Heavier Cattle Lead to Higher Production
NEW ZEALAND - Beef production (from adult cattle) lifted 4 per cent in 2012, to 596,699 tonnes cwt, despite adult cattle slaughter remaining almost steady compared with 2011, at 2.26 million head (Statistics NZ).
26 February 2013
1 minute read
Male cattle were heavier every month compared with the previous year, while female cattle were heavier in 10 out of the 12 months.
A 4% increase in cattle slaughter in the South Island (643,926 head) was not enough to offset a 2 per cent decline in North Island processing (1,615,890 head).
Bull and steer slaughter increased on both islands (up 6 per cent nationally, to 1.05 million head), while there was a 9 per cent fall in female slaughter in the North Island, which resulted in a national fall of 6 per cent, to 1.21 million head.
In the final quarter of 2012, however, there was a sharp increase in adult cattle slaughter, after a slow period in late winter and early spring.
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