Fewer lambs to the slaughter

Relevant offers

Farming

Crafar Farms: Judge ponders 'significant benefit' Best farmland 'already sold off' Zespri deputy won't step aside Government blamed for Psa entry Fonterra taps NZX to run farmer share trading Milk price inquiry to continue LIC earnings rise amid dairy confidence Another shot fired in milk price battle BayWa extends deal for T&G Optimism for booming sheep industry

Dairy expansion and drought have carved into lamb numbers born this spring, prompting predictions of a $450 million drop in export earnings for the meat industry.

Meat & Wool New Zealand has said 4.7 million fewer lambs were born this year, and with farmers intending to keep more ewe lambs to rebuild breeding flocks, this may mean 6.1 million fewer lambs will be killed for export.

The latest figures come as New Zealand's biggest meat company, Silver Fern Farms, reports confidence returning to overseas markets after three weeks of uncertainty, adding to good news in Ballance Agri-Nutrients' announcement of a 17 per cent drop in the urea fertiliser price to $910 a tonne. Further cuts are expected.

However, overall, the news will be bitter-sweet for sheep farmers. The Meat & Wool figures confirm earlier estimates that farmers will have a lot fewer lambs for sale, but the Silver Fern news also raises hopes that what lambs they do have will sell for good prices.

Silver Fern said yesterday it had good demand for lamb at stable prices and negotiations for new year arrivals were underway, with volume requests from customers matching previous years.

Meat & Wool economist Rob Davison said export lamb numbers would be 20.3 million, a drop of 23 per cent. At predicted prices of $80 a lamb, this could mean a $450 million shortfall in earnings.

Mr Davison said many lambs were slaughtered last year when they would normally have been kept to replace older ewes. The main reasons for this were the rapid dairy expansion, which displaced sheep and lambs, drought, increased cash-cropping and farmers' need for cash.

However, heavier lamb carcassweights this year were expected to help offset the export fall. Carcassweights were estimated to be up 7.5 per cent on last year to 17.7 kg. Overall production was predicted to fall 17.5 per cent to 361,000 tonnes.

This year's lamb crop would be 27.3 million, 15 per cent fewer than last spring. This was due to a smaller breeding ewe flock, fewer lambs born per ewe, and fewer lambs from ewe hoggets. The ewe lambing percentage (number of lambs born per 100 ewes) also fell from 118 to 113 per cent, reflecting drought in many regions.

Survey numbers collected by Meat & Wool showed the biggest decline was in the North Island.

- © Fairfax NZ News