Emphasis On Wool In High Country Economy

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29270, 30 July 1960, Page 9

Emphasis On Wool In High Country Economy

Wool is the basis of the high country farming economy and judging by a study of the sources of revenue and their relationship to flock production and management practices on a group of South Island runs undertaken by Mr Frank L. Ward, pf Christchurch, a field officer of the Meat and Wool Boards’ Economic Service, it is right that the emphasis should be on wool, rather than on increased sheep and lamb output for sale, on all but a few favoured properties.

The survey is based on production and returns from 42 runs, which are under survey by the service, over the six-year period 1952-53 to 1957-58. The runs covering more than 1,000,000 acres are mainly in Canterbury but Otago properties are also included. Sheep carried total 228,122 and comprise 54 per cent. Merinos, 30 per cent, halfbreds and 16 per cent. Corriedales. On average wool made up 82 per cent, of gross profits on the survey runs. On some properties wool is the sole source of income. These buy in 'a proportion or all of their replacements. Some 62 per cent, of the properties received 80 per cent, or more of their gross profit from wool and theSe are regarded as being in the more difficult country. Weight Important , In the study Mr Ward has taken a's the unit of comparison “per head of sheep shorn.” A strong relationship has been found between the weight of wool per head and the gross profit per head of sheep shorn and for each extra lb of wool produced per sheep it has Been calculated than the gross profit per head is raised by 3s 4Jd. On eight runs with an average clip of 10.41 b per sheep the average gross profit per head was 41s 9d whereas on as many properties with an average fleece weight of only 6.51 b the average return per head was 28s Id.

As the average wool weight per head increases there is naturally a slight decrease in price due to the wool being stronger and this is calculated to be of the order of l|d per lb for each additional lb of wool clipped. Nevertheless the weight clipped per head remains the dominant factor in returns.

Wethers produce heavier fleeces than ewes at every age except as hoggets, and Mri Ward notes that if the class of sheep carried affects the wool weight per head the ratio of ewes to dry sheep must have a substantial effect on the wool clip per head and-on the financial return per head of sheep

shorn. Over the runs in the survey flocks ranged from all dry sheep through to an all ewe flock breeding from two tooths. The proportion of breeding ewes ranged from 29 to 72 per cent, with a 39 per cent. mean. On runs regarded as good to fair in the adequacy of their winter country it was calculated that for every 10 per cent, increase in ewe numbers there was a decline in wool clipped per head over the whole flock of 0.91 b and in the case of runs in the average to difficult category of 0.851 b. On runs averaging 10.41 b of wool per head the percentage of breeding ewes carried was 34 and where the wool average was 6.51 b a head the runs were carrying 53 per cent, of ewes.

From a study of the figures Mr 5 Ward said it could be inferred ! that some properties were carryt ing too many breeding ewes and i I\e believed that this was correct, s It was possible to carry a ewe t flock too big for the capacity of ! the run, evidence of which was ! low fleece weights, “lower than i average for type” sheep output,

as well as higher stock losses. In this situation, reduction of the ewe flock to a level that was no more than sufficient to maintain flock numbers could be considered. If this was done there would be no sale sheep other than culls, but there would be a higher proportion of wethers with the compensating effect of an increase in fleece weight and gross profit from wool and a reduction in mortality in the flock. '- For every 10 per cent, increase y in the proportion of ewes in the v flock, Mr Ward states that there is an increase of 6.9 per cent, in le the output of sheep and lambs ■s (this is a percentage of sheep t_ shorn). For the survey runs the average sheep and lamb output was 18 per cent, and the average proportion of ewes to total flock ■ r was 39 per cent. d Increment i1S On medium to high output runs . r for each additional 10 per cent. ,f of sheep and lamb output Mr n Ward said that there was an iny crement of 4s 2Jd per sheep g shorn, while on low to medium > output runs it was 2s lOd per d head of sheep shorn. The range :- of return from sale of sheep was 1S from minus 3s lOd to plus 17s >f lOd per head shorn. The properties with the highest return per head were those with the great- | est proportion of ewes in the, flock and these were on better | country. Of 11 runs with a. re- | turn of more than 10s a head alt i but one was carrying halfbreds i? or Corriedales. There were § three properties with a minus i figure for the sale of stock. Two | were dry sheep runs and one g, buys in a high proportion of its « replacements. j Eight runs with a 34 per cent, j sheep and lamb output earned a s gross profit of 15s 2d per head > shorn while six runs with a 5 I per cent output grossed 3d per g head shorn. I On the better quality runs Mr I Ward says that it is possible to | produce good drafts of ewes and I lambs which are keenly sought

after by down-country buyers and in these cases the revenue could amount to up to 35 per cent, at total income. However a number of properties were possibly producing sale stock at the expense of their flock. Many of the runs with limited winter country should be using this area to raise the best possible replacements. The high-country lamb was an expensive lamb to grow when account was taken of low lambing percentages, high mortality ana the low return from the lamb when sold. The best way to cash in on the cost of raising young stock on the lower producing runs would , seem to be to keep them in the flock and take their wool. The ' best and most profitable way to utilise restricted ewe country was to ensure that stock required as flock replacements were given the best possible treatment, which led to greater size and earlier maturity, which would have an influence on the sheep’s wool ■ producing ability throughout its life. Since wool was likely to provide more than 90 per cent, of the total gross profit on this ■ type of run this was surely worth ; a great deal of consideration. Mr Ward’s conclusion from the : foregoing is that in general there is apparently little inducement to increase the breeding flock on the harder runs, where wool pro- ; duction is strongly influenced by ewe numbers and the compensating effects of returns from ■ stock are much less. On even the better runs, he says, the chances are that increases in the breeding flock will only break even financially; although if the output of sheep and lambs is higher than average, lambing good and mortality low there may be a case for an increase in the ewe flock. The final word is, however, that there would have to be very strong reasons for any change from the bias in favour of wool production. Broadly speaking, Mr Ward has found that the higher the gross > profit on the station the higher the expenditure, but there are : some exceptions to Oils pattern.