increase font size
B+LNZ recently held a workshop to examine the main risk factors contributing to lamb losses.
Improving lamb survival rates is a key focus for New Zealand farmers, especially this time of year.
To address this, Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) recently held a workshop led by Dr Mhairi Sutherland, senior scientist for animal health and welfare research.
This co-design workshop, facilitated by Ange McFetridge, brought together farmers (over a third of the attendees), B+LNZ experts, researchers and veterinarians to examine the main risk factors contributing to lamb losses.
The goal was to identify where extension activities and research opportunities could be leveraged to provide farmers with practical tools to improve lamb survival and boost profitability.
Lamb mortality is complex, with most losses occurring in the first few days of life. Key factors include starvation, exposure, poor ewe body condition and management practices, alongside genetics, nutrition and dystocia (difficult births). These issues were explored in detail, leading to productive discussions on where research and extension efforts could deliver the greatest impact for farmers.
“Farmers care deeply for their animals and want to see them thrive,” says Sutherland.
“Improving lamb survival not only enhances animal welfare but also boosts farm profitability by providing more lambs to sell.”
One attendee was Steve Nichol, a member of the B+LNZ Farmer Research Advisory Group (FRAG) and farming 4500 ewes in Otago.
He found the workshop very valuable saying “the workshop was a great opportunity to interact with passionate industry experts. It will help us refine extension services to better meet the needs of today’s farmers and explore new opportunities”.
Sally Newell, a farmer, vet, and FRAG member echoed this sentiment: “Bringing together forward- thinking farmers, researchers and rural professionals led to robust discussions.
We came up with plenty of ideas for B+LNZ to focus on, both in research and extension, to improve lamb survival across New Zealand.”
By understanding the challenges and opportunities, farmers can take targeted actions such as improving ewe nutrition, refining lambing management, and focusing on genetic selection to reduce losses.
“Optimising these areas will help farmers allocate resources more efficiently and improve overall farm performance,” adds Sutherland.
As lamb survival remains a priority, B+LNZ’s focus on addressing these challenges will help deliver practical, farm-ready solutions. Insights from this workshop will inform future research and extension programmes, empowering farmers to reduce lamb mortality and enhance farm performance.
Article supplied by Beef + Lamb NZ
Milton dairy farmer Chris Wills says he began using probiotics in spring 2023 to address somatic cell count (SCC) grades when cows transitioned from their winter barn to lush spring pasture.
Treat your farm boundary like a border. This was one of the messages delivered to farmers at a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand Protect Your Patch workshop in Lincoln.
Feeding infected milk is high risk for spreading diseases such as M. bovis.
To ensure optimal growth, health, and wellbeing of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) says it is backing aspiring dairy farmers through a new initiative designed to make the first step to farm ownership or sharemilking easier.
OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.
OPINION: For close to eight years now, I have found myself talking about methane quite a lot.
The Royal A&P Show of New Zealand, hosted by the Canterbury A&P Association, is back next month, bigger and better after the uncertainty of last year.
Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.
One of the most galling aspects of the tariffs whacked on our farm exports to the US is the fact…
OPINION: Media luvvies at Stuff, the Spinoff and the Granny Herald are spending more time than ever navel-gazing about why…
