The benefits of a good winter feeding schedule that leads to ewes having better body conditions scores (BCS) at the start of lambing was highlighted at a field day last week reports The Southland Times. More than 200 farmers attended the Meat & Wool New Zealand Southern South Island sheep and beef council field day at the Woodlands research farm on Wednesday.

Dr David Stevens, of AgResearch, said it was clear poor winter feeding affected several aspects of production before, during and after lambing, and it was essential for good lamb growth, particularly multiples, to have ewes in good condition. “You’re no longer expecting one lamb and 5 kilograms of wool.”

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Returns from the country’s venison breeding and finishing options are robust compared to most traditional farming enterprises currently, although this needs to be viewed cautiously as key markets come under some pressure in the recessionary climate reports Scoop. Southland farm consultant Graham Butcher from Rural Solutions has produced benchmarking data to update his 2008 comprehensive gross margin analysis, which rates current relative profitability across all major NZ farm enterprises. This is an in-depth and balanced way for farmers and their financiers to objectively evaluate land use. Based on a Southland model, the analysis compares bottom lines by taking all of the direct expenses associated with each enterprise type into account. The assumptions, which have also undergone rigorous input from deer farmers, can be applied across NZ.

The most profitable land use options in this Southland-based system are the high powered early chilled season venison finishing enterprise at 25.2c/kilogram dry matter (kg DM) consumed (assuming peak season average prices are maintained at $9.00/kg), followed by typical Southland summer lamb trading, at 21.6 cents/kg DM consumed. This is closely followed by the more conservative venison production options. The finishing weaner red deer option is currently returning a conservative 19.6 cents/kg DM consumed (at $8.50 average schedule and a $5.20/kg ingoing weaner cost). Wapiti terminal sire breeding and heavyweight early finishing is behind at 18.8 cents/kg DM, while red deer velvet at industry average production and seasonal averages around $61/kg is returning 12.1 cents.

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Southland was once the most intensively sheep-farmed region in the country, but new research showed the economy was now more reliant on the dairy industry than it was sheep reports The ODT. Agribusiness Consultant, Ivan Lines, has calculated direct annual income from the dairy industry at more than $930 million, twice that of sheep, which has been estimated at $430 million. He said that nearly a decade ago there were six million ewes in Southland, but today the flock had shrunk to just over three million. In 1998-99, there were 467 dairy herds in Southland milking 170,000 cows, but by 2007-08 there were 750 herds with more than 360,000 cows.

Gore farm consultant Graham Butcher, of Rural Solutions, said last year when lambs sold for $50 to $55 each, dairy support such as winter grazing of cows and young stock was viable. Sheep farmers were receiving $30 a cow a week for grazing last winter, but this year grazing prices had fallen about $20 or $25 a week a cow, prices driven down by a combination of oversupply of grazing and a reluctance by dairy farmers to commit to grazing early. This had occurred as lamb was making closer to $90 per unit, and Mr Butcher said gross margins achieved from lamb finishing were now comparable and, in some cases, ahead of winter dairy grazing.

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Grahm Butcher been musing on the issue of pasture quality lately in The Southland Times. It’s a very important issue as it determines just how well finishing stock grow, especially lambs. Over the past 20 years or so stocking rates have lightened up, cattle numbers on farm have declined and we have certainly improved sheep per head performance and lamb carcass weights. Lambing dates have become a bit later, costs have risen.

Twenty years ago, the combination of higher stocking rates and earlier lambing dates favoured the maintenance of pasture quality — stock pressure was on and quality was easier to maintain. About 10 years ago, as changes to lambing dates and stocking rates took hold, topping became a key element in maintaining quality. I’m sure we don’t have the same amount of topping now — those rising costs have taken a toll.

We went through a period of chemical topping as well. Don’t hear much about that now either. Today, we have more lambs per ewe run and emphasis on lamb growth rates. We all want heavier lambs that get there quickly because that’s profit, or, more correctly, less of a loss. The maintenance of pasture quality is more of an issue today than it ever was and yet we appear to have less of an ability to manage it.

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Some venison enterprises are offering the best returns for investment in NZ at present reports Deer Industry NZ. A comprehensive Gross Margin analysis comparing relative profitability across all major NZ farm enterprises, produced by Southland farm consultant Graham Butcher from Rural Solutions, shows returns from finishing purchased weaner deer, topped farming options.

Finishing weaner deer returned 22.64 cents/kg/DM, compared to 11.90 cents for a Southland dairy farm conversion, 15.10 cents from an existing Southland dairy unit, and 13.68 cents for bull beef rearing. His in-depth breakdown has produced some revealing data on the best options for land use in the region at this point in time, challenging perceptions on farming investment

The most profitable land use options are finishing weaner deer, followed by summer and winter lamb trading, then bull beef rearing ahead of all dairy enterprises, then finally breeding cows and ewe enterprise options. The returns from dairy farming are likely to be lower than many would expect, but the analysis has taken into account all of the direct expenses associated with each enterprise type to truly compare bottom lines. (more…)

Information on pricing of lamb contracts is still thin on the ground, even Agridata is having issues, writes Graham Butcher in the Southland Times.The Mega Silver Fern Farm contract is of particular interest because it is the one most likely to fit, given some farm management tweaks.

This is where you supply lambs for six months of the year with 80% during December to April. Given an “average” farm, this means about 600 lambs taken through to May and June. In return you get a full year of guaranteed prices, which rise going into the winter months. The big question is, though, whether it is better to fix your prices for the year or take an opportunity to look at weekly spot prices and take the best on offer.

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Most will have read the SFF BackBone options and there’s lots to think about. Mostly the thinking is about pricing on the contracts and if management systems can be put in place to actually turn them into profit. I have to say it’s great to see contracts offering annual programmes, which push the supply boundaries and weights of lambs. Farmers should look at these options because they are a commitment to the long-term future of the industry. This is how the industry needs to be operating.The Southland Times reports that the only bit missing in the colourful brochure was the most important bit – the price. (more…)