Dairy Still Squeezing Sheep Sector
NEW ZEALAND – Sheep numbers are still declining in New Zealand, while beef cattle numbers have lifted as dairy and related activities grow.
27 August 2014
1 minute read
This has been caused by North Island drought conditions and continuing land-use change in the south, according to Beef and Lamb New Zealand’s annual stock survey.
Figures from the 2013/14 season have sheep at 29.8 million.
Beef and Lamb NZ’s chief economist Andrew Burtt attributed this to North Asian demand leading to strong mutton prices and high ewe culling for the second year in a row.
Breeding ewe numbers fell 1.4 per cent, settling at 19.96 million as of June 2014.
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