Meat works cut hours as lamb numbers drop

South Canterbury freezing works are cutting hours as lamb numbers dwindle. Low lamb numbers have forced freezing works to reduce hours for the past month reports The Timaru Herald. Silver Fern Pareora and Alliance Smithfield in Timaru are operating between 20 and 30 hours a week. Alliance Smithfield employs 475 people while about 730 work at the Silver Fern Pareora plant. "It's rather unusual for this time of the year as we'd normally expect to be busier," Alliance Smithfield plant manager Dick Allen said. Mr Allen attributed reduced workflow to low demand for stock kill and because many farmers were electing to put weight on stock before it went to sale. He said lamb shortages were affecting other plants across the South Island and was not sure how long it would go on. Silver Fern Pareora plant manager Grant Day said staff had been working between 24 and 32 hours a week for the last couple of weeks. Mr Day said the plant was not killing on Fridays as stock numbers were lagging. He attributed low stock numbers to wet weather but was confident things would change. Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman John Gregan said a 20 per cent drop in lamb numbers during the past two years had contributed to a flow-on effect being felt by freezing works. "There has been an over capacity in the industry. It was always going to come back and bite someone in the butt." Mr Gregan said that four years of negative sheep farming returns had filtered on to processing facilities. Farmers were hanging onto stock for longer to obtain heavier weights and larger payouts.