South Island sheep and beef farmers are facing a 20% drop in pre-tax profit this season, driven by decreased revenue from sheep, wool and cropping. Beef and Lamb New Zealand has released its mid-season update, which shows drought and the ratio of sheep to cattle farmed were the two factors with the biggest impact on incomes. Six months ago, its new season outlook predicted average farm profit before tax New Zealand-wide would be about $110,800 for 2014-15. But those predictions were based on the assumption that climatic conditions would be normal and this season had proved to be ''far from normal'', Beef and Lamb New Zealand...
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