There’s little sign of recovery soon for the country's sheep numbers as they continue to drop. 

Beef + Lamb NZ shows breeding ewe numbers are down nearly 2% on last year, with this season's lamb crop forecast to be down nearly 120 thousand lambs. 

However, beef cattle numbers are showing positive signs, rising 4%. 

Beef + Lamb NZ Chair Kate Acland told Mike Hosking the lower numbers are driven by the continued afforestation in big traditional sheep areas like Southland. 

She says sheep prices are phenomenally good at the moment, and if we weren’t seeing pressure from carbon forestry, the rebuilding would be much stronger. 

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