OUR PRODUCE ABROAD.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17617, 21 November 1922, Page 8

OUR PRODUCE ABROAD.

A NEW ZEALANDER'S IMPRESSIONS.

Mr A. M. Carpenter, of Fernside, returned to the Dominion last week after a sis months' tour of Canada and the Old Country. He made a close observation of agricultural methods and conditions, besides enquiring into the marketing of our produce, arid his views should be of more than average interest. He writes to us as fol'ows:— After spending six months visiting my fellow-producers of Canada, America, and England, I have returned to Canterbury, glad to have been able to see for myself and to better understand the future prospects for our produce and its marketing based on afterwar conditions. To hail from New Zealand was ft passport which opened every facility to explore the farm, factory, and market, and one felt it ah honour to belong to New Zealand, the conduct of whose statesmen and soldiers, the latter oi' whom, both socially and on the battlefield, won such admiration. We left Auckland in May, "taking a general cargo of fruit, butter, cheese, and meat. At Suva we discharged'a quantity of New Zealand apples and produce. The apples, were the first consignment from "& new district, and landing in good order and condition should secure for the growers repeated orders. At Honolulu we landed mostly Australian frozen veal and lamb. 1 visited some of the principal stores, and saw the veal and lamb in bulk, though in tho shops I noticed prime Canterbury lamb offered. At the hotels I found the butter not so choice as it was in New Zealand, and on enquiry I was informed that a good deal of butter was pounded with the New Zealand article, being sold under another brand. Thereby New Zealand, butter lost its identity and suffered through being mixed with other butter. New Zealand cheese, also, when procurable, is preferred before any other butter or cheese on the ' market.

The foregoing comment also applies fo our produce in Vancouver . and throughout Canada. The agricultural, editor of a Canadian paper, who is an authority on the matter, in a lecture, admitted that New Zealand cheese was a better article than the Canadian product, the reason no doubt being our climate and "natural- pastures. The Canadian has to provide his cows with dry or artificial feed for many months of the year. Wherever our lamb, butter, and cheese were known throughout Canada it was proclaimed to he the best procurable, and providing we realise the value of our products and endeavour by some means. to place them in the hands of-the-consumer-at a fair price, wo shall have buyers knocking at the doors of our butter and cheese factories, asking for. the goods their clients prefer, with the knowledge that they obtain them in their purity. Australian lamb is sold as Prime Canterbury, New Zealand butter pounded with other brands, and cheese 'is often sold as Canadian.

I paid a visit to the wheat, belts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, starting off ,at Indian Head, where the Government has' a large experimental farm. Here every facility was given me to gee the working of an up-to-date Canadian farm, the manage? taking me to the different plots and crops. He also showed me some good Clydesdale horses and Shorthorn cattle. There the silo was much used, and a lot-of Indian com and sunflowers grown to mako ensilage. The farmers were interested to hear of our method 1 of farming, and asked for a sample or {.olid straw Tuscan wheat, which variety it was thought would suit their climate and soil and be useful for either spring or autumn sowing. I have since received the ; returns of wheat, threshed in the different provinces visited. Saskatchewan- yields were 230,218,000 bushejs wheat, Alberta 69,237,000, and Manitoba 65,590,000. Between Indian Head and Winnipeg J saw some good wheat land. Winnipeg has now come to the front as the world's wheat market, much to the chagrin of America, which until recently held that position. At Toronto I saw the best show buildings and one ofnthe largest grandstands in the world. The show here this year was a record one, the attendance being a million and a half for the week.

There is great rivalry between the Clydesdale and Percheron breed of horses, and the Canadian generally likes a light horse and a good; mover. His ,land is not so heavy and is easier" on horses, no doubt due to the effect of the severe frosts: The Shorthorn, Ayrshire, and Friesian are the strongest fancy in cattle. I spent some time-round Oakville, Hamilton, and Niagara-Falls. At Montreal I waa shown some of the great stores of wheat, and there saw ships from all parts of the Continent loading up with ease, as the stores are built on the water's edge and, ship's can pull right alongside to fill. Passing down the St. Lawrence we 6aw loaded steamers slipping away with their burdens of wheat) in the production of which Oanada is steadily jnoving towards the position of being the principal granary of the world. We crossed the Atlantic in time for the Royal Show at Cambridge. To comprehend British farming, one needs to visit a "Royal," where are represented flocks and herds, the building up of which has occupied breeders for generations. The array of cattle of all breeds, of Shire and harness horses, which in action stepped like machines, and the hunters which jumped like stags, were worth travelling far to see. These, with the sheep and pigs, have made, the British farmers famous and sup-, plied the foundation of the new world's stock. It is very pleasifig to see the great interest Royalty takes in pastoral pursuits. Judging by the reception accorded the Duke of York there, visitors must have been greatlv pleased by his presence. It seems to be a great aim of breeders to compete against Hi? Majesty or the Prince of Wales, and to beat them in a class adds inuph to the interest of the game for them. The Royal, too, is a. great medium of' advertisement, which is taken advantage of by most of the prinoipal firms of England, who display to the people the product of their land or factory.. Many of the Dominions also have great displays of their products. Australia had a splendid exhibit of wool, fruit, feathers, gold, etc. Africa also was well represented in this respect. The different provinces of Canada showed wonderful samples of wheat, fruit, timber, fish, etc. As I saw a good class of agriculturist pressing around these exhibits and getting all the information possible, I was verv disappointed that there was no New Zealand exhibition showing samples of our cheese, butter, wool, meat, fruit, etc. It pays to advertise. At the High Commissioner's Office in the Strand, London, one always sees groups of passers-by viewing the exhibit of New Zealand goods. I turned my attention to the position of our own produce trade to ascertain what reception our products had on the British market and to judge as far as I could what were its future prospects. I found the war had removed all prejudice against New Zealand meat. I took a careful view of the position .as it appeared after an absence of 13 years, and was verv pleased to note the great advance outproduce, had made in the esteem of the consumers. The goodwill in which our produce is held should be worth millions more to New Zealand than it was 13 years ago. I am anxious to point out

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this value, so that we,may realise what an asset we have and protect it accordingly. To foster this trade, which has such vast possibilities, we need to keep up-the high standards of our production. At the present the big companies of America handle a very large portion and fix the price of our lamb to the retailer, which I think could and should be altered. Our produce needs to.keep its own identity. It is better on its own merit. We need some system of depots where retailers oan get New Zealand produce first hand and the consumer can be sure of getting it unadulterated. The first week in July lambs were 7s 9d per 81b wholesale. I paid Is 4d per lb For a hindquarter retail. Many shops whioh 13 years ago dealt exclusively in English lamb now cut all Canterbury, as the public prefer it at the price. English lamb being 2s per lb. I noticed that Mr Jessop, the vice-chairman of our Producers' Board, had succeeded in getting the meat freights-re-duced, and from re-marks in Smith-field market and among shipping men one concludes that he is the right man in the right place—a "battler' for New Zealand. I visited several parts of England and some of the principal live stock markets, and noted their system of selling cattle on th«r live weight, which 1 think could bs introduced into New Zealand to the advantage of the farmer; also the weighbridge at stations and towns, which is much ahead of railway weights which we have' to accept at present. I would like, in concluding, to sound a very hopeful note for the Dominion's future prospects, based as they are on the very high esteem in which New Zealand, its people, and its products are held in Canada, America, and the Homeland.