OVERFAT LAMB PROBLEM

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30270, 24 October 1963, Page 7

OVERFAT LAMB PROBLEM

“Stable Price Would Help”

A more stable lamb price throughout the season would do away with the overfat lambs, which appeared to become more predominant in the latter part of the season, Mr R. H. Bedford told the executive of North Canterbury Federated Farmers yesterday. It was all a matter of pounds, shillings and pence, he said. Some farmers thought the schedule price would rise at the end of the season and held on to lambs because of this. As a result some became overfat.

The provincial chairman (Mr A. C. Wright), said that during the last season, when there were 43,000 overfat lambs killed in the country, Mid and North Canterbury had only a very small proportion 295 whereas in Southland there were 16,150, in Hawke’s Bay 4000, in Tara-naki-Wanganui 2267, and in Wellington, Wairarapa and Manawatu 8154. In the North Island most of the overfat lambs were milk lambs, while in the South Island most were grass fed, said the chairman of the meat and wool section (Mr R. E. Hiatt). Because of the number of overfat lambs, the Meat and Wool Board’s Economic Service might do a survey of the country on the drafting, weaning, and feeding policies of the farming community, said Mr Hiatt. If a survey was made, he asked that farmers give their full co-opera- | tion.