Danger Of Lambs Getting Too Fat

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30919, 27 November 1965, Page 16

Danger Of Lambs Getting Too Fat

Farmers attending the North Canterbury district export lamb competition yesterday at Islington were warned that the warm turn in the weather on top of abundant feed supplies on farms could lead to an increasing flow of over-fat lambs to freezing works.

Already numbers of lambs rejected for export on account of over-fatness are well up on last season, although in total they do not amount to a great number, but the number of lambs in this category or on the borderline are increasing. Mr E. Bell, a supervising grader for the Meat Board, said yesterday that the number of overeat lambs put out in the district from Fairfield to Kaiapoi so far this season would now be two or three times as many as last season. Mr A. E. White, another supervising grader of the board, told farmers attending the competition that they should go up into the cooling room; and examine their lambs thoroughly. In the last two weeks, he said, with

the warmer weather lambs were fattening. A number of lambs in the competition were not over-fat but were a little too prime. It was felt that if the present weather coninued a number of lambs would be rejected for over-fatness and no grader or company liked putting lambs out, he said. In Works ,Mr White said later that after seeing the compettion lambs it seemed that farmers should be getting their lambs into the works. Mr W. M. Cleland, the general manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, told farmers that one farmer who had protested about some 15 lambs being rejected on account of overfatness had been invited to take them away. He had taken one away and had then stated that the company could have the rest. “None of you would like an over-fat one on your plate,” he said.

Cuts from an over-fat lamb were displayed at the Islington works, where the competition was held for the benefit of farmers. The graders said that they were from a lamb weighing only 311 b which had fat cover up to almost an inch thick.