The world wants chilled lamb meat but the challenge was to get it to the right markets at the right time, Alliance Group livestock manager Murray Behrent told farmers at a field day last week. While frozen lamb still accounted for 60 to 70 per cent of exports, the aim was to convert that to chilled to maximise returns, he said. “Lamb is a premium product and we want to sell to the millionaires of the world.”

Shelf life had been extended from nine weeks to 11, which meant the meat was on retail shelves for longer, offering more sale opportunities reports The Southland Times. Speaking at M&WNZ’s new Meat the Future field day last week, Mr Behrent said the co-operative knew farmers wanted $100 for a lamb now and were unhappy with returns lower than last year. But if the NZ dollar was the same as last year, farmers would be getting between $112 and $115, because of record prices being achieved in British retail markets.

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Alliance Group has no intention of altering its policy of accepting ram and cryptorchid lambs up to twelve months old. Results of the farmer owned co-operative’s study during the past year confirm there is no difference in the eating quality of the meat from 17kg-19.5 kg carcaseweight  entire, cryptorchid or wether (castrated males) lambs reports Country-wide.

As a result, Alliance will continue to make no distinction between carcases of different sexes or castration status in its lamb schedule or the contract supply options it offers its shareholder suppliers. Provided they are in the required and preferred weight ranges, payments to Alliance suppliers will remain the same regardless of whether their lambs are male, female, wethers (castrated males) or induced cryptorchids.

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Dairy farmers could be forced to slaughter thousands of calves in their own paddocks in response to a global price slump for meat and leather. Havelock dairy farmer Tony Sorensen said he expected to receive between $3 to $5 for his calves this season, which would not cover the cost of rearing them reports Stuff. Calves were usually sent to the works at about five to six days old but smaller calves took longer to rear, he said. “We’ll have to make a decision at some stage as to whether we want to lose money. Mr Sorensen estimated about 100 calves born at a low weight would be culled.

Although the calves would normally be slaughtered at the works and he believed culling an animal on-farm was not morally right, he said this year it would be unavoidable due to the tough economic environment. “It’s very bizarre and very depressing. We’ll be happy to give them away rather than kill them.” Alliance Group livestock manager Murray Behrent said prices for small calves weighing seven kilograms to 13.4kg were down about 20 percent on last year, while prices for medium calves, 13.5kg to 15.9kg, were down about 11 percent. A 10kg calf would be worth about $8, but it cost $5 to truck a calf to the works.

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Farmers need to resist the temptation to grow lambs out to heavier weights, despite strong product prices, because they are not what the market wants reports Country-wide. While in the past two years there have not been the same penalties for heavy lambs, Alliance Group livestock manager Murray Behrent says the animal of choice for the market has a carcaseweight of 17.5kg-19.5kg. These carcases give a better consistency of product and produce a 1.8-2kg leg, which is the perfect size for the European market.

Behrent says as processors they can happily handle lambs from 14.5kg upwards, and can also sell between 10-12% of lambs being at heavier weights of 19.5-23kg, but they need the majority of the lambs coming through at 17.5-19.5kg. Once processors send a signal to farmers that they will pay you good money for 23kg lambs, farmers will respond by pushing lambs up to that weight. “So what happens? “You take the tonnage of meat from 14.5-19.5 up to 22kg, you crash the market that can handle those lambs and then you have got between 17.5-19.5, which is where you best market is and there are no lambs to supply.” So Alliance is paying around $3-$4 less for a 22kg lambs than for a 19.5kg lamb.

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