More lambs, except for Southland
The report provides further evidence of sheep and beef farmers doing more with less.
Andrew Burtt
Lamb numbers are up despite a less than dream run for farmers this season.
Beef+Lamb New Zealand’s Lamb Crop report estimates lamb numbers tailed in spring were at
23.7 million head, up 1.9 per cent
(436,000 head) on last year.
The average ewe lambing percentage for this year was 127.2 per cent, up 4.4 per cent on last year and up 6.4 per cent on the
10-year average ) of 120.8 per cent.
B+LNZ economic service chief economist Andrew Burtt said the record lambing percentage and more lambs from hoggets offset fewer breeding ewes nationally. ‘‘The report provides further evidence of sheep and beef farmers doing more with less.’’ The survey found breeding ewes declined 1.9 per cent to 17.8 million by July. Lamb numbers got the biggest boost from the North Island, with an increase of 4.9 per cent, or
551,000 head, more lambs making a total of 11.7m.
The average ewe lambing percentage for the island was 128 per cent, up 8.6 per cent on last year. ‘‘This was a record high, and was due to good climatic conditions and ewe condition at both mating and lambing for most regions,’’ Burtt said.
‘‘However, after autumn and winter conditions were generally good, but wet, lamb growth rates were lower than normal due to a lack of sunshine, cool damp weather and more lambs. This has had a negative impact on lamb growth.’’
However, there were no adverse weather events during lambing, he said. On the East Coast and in Taranaki-Manawatu, pregnant ewes suffering from prolapsed wombs - known as bearings - and subsequent losses had a toll on the lambing result.
Southland influenced the South Island’s drop in lamb numbers, down 1 per cent, or 115,000 head, to
12 million. Fewer ewes were mated and there were fewer lambs from hoggets in the region. The average ewe lambing percentage for the South Island was 126.4 per cent, up
0.3 per cent on last year.
The rise was because of an overall lift in lambing per cents for most southern regions, except Southland, Burtt said. ‘‘This season’s lambing was characterised by mostly good climatic conditions, with isolated weather events causing losses in parts of the high country, and wet, stormy snaps of weather in north Marlborough and Southland.’’
Lamb survival was below average in North Canterbury and Marlborough, but better than last year in Otago and Southland.
Federated Farmers national meat and fibre chairman Miles Anderson said farmers believed lambing had been relatively average, but the weather in the coming weeks would be the decider for the season
Mid-December would be crucial across the country, especially the east coast, and farmers would be hoping to get rain, or else they would be reacting quickly to destock their farms, he said.
‘‘Meat works capacity is going to be key for farmers being able to destock.’’