The 2025 financial year is ending much better than it started. But the first half of the year still ranked in the misery index for those of us/you who had to sell most lambs and ewes before Christmas. Or were hammered by storms. Or endured the summer/autumn drought which impacted severely on parts of the North Island. At Wairere we seem to have been in a rain shadow since April 2023, the two years since averaging 655mm per year against a long term average of 1125mm. We have had to drop stocking rate to squeeze through.

Purebred Nudie two tooth ewesAre we farming on the same planet?? Pierre Syben visited the Stirling sheep market in Scotland on July 18. “Good cull ewes made up to $NZ460, poor ewes down to $220. Some of these ewes are 90kgLW, BelTex cross which probably kill out at...