He said the large staff numbers came off the back of a successful calf processing season in which records numbers were processed. ‘’We are acutely aware that it has been a challenging time for farmers in the region with the severely dry lead-up to Christmas followed by significant wet periods. ‘’This swing in the weather has made planning on farm challenging.’ “We are now in the middle of a critical period for meeting orders for Easter lamb for UK consumers, and chilled pricing for in-spec stock is favourable, despite the global market uncertainty.”
Bejon Haswell/Stuff
Alliance Smithfield plant manager in Timaru, Karen Morris, says December rain combined with warm temperatures has been good news for farmers.