the ripening period. This has recently been confirmed by Naylor & Sharped), who made intensive studies of one experimental cheese over a 6-month period.Since 1954 the Dairy Technology Research Unit has been studying the enhancement of flavour in Cheddar cheese made from pasteurized milk. In each series of experiments, representative cheeses have been examined at intervals for the numbers of various groups of bacteria-lactobacilli, enterococci, coliforms, lipolytic and proteolytic-as well as the total viable count. Thus we have accumulated a considerable volume of data. In view of the recent report (7) of erratic fluctuations in counts of lactobacilli it was considered timely to report our quite different findings. MATERIALS AND METHODSIn our experimental cheese-making, samples were taken (a) of the milk in the vat before adding the starter but after other special inocula had been added, and (6) of the cheese after approximately 2-5 days, 2 weeks, 3, 6 and 12 months. The cheeses were customarily ripened at 58° F. for 2 weeks, then at 40° F. for 1 year or longer. Cheese samples of about 10 g. were taken from the 10 lb. cheese with a trier, discarding the surface portion. After grinding with a pestle and mortar, 5 g. were weighed out and added to 95 ml. of 2 % sodium citrate solution tempered at 45° C. After shaking to dissolve and suspend the cheese, further dilutions were made using buffered distilled water (8) and plates poured from appropriate dilutions with Rogosa's(9) medium. Counts were made after 5 days' incubation at 32° C.