DOMINION PRAISED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 237, 6 October 1945, Page 3

DOMINION PRAISED

HIGH QUALITY BACONERS KXHIBITIOX IN LONDON Rec. 11.30 a.m. LONDON, Oct. 5. "We are very surprised at the quality of these carcases, which are even in advance of New Zealand's pre-war standard," was the verdict of the judges at the exhibition of prize-winning entries of New Zealand baconer pigs from W. and R. Fletchers Tomoana competition. The exhibition was held at the Union Cold Storage Company's Nelson wharf store, London. "We had expected that the standard would have fallen off during the war years, as has happened in England," the judges added, "but this is an ex-tremely good lot of pigs." The judges were Messrs. J. B. S. Swain and H. R. Davidson. Doctor John Hammond, who has developed the Smithfiekl standard of judging, from which the Dominion standard has been evolved, compared their point calculations with those reached in New Zealand on the hundred carcases on display. The carcases, which recently reached England by the steamer Suffolk, came from North Auckland. Waikato, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty and "Welliirgton. "On the whole, except for minor points, the New Zealand standard of judging has been on similar lines to ours," stated the judges. "The display shows that the Dominion is selecting the right sort of pigs for the British market." Comments by importers and other members of the trade at the exhibition reflected credit on the great effort made by New Zealand during the war to maintain and improve the standards of export carcases. This year's Tomoana competition was the first based strictly on standards to ensure uniformity of judging on the lines recently laid down by the Department of Agriculture, and the main object of the display, which was arranged through the New Zealand Marketing Department and the Ministry of Food, was to enable the trade here to give an opinion on the suitability of the standard for the British market. The judges carefully checked each carcase and, although a comparison of their points with those given in New Zealand is not yet available, it. is evident that there is not a wide variance between the two judging standards.

The New Zealand Meat ' Board was represented at the display by Mr. S. A. Chisholm, who was recently appointed manager, and Mr. W. S. McClumpha.