Bigger lamb, sheep kill

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32862, 10 March 1972, Page 12

Bigger lamb, sheep kill

I — So far this season ’ there has been a much - bigger kill of lambs and i sheep in Canterbury '■ than at the same stage last season. The over-all increase in lambs and : sheep is about 10 to 11 per cent as at the end ; of last month, with lambs also being up by I this percentage and the sheep kill being up by ; 11 to 12 per cent. A big factor in this has ; been that relatively few ; lambs have been sent out ; of the district this season > whereas last season big ! numbers went south after

the late start due to the major industrial hold-up at the start of the season. Since the middle of No- : vember or early December works have been busy this season right up till now. It is unusual for killing to be so well maintained over so prolonged a period and this is put down to the current dry conditions. Water is even short in some places now. Works spokesmen are uncertain about how long killing at this level will continue, but so long as dry conditions persist it is thought that stock could continue to flow in. Quite a lot of lightweight lambs off the hills are now coming to hand, due both to dry conditions and also the fact, according to one works spokesman, that they are currently worth more in the works than in the store pens. There are reports of ewe lambs being killed for this reason. If present climatic conditions continue there could be a repetition of conditions at the end of last season when a lot of poorish lambs came in.

Average weights are still ahead of last season, particularly in South Canterbury, and also there are less fair average quality lambs, but numbers of these are increasing again. Up to February 26 the kill at the seven works in Canterbury was more than 4.3 m lambs and sheep, which was about 424,000 or 10 to 11 per cent up on the position at the same time last year. The lamb kill was more than 3.7 m and this was tip by 360,000 or 10 or 11 per cent. At the same time the sheep kill stood at 590,000, which was higher by 62,500 or 11 to 12 per cent. At almost all works the average weight for lambs is about 301 b, which is fractionally higher than last year, except in South Canterbury where there has been an improvement of more than 11b. The proportion of seconds or fair average quality is also down, and again particularly so in SouthCantßrbury.