A-Z of Aotearoa: L for Lamb

13/11/2025 20 min
A-Z of Aotearoa: L for Lamb

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Episode Synopsis


Time for the latest installment of our A-Z of Aotearoa and today it is L for Lamb. From humble beginnings as a new immigrant in the 1800's, at one point there were more than 20 per capita! Robert Peden spent 25 years as a shepherd, before completing a PhD in history at the University of Otago He's also the author of "Making Sheep Country", he chats to Jesse. From their peak at over 70 million in 1982, ewe numbers are now down to around 25 million...but thanks to advances in technology and genetic improvements the yield per sheep has almost tripled. Matt Holden is a sheep and lamb farmer in Central Hawkes Bay and partner in Kelso genetics, he also chats to Jesse.