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Dry spell influences timing of NZ ewe culling
Thursday, 1 July 2021
By Rebecca Wright
So far, during New Zealand’s current sheep production year (Oct – May), total adult sheep kill has been high at 3.3 million head, according to the Ministry of Primary Industries data. If we break the data down into months it is a tale of two halves – a higher kill earlier, and a lower kill more recently.
There are several key reasons for this. In early 2020, New Zealand suffered a drought which has left farmers cautious about rebuilding, especially as in the late New Zealand spring there was yet another dry spell. Although this did not develop into a full drought, farmers were concerned that it could. Prices were at attractive levels which combined with caution over a potential drought meant farmers made some early cull decisions. Adult sheep kill is now expected to tail off for a few months until weaning.
Meanwhile total lamb kill is down 2% on-the-year at 15.2 million head. Again some of the kill pattern may have been influenced by concerns of drought. Farmgate prices have weakened compared to the higher levels seen for the past few years. Together these have had a negative impact on confidence in the market.
The sharp increase in adult kill somewhat balances out the decline in lamb slaughter. This means in total New Zealand lamb and mutton production between October 2020 and May 2021 stands at 371,800 tonnes, up 5,600 tonnes on the year.
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