Some desperate South Otago sheep farmers are shooting stock as the relentless southern summer and a lack of space at freezing works bites.
The move came as no surprise to many in the sheep industry, which is grappling with poor prices, dry conditions and a lack of killing space at meat processing companies.
Puerua farmer Howie Gardner confirmed he had recently shot a mob of 50 sheep which were struggling with a silage-only diet but he emphasised this was ‘‘nothing to make a fuss about''.
While playing down the cull, he admitted he may have to repeat it in coming weeks if the market and the weather do not change.
Unconfirmed reports suggest other farmers are regularly shooting stock. Mr Gardner said he had measures in place to deal with a tough start to the farming year.
‘‘But we are not entitled to call this a drought. It is only a dry spell and we have had much worse than this.''
It might get to the point where he and others sold some sheep ‘‘for whatever price we can get''. In many ways, it could be wiser to lose $10,000 now instead of facing the prospect of reporting a $50,000 loss in a year, he said.
A neighbouring farmer, Paul Grant, said he would not rule out shooting sheep but it would be ‘‘an absolute last resort''. ‘‘It would have to get bloody grim before I would do that.''
Many farmers have stock booked to go to the meatworks and are waiting to send them in.
Mr Grant said the buying market had slowed, with ewes selling for only $22 a head last week. Ewes bound for the freezing works might earn about $30 to $35 each.
‘‘It's not flash, but it's better than nothing,'' he said. Long-time South Otago stock agent Peter Grieve, from PGGWrightson, said the situation was becoming dire.
‘‘Things are getting quite desperate and it's not pleasant out there for farmers right now.''
Farmers were ‘‘caught between a rock and a hard place'' because as dry conditions continued to bite and feed supplies were whittled down, ewes became lighter and meat processors were ‘‘not too keen'' to take underweight animals.
The dry conditions were only part of the problem but a major factor nonetheless he said. Places such as the Clutha Valley were as dry as they had been in more than 30 years.
Production on many dairy farms is expected to be down about 25% in January and up to 30% down this month, with some farmers drying off cows months earlier than normal.
In contrast, Wakatipu farmers are breathing a sigh of relief as small amounts of rain over the past three weeks have eased feed demands. Farmers spoken to yesterday said November and December were ‘‘extremely dry'' and forced them to sell as many of their lambs as possible earlier than usual.
‘‘Basically, all those that are left here are the small lambs,' Coronet Peak farmer Chris Dagg said.