Faster lamb growth pushed

CHRISTCHURCH - Sheep farmers have been challenged to lift lamb growth rates so that the animals reach slaughter weights before being weaned from their mothers.

The average pre-weaning growth rate for flocks is about 250 grams a day, but there is talk now of lifting that rate to 400 grams a day, something that is now being achieved in isolated situations but not consistently across whole farms or flocks.

More than 500 people attended a lamb growth seminar in Christchurch organised by the Northern South Island Sheep Council to discuss the issue.

"At those sort of performance levels, sheep are a very competitive option to anything else you can do on the farm," said Andy Macfarlane, an Ashburton farm management consultant.

He said a 4.5kg lamb born on September 1 and grown at 400 grams a day would reach 37kg liveweight by November 20, meaning most lambs would be sold "off mother."

With pre-weaning rates of growth normally more than double those of a weaned animal, there were obvious economic gains in slaughtering the lamb before growth slowed markedly.

Other advantages were that many lambs would be slaughtered before they needed to be drenched, and a greater proportion of September lambs would fall in the premium price months of the chilled lamb trade to England.

Mr Macfarlane said a large amount of feed normally eaten by lambs would be freed for cattle or a second lamb crop, or the land could be used for an arable crop.

He warned that the increase in performance would only generate more dollars if the feed saved could be put to other uses.

* The World Trade Organisation has formed a panel to hear New Zealand's dispute with the United States on lamb tariffs, with hearings due in late May and early July.

However, a final outcome, including the hearing of any appeals, will not be reached until early next year.

New Zealand and Australia are pursuing a joint case against the US's imposition last July of a 9 per cent lamb tariff.

In January, the US also introduced a $206.7 million assistance package for its lamb producers and Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton estimates the cost of the tariffs to New Zealand producers at about $30 million over the next three years.