Spring lambs by the million

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agricultural editor

Around 37 million lambs have survived the chilly spring after the country's sheep farms broke the record for offspring born per ewe.

Brian Speirs, chief economist of the Meat and Wool Innovation economic service, said the national lambing percentage reached a high of 124 per cent, eclipsing last season's 119 per cent.

The 37 million lambs tailed - a 2.4 per cent increase on last year - came despite a drop in breeding ewe numbers and was likely to mean meat companies would get 24.8 million head for export, Speirs said.

But prices were likely to be lower than last season's high because of the appreciating New Zealand dollar, although demand was good and prices were steady in all markets.

"Expectations are for total lamb export receipts to ease slightly from last season's $2.5 billion to around $2.4 billion," he said.

And cold weather, particularly in Southland and Otago, was delaying lamb growth.

This was likely to disrupt meat company throughput and could subsequently affect marketing plans.

Alliance meat company livestock manager Trevor Wilson said this week that the south desperately needed more sunshine for lamb growth and the whole island had problems that would affect stock flow.

Speirs said the new lambing record was built on the widespread adoption of new technology and improved management systems over the past 10 years.

In particular, increased fertiliser usage, higher levels of stock nutrition through feed budgeting, use of pregnancy scanning, and genetic improvement had contributed to the increase. Favourable weather last summer and autumn put ewes in excellent condition at mating.