Regular monitoring of worm levels in lambs is essential
Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s wormwise programme manager Dr Ginny Dodunski offers advice on preweaning lamb management and factors to consider before giving a pre-weaning drench.
Sheep productivity has improved against a background of a massive drop in stock numbers since 1990, says Beef + Lamb NZ chief economist Andrew Burtt.
Speaking at the Red Meat Sector Conference in Nelson last week Burtt noted that ewe lambing performance had jumped from 100% to 123% and lamb weight had climbed 27% from 14.35kg/head in 1990 to 18kg/head in 2014-15.
Lamb sold in 1990-91 was 9.76kg/ewe; this has jumped 90% to 18.53kg/ewe last season.
At the same time, sheep numbers had dropped almost 50%, from 60 million to 30m.
Beef cattle numbers fell 20%, from about 44m to 40m; dairy cow numbers jumped 95% to nearly 7m.
Burtt told Rural News sheep industry productivity has done very well, “especially when one considers sheep and beef farming has been squeezed from ‘below’ (best land going to dairying, housing/lifestyle, viticulture, horticulture, etc) and from ‘above’ (conservation estate, forestry in hard country) therefore pushing it more into the hills.”
He attributes the productivity improvements to farmers adopting a wide range of “technologies” -- breeding animals, better pasture species and better management of livestock feed/feed conversion.
Also helping productivity is farmers’ focus on delivering lambs at the right times in response to customer (processing and exporting companies) price signals that reward good specification and desired weights.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will be fronting farmers at three large public meetings organised by Federated Farmers over the coming weeks.
Federated Farmers and a major Australian-owned bank are at loggerheads over emissions reduction targets set for New Zealand farmer clients.
More locally grown tomatoes are coming to stores this month and you can thank New Zealand greenhouses for that.
Changing skill demands and new job opportunities in the primary sector have prompted Massey University to create a new degree course and add a significant major into another in 2025.
It was bringing in a new Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) show board, more in tune with the CAPA general committee, that has ensured that Christchurch will have a show this year, says CAPA general committee president Bryce Murray.
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