 Accelerated lambing can work,
despite no rush from farmers
An accelerated lambing programme
run by Professor Steve Morris has shown that year-round lambing
can work, but falling lamb prices may mean farmers are in no
rush to implement the scheme.
The three-year project investigated a system of using five
breeding periods each year to produce lambs every 73 days. Funded
by Meat and Wool New Zealand and the C Alma Baker Trust, the
trial was run on a University farmlet.
A flock of 506 mixed-age ewes was split to form a conventional
and accelerated lambing group; half the ewes high fertility composites
and half medium fertility Romneys.
Some ewes in high-fertility flock were able to sustain15 pregnancies
over three years in the accelerated trial, producing 26 per cent
more lambweight than the traditionally lambed ewes. Professor
Morris says, however, that the decision on whether to pursue
accelerated lambing is based on the economics.
“The project was proof of a concept set up in 2003 when prices
were good and people were thinking about increasing production.
Now prices have come back down industry may not be so keen, although
people are interested in production in the early part of the
year when prices are high.”
The cost of producing an out-of-season lamb was found to be
$0.50/kg of weaned lamb more than the conventional system. Professor
Morris found feed demand to be only slightly higher for the accelerated
flock each year, but that demand was spread more.
“In the trial, almost 70 per cent of the highly fertile ewes
in the accelerated system got pregnant at each mating, not matching
the almost 100 per cent in the once-a-year ewes but potentially
earning more income.
“The extra lamb weight produced brought in another $234/hectare
in our trial,” Professor Morris says.
As well as proving the accelerated lambing concept, Professor
Morris says the trial was a great opportunity to integrate scientists
from different parts of the University.
“We had frequent discussion groups up there with plant scientists
because people had to grow forage out of season to feed the sheep,
statisticians, vet science people and others from farm management.” |
