LAMB SEASON NEARS END

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28618, 21 June 1958, Page 12

LAMB SEASON NEARS END

Figures Up On Last Year

The export lamb killing season is now drawing to a close in Canterbury. The Canterbury Frozen Meat Company’s Fairfield works copcluded export killing at the end of last week and the North Canterbury Sheepfarmers’ works at’ Kaiapoi is expected to reach the end of export killing on Wednesday. Other works in the province will.also complete export killings soon. . - At of May- lamb killings in. the South. Island for export ■Were (running- almost 12] per cent, higher than last year at 8,126,989. This represented an . increase of 891,136 carcases; on figures at the beginning of June,’ 1957. At the same stage the North Island kill was 6,042.071, showing an advance of only 230,169. The New Zealand kill at 14,169,060 was 1,121,305 better than a year ago. A spokesman fon a Canterbury freezing company said yesterday that ho doubt due to the very mild conditions experienced lately numbers of lanibs killed were much greater than had been anticipated seven or eight weeks ago This company has an increase in total lamb and sheep killings of 8 to ,10 > per cent, this

season. . ' The favourable conditions that have been experienced right throughout the- season are reflected'in the average weights of lambs killed. At the end of’ last month the South Island average was 33.441 b compared with 32.901 b a year ago. Ewe Killings Down While lamb killings have risen steeply ewe killings have declined sharply. One man in the trade estimated this week that they would be down by 80,000 to 100,000 head in Canterbury this season. Under favourable conditions many farmers have apparently elected to hold on to ewes that they would normally have culled out and sent to the works. The drop in Canterbury killings has been somewhat offset by a big ewe kill in Southland and at the end of the month the South Island ewe kill was down by 47,767 on last year at 683,033. Works are still busy , catching

up on the backlog of killings of boner cattle, pressure of which has been accentuated this season by the high price offering for this class of cattle in the light of the American trade and an influx of cattle from the West Coast, where continuous rains have ruined pa stu res.