The old maxim of having all your ducks in a row seems to be coming true for Wairarapa's sheep and beef farmers.
A green tinge over most of the district - allowing for a lift in ewe liveweights and lambs and cattle to be finished - along with some late winter feed crops going in and excellent prices for most stock has brought about a rare situation.
Mauriceville farmer Alan Stuart, who is Federated Farmers meat and wool chairman, said: "Almost all the stars have lined up and that's a very rare scenario.
"I only wish we had more product to sell, but that's why prices are so high and you can't have it both ways."
Mr Stuart said as far as prices were concerned there had been a "very intriguing outcome" to the international recession whereby even the most debt-plagued European states have continued to increase their demand for lamb and wool.
He said he firmly believed demand for sheep and beef products had been partly carried on the back of the higher income sector being "relatively contaminated in the big market countries".
Past marketing investments by export companies and by New Zealand Meat and Lamb had also encouraged the "consumer preference for lamb".
Mr Stuart said that, as far as factors affecting prices were concerned, the big drop-off in production, coupled with lower imports "from people like us", was the single biggest factor.
"The other plank for beef, of course, is Asian demand."
On the subject of industry organisation, Mr Stuart said you could go back in history and see just how often it happened that when prices crashed - or failed to keep pace with expectations - the knives came out for restructuring.
Mr Stuart said that brought into question the "herculean efforts" to rationalise the industry when it was staring farmers in the face that the real sickness lay elsewhere with market organisation, demand factors and exchange rates. "I hope a few big lessons have been learnt this time round."
Farmers count lucky stars
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