Main ewe kill expected to begin soon

Press, 18 February 1978, Page 3

Main ewe kill expected to begin soon

Freezing companies in Canterbury expect to be in a position to start killing “reasonable” numbers of old ewes in two or three weeks.

For some time these sheep have been a source of intense embarrassment to farmers as they have been eating feed needed by other stock and in short supply because of the recent dry conditions.

The general manager of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company (Mr D. Morten) said that they were already killing small numbers of these old sheep as a training exercise so they could be sure that they could handle them when they got them in volume. There was a problem in skinning their heads under the new hygiene requirements. However, in three weeks they expected to be handling sheep in reasonable numbers although there were still

plenty of lambs to be killed, Mr Morten said. By last week-end the company had handled 8500 more lambs at its three lamb and sheep killing works than at the same time last season. Its lamb kill then stood at almost 1.75 M. At the same time Waitaki NZ Refrigerating,- Ltd, had also handled 81,381 more lambs than in the previous season. But by this time last year works were already killing ewes and in the South Island as a whole the sheep and lamb kill up to last week-end was still behind last year by more than I.IM, or 14.7 per cent. Waitaki’s livestock manager, Mr G. H. Steel, said yesterday that they expected to begin to kill ewes in reasonable numbers in two to three weeks. But in the meantime they were not killing any ewes, as at all points they were still under too much pressure from clients wanting

, their lambs killed and they had to give first preference - to these. They had received I requests from clients in s North Canterbury to kill ; ewes in preference to lambs, : but felt in the meantime it I was wiser to be fair to the over-all farming community i in trying to relieve the pres--1 sure of lambs. ; Mr Steel had a note of i warning to sound about the position that might arise • when ewes were being ; handled in large numbers. • He said that they had a full i season’s output of ewes to : process and as yet they did [ not have any firm indication , of a market for them. Thus they could be faced with ewe mutton congesting stor- , age space, resulting in a curtailing of both future lamb and ewe killing. ' As had been the case with lambs they would also have to ration space to clients for ’ killing ewes. . Mr Steel said that it was s interesting to note that • while killing of ewes last ; season started in about mid-

r January, this was about six : weeks ahead of the previous I season, so it appeared as i though the current season 1 would be following the same , pattern as the 1975-76 sea- : son, which was probably the > more normal pattern. There was also more pres- . sure to have cattle killed now than at this time last f year, Mr Morten said. > The Canterbury Frozen Meat Company has had a - full cattle kill since Christ- ’ mas and at present has a [ backlog of cattle waiting , killing. [ However, Mr Morten said i that they had killed margini ally more cattle than at this t stage last season and as . they were budgeting for a slightly smaller over-all kill > this season he hoped that they would not be undec the i same pressure that they . were later last season. Mr Steel said that they had been diverting cattle to : southern works to ease the ; pressure locally and cattle : had been sent from Marlborough to Balclutha.