Drought drops sheep, cattle numbers
Sheep and cattle numbers continue to decline, and this year's drought hasn't helped, according to Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).
OPINION: Our Aussie mates never miss a chance to put one over us, as seen in a recent op-ed by farm analysts 'Episode 3'.
The Bruces not only clocked the 45% drop in our national sheep flock since 2000, they're also very interested in the decline in our breeding ewe numbers to 14.28 million - a clear signal of our future production capacity.
Or as the Ockers called it, "a strategic opportunity for Australia".
They've also correctly ID'ed one of the main causes of this decline, "the conversion of grazing land to forestry for carbon farming".
This old mutt reckons we're not out of the game yet though, as long as we keep pressure on the powers that be to stop the drift from sheep to trees.
The Bruces are banking on that falling on deaf ears!
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