Nation's sheep flock shorn but beef cattle on riseNew Zealand's sheep flock continues to be shorn and is now down to 28.3 million, although the nation's beef cattle herd has climbed by 2.8 per cent to 3.7 million. The 2.8 per cent increase in beef cattle numbers followed a 3.3 per cent decline in the 2014-15 season. But our medium term view is that we still believe sheep farming can and will be profitable," Spooner said. "There was a continuing decline in the beef breeding herd, down by 1.6 per cent and reflects the trend to more flexible cattle systems. Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief operating officer Cros Spooner said the fall in sheep numbers - from 28.5 million in the year to June 2015 - reflected the difficult times facing the industry and adverse climate conditions.

Source: Stuff August 09, 2016 00:59 UTC