MANAGEMENT | LAMBS
The first port of call for a mouthful of grass or milk is to maintain the animal.
Mum’s milk drives good weaning numbers Achieving a high percentage of lambs “off mum” takes top genetics and good management, as Gore-based farm consultant Graham Butcher reports.
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heep farmers like to talk about scanning and lambing percentages, and those that achieve good numbers of lambs weaned off mum often add that one to their repertoire. And for good reason. There is a large range in the percentage of lambs killed off mum and it’s not all related to the farm, stage of development, altitude, aspect, etc. Much of it is related to genetics and management. Most farmers know what the important factors are but not all farmers
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achieve good drafts. The difference is probably all about execution. Doing the right things at the right time to make sure it all comes together when lambs hit the ground. If, for whatever reason, you just can’t get good drafts, the factors in play are still important because they will add to your weaning weights, and that’s good business as well. You will have seen the AgriHQ graphs in the papers showing average per kg lamb pricing – a five-year average and the last
two years – one each for the North and South Islands. A recent South Island graph showed that between late December and early March the average premium available per 18kg lamb was $14 over the past five years. Two years ago it was $17 and last year a massive $25. So, early premiums are very significant. Another factor is feed savings. We all know that any animal growing fast takes less feed to achieve a given weight. It works that way because the first port of call for a mouthful of grass or milk is
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October 2020