A survey of the economics and management of gummy ewes

Abstract

The purpose of this survey was to investigate the practice of running gummy ewes. Their management, production and costing factors were analysed. The information was gathered from fifty farmers in the Canterbury, Otago and Southland areas by a personal interview survey. The questionnaire covered the above aspects and aimed to gain farmer opinion on the practice of running these ewes. It is evident from this survey that a decrease in wool weight can be expected; 47 percent of the farmers stated that they expected the drop to be approximately 1 kg compared with their mixed aged ewes. Furthermore, 67 percent of the farmers have found that slightly higher losses could be expected. These losses are significantly offset by a gain in lambing percentage of between 10 and 15 percent compared with mixed aged flocks on the same farms. Gross margin analyses showed that a five year breeding own replacements system gave highest returns when the cull ewe and lamb prices were similar but as the difference between these two became larger, the two year flock system of buying gummy ewes was the more profitable. For the majority of the surveyed farms this latter policy has proven the most profitable over recent years.