Export Killings Well Ahead Of Last Season

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29384, 10 December 1960, Page 8

Export Killings Well Ahead Of Last Season

before the recent heavy rains feed conditions over the province were generally a good deal better than last year but the flow of lambs into the five freezing works in Mid-Canterbury and North Canterbury had been maintained at a very high level. Big Jump The kill of lambs and sheep up to the end of last week at the five works is put at about 640.000. —33 1-3 per cent, higher than at the same stage last year. Part of this increase can be attributed to the fact that the Islington works of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company was out of operation for about two weeks early last season, but even taking that into account the increase is probably about 100,000 head.

By Christmas the kill is likely to be well over the million mark and it could be up to 1.100.000. Last year, at this stage, the kill was about 880.000 and even taking into account the loss of killing at Islington last season, the tally by this Christmas could be up by about 150.000 head or 16 per cent.

By agreement with the workers more stock is being killed at the works this season but all works in Canterbury are now working a half day extra on Saturdays, and the New Zealand Refrigerating Company earlier this season diverted stock from Islington to Smithfield, and more recently to Burnside in Otago and stock from Canterbury is still being sent south. No other company has had to send stock outside the province yet.

The point about all this, according to one works' spokesman, is that farmers appear to be continuing to draft early regardless of the season and a factor behind

this may be that they are nowgrowing wheat and other cereals while still maintaining their stock numbers. In this position it is imperative that they draft early as they do not have the feed reserves to get through a dry spell.

With apparently more single lambs born this season it is probable these lambs are further forward than usual and this may also have something to do with the large inflow- of lambs to works.

A pleasing feature of the position is that though lambs are on average at least a Jib and up to Ijlb lighter than last year the percentage of seconds is lower. Figures At the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company’s three works the average weight of lambs killed up till last Tuesday was 31.91 b. compared with 32.511 b at the same stage of last season, and the percentage of seconds was running at 8.98 per cent, against 12.43 per cent, last year. The average weight of lambs killed by the New Zealand Refrigerating Company at its Islington works has been 311 b against 32.41 b at this time last year, and at its Smithfield works the average weight has been 311 b compared with 31.41 b a year ago. At both these works there have been slightly fewer seconds than at a comparable stage last season. A similar situation exists at the Kaiapoi works of the North Canterbury Sheepfarmers’ Co-operative Freezing Company where weights are back on average about 1.41 b and the percentage of seconds is about two-thirds of a year ago. Lambs killed at the Belfast works of Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd., have also been about Jib lighter than last year and the proportion of seconds is considerably lower.