LAMBING AND SHEARING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 289, 7 December 1925, Page 12

LAMBING AND SHEARING.

EFFECT OF BAD WEATHER. (From Our Own Correspondent.) TAIHAPE, Friday. Now that Hip snearing has been commenced iiml the sheep mustered, it can be said' that the losses of lambs caused by the bad weather during the lambing season have not been very great, except in Isolated instances where the sheep were on very bleak country, mid where docking was commenced too early. Generally, farmers have found that their losses were surprisingly small, considering the abnormal conditions which prevailed ulmost throughout the lambing season, when there was an unusual amount of snow and cold winds were a strong mntprological feature. Most of the sheepfarmers In the district have found that lambing percentages have been up to the average of previous years. Though the weather has been anything but ideiil, there hns been no serioua stoppage of shearing operations in the district, and farmers in all parts have been fully occupied during the past week or two, lambs are well forward for this time of the yeisr. and farmers who go in for fat stock raising are experiencing an exceptionally good season. One farmer on Thursday had a lamb killed and dressed which turned the scale nt 4»JH>. One killed a few days before turned the scale at 48Jlb, and the lot, which comprised ten lambs, killed at intervals, averaged 391b weight. On account of the cold weather experienced in the early part of the season, and at intervals ever since, dairy farmers have been nxperleneing an exceptionally bad season, and supplies of cream to the dairy fnetory have shown a falling off compared with the supply for the same period last season. A fair amount of the new season's wool flip Is being carted to the railway at faihape, but the bulk of the clip will not be in till early in January. So far, most of the wool shorn has been railed at Utiku and at Mataroa.