LAMB PRICES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22419, 4 June 1938, Page 10

LAMB PRICES

COMPARISON WITH LAST YEAR Organised bodies of farmers are commencing to protest against the oft-repeated assertion of politicians that meat prices are “quite satisfactory,” or profitable, or that they are helping to increase the farmers’ income. The actual position, of course, as far as the income aspect is concerned, is very much the reverse. Whether they are payable, or profitable, is a matter of opinion; the other is a matter of fact. The export schedule in Canterbury for lamb last season, and this, shows the degree to which the farmers’ income from lamb has declined. From the virtual commencement of the 1936-37 season, commencing on January 12, lambs 361 b and under, were 9d per lb until April 5, except for the month of March, when the price was Bfd, the next weights being a farthing or a halfpenny lower. From April 12 to the season-end (June) first grades were per lb. Only for a brief period in the present season was the export schedule at 8d for the best grades, the price having receded to 73d, which it is at present. At the end of May last season the price of (which operated for three months) compares with 7|d at the present time, or l£d per lb less. On a 361 b lamb this would mean 4s 6d a carcase, and on the 8,500,000 carcases exported annually the tidy total of close on £1,900,000. To be fair with the optimists, or the politicians, it has to be admitted that the general decline is not as high as 4s 6d a head, as a substantial quantity of lamb was sold last season at 9d, and probably per lb would cover the difference, or, say, 3s 6d on the average 341 b lamb exported.. This would bring the decline on the output to £1,500,000. On top of*it all is the 40 per cent, drop in the price of wool from the ewes. Tlie “quite satisfactory” return of which we hear so much is definitely the other way if based on comparisons, and that is the politicians’ way of presenting the position. Lamb producers know very well there is no way of remedying the position, and have been accepting it philosophically, but it is irritating to them to hear repeatedly from sources which should be reasonably well informed that their lamb prices are “quite satisfactory.” GLENROY COLLIE CLUB WINNERS OF CUPS The cups competed for at the Glenroy trials this week were won as follows; Little Memorial, J. A. Nelson’s Roy; 3. C. Rutherford challenge, J. B. Qucale’s Roy; Bram Lee. T. Brankin's Sharp; Hunt Bros.. H. White’s Gale; Quill, Morris, H. White’s Ben; presi-

dent’s, H. White’s Gale; Ashby, Bergh, A. E. Benbow’s Crib. At the conclusion of the trials, Mrs D. N. Bates, wife of the president, presented the cups to the winners. The judge, Mr J. Wilson, congratulated the competitors on the high general quality of their dogs’ work. The president thanked Mr J. Kennedy for the use of his land and Messrs Murchison Bros, for the loan of their* sheep. THE WHEAT SOWING HEAVY DEMAND FOR SEED Merchants report that there has been an exceptional disposal of seed wheat to farmers this last month, and there is little sign of it abating. The month just closed was one of the best Mays for sowing for many years, and the wheat has been got in under ideal conditions. Although there is a wide margin between the 188,000 acres sown last year and the area required to render importation unnecessary—about 275,000 acres—it is believed that a good deal of this difference will be bridged. Many farmers who had practically decided to abandon the crop—at all events for this season—have reviewed the position in the light of the heavy importations necessary last year, and with the favourable conditions prevailing are sowing their normal, and in many cases larger acreages. Many of them are impressed with the value of a guaranteed price for wheat as against the uncertain future of other products, and they are also realising the risks attending continued failure to grow something like an adequate acreage. The imports of wheat into New Zealand for the year ending March 31 this year were valued at £873,635, which probably constitutes a record, and most thoughtful farmers realise it is a position that cannot continue indefinitely. Moreover, it is a sum of no small importance to a matter of 7000 wheatgrowers. A feature of the demand has been the popularity of Cross 7 variety, the short straw and “butty” characteristics of which make it especially suitable for mechanised harvesting.