Ewe nutrition and its impact on lambs
Ewes' feeding requirements increase in the latter stages of pregnancy and even more so during lactation.
On average, sheep and beef farmers achieved a lower lambing percentage in spring 2019 than in 2018, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
B+LNZ’s Economic Service estimates the number of lambs tailed in spring 2019 decreased by 2.4% or 552,000 head on the previous spring to 22.7 million head. Most of the decline occurred in the South Island.
The lower number of lambs tailed in the South Island is expected to have reduced the number of lambs processed for export in the first quarter of the 2019-20 season, from October to December.
Lambs from ewe hoggets also fell, as fewer ewe hoggets were mated.
The number of adult sheep processed is expected to increase 9.2% from 3.4 million head in 2018-19 to 3.7 million head in 2019-20.
The lambing percentage was 127.1%, 1.5% points lower than in spring 2018.
This means 127 lambs were born per hundred ewes, compared with an average of 123 over the prior 10 years. For spring 2019, a 1% point change in the New Zealand ewe lambing percentage is equivalent to 170,000 lambs.
The Commerce Commission says connectivity options for rural New Zealanders are front-of-mind as it begins a formal investigation into the future of the copper network.
Grand Finalists have been selected, all regional finals have concluded, and the journey towards the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final is underway.
Hopes of NZ sheepmeat prices picking up anytime soon in the country's key export market of China looks highly unlikely.
Regional councils are welcoming the certainty for councils in today’s Resource Management Act (RMA) announcement by the Government.
ASB says the decision to sign on to the AgriZeroNZ joint venture came out of a wish to be a part of the solution.
Federated Farmers says changes announced to the Resource Management Act today mark the end of the war on farming.