Sheep farmers achieve near record result

Sheep farmers achieved a nearrecord lambing result of 130.3 per cent in a year tinged with Covid-19 processing restrictions and widespread drought.

This is the finding of the Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Lamb Crop Outlook report for 2020 that measures the lambing performance and forecasts sheep and beef exports for 2021.

B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor said this was only slightly lower than the spring of 2019 when 131 per cent was achieved.

However, McIvor said sheep and lamb export volumes would be significantly impacted by the follow-on impacts of the drought, due to lower animal weights and the retention of sheep for breeding to build stock numbers.

‘‘Despite the challenges of 2020, including drought and Covid-19, sheep farmers demonstrated why they are the world’s best.

‘‘Their resilience and the agility of their farming systems has meant they’ve performed outstandingly and this should be a real point of pride for our sector,’’ said McIvor.

B+LNZ’s Economic Service estimates the number of lambs tailed in spring 2020 dropped by 1.5 per cent or 357,000 head on the previous spring to 22.9 million head.

Most of the decline occurred in the North Island as a result of drought conditions.

‘‘Although the average lambing percentage is slightly lower, it is worth noting that 2019 was a highperforming season.’’

The number of lambs tailed in the North Island dropped 4.8 per cent (546,000) to 10.8m head.

Restricted feed supplies at mating resulted in lower pregnancy rates when scanning was completed.

The severity of the impact of the autumn drought on the lamb crop was partially offset by excellent climatic conditions at lambing.

The most severe impact was on the East Coast, where the total lamb crop for the region was down 10 per cent.

In contrast, the total number of lambs in the South Island increased 1.6 per cent (189,000 head) to 12.1m head.

Otago was the main driver of the lift in the South Island, recording an increase in total lamb crop of 3.9 per cent.

The number of lambs from ewe hoggets also fell, as fewer ewe hoggets were mated and conception rates were adversely impacted by drought, particularly in the North Island.

The average lambing percentage was 130.3 per cent, 0.7 percentage points lower than in spring 2019. This means 130 lambs were born per 100 ewes, compared with an average 124 over the past 10 years.

The total number of lambs processed for export in the 2020-21 season was expected to drop 4.5 per cent from 19.1m head in 2019-20 to 18.2m head.

The amount of lamb produced was also expected to drop 4.7 per cent due to a combination of fewer lambs and a slightly lower average carcass weight.

The number of sheep processed in the 2020-21 season was expected to drop 10.8 per cent from 3.5m head in 2019-20 to 3.2m head.

The sharp decline was driven by a 16.3 per cent decline in the

North Island as sheep farmers recovered after the number of breeding ewes sold in 2020 was higher than expected due to drought.

Sheep farmers achieved a near record lambing result of 130.3 per cent.