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Article: Beef cattle shortage in wake of drought
- Article from:
- The Press
- Article date:
- May 13, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 The Press. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Grass may be plentiful on most Canterbury farms but beef cattle
farmers are having a tough time finding stock to eat it.
The shortage of stock follows the two back-to-back droughts in
the
region which have caused large numbers of cattle to be killed or
sent
to the North Island.
Another contributing factor has been that fewer calves have been
raised.
The Meat and Wool Economic Service said the droughts had cut beef
cattle numbers up to 22 per cent throughout the region.
The service's Christchurch District officer, Bevan Whitty, said
the survey of North Otago, Canterbury, Marlborough, and Westland
showed numbers had fallen from 800,000 in 1997 to 626,000 in June
1998 - as farmers quit stock ...