Iowa Farmer’s View Of Beef Trade With N.Z.

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30079, 13 March 1963, Page 18

Iowa Farmer’s View Of Beef Trade With N.Z.

An American beef cattle producer, Mr Anders Mather, of West Liberty, lowa, who toured New Zealand with a party of 13 American and Canadian cattle men and'their wives, said that New Zealand imports of beef into the United States would have to be watched lest they should hurt the market.

Mr Mather said that American producers could grow all the beef their country required, and pork producers could double their output, but they knew the price would be affected. He did not know how much New Zealand beef could be taken without hurting the market, but the position needed watching on both sides, for if the beef market broke in the United States both American and New Zealand producers would be harmed.

There were feelings of great friendliness to New Zealand in the United States, he said. The members of the present party had been shown friendliness and kindness in New Zealand on a scale that had greatly impressed him as one who had travelled quite extensively. Mr Mather will remember New Zealand as a land green with grass and white with sheep from one end to the other. He said that he had been surprised at the relative smallness of the area under crop. In his own part of the United States nearly all the country is in row crops, going into lucerne for a rest about every fourth year. Good Combination

He noted with interest that New Zealand farmers find that cattle and sheep run well together, with the cattle keeping the growth down for the sheep. In the early days in the United States, he said, sheep and cattle men had fought over the use of grazing, even to the extent of killings. Happily, it had been found later that sheep and cattle could get on together. Mr Mather farms country worth about 500 dollars an acre. He raises about 30.000 bushels of maize, 5000 to 6000 bushels of oats, and 300 tons of lucerne, and makes up about 1000 tons of corn silage, all of which is used in lot feeding of cattle. On his property about 750 cattle are usually carried in part-concrete floored yards with open sheds for shelter. The cattle are brought from ranchers in the western states as calves about six months old weighing 4251 b or steers about 18 months old weighing about 7001 b. The corn content of their diet is stepped up as the cattle are held in the lot and the younger cattle are sold after a year at 10501 b to 12001 b liveweight and the older cattle after about 10 months at 13001 b About “ b »“h« 3 « corn are cat °e and 75 bushels to th* others ‘That is expensive feeding so we here got to get a big pra» for it,” he said. Lmt spring in Chicago, Mr leather was receiving 30 to

32 cents per lb live-weight for his cattle, which was a little better than average (that is about £l4O for a 13001 b beast). Grain Fattening As a fatten er of cattle on grain, Mr Mather considers that grain improves the flavour of beef, pork, or whatever animal is being fattened, and he also thinks that cattle often fatten better on country with sparse dry grass than on the lusher conditions he had seen in New Zealand. The quality of New Zealand beef, he thinks, is not quite as good as that of American, but he appears to be a convert to New Zealand lamb. As cooked in New Zealand, he said, it was exquisite. Mr Mather is a member of a party of cattle men and their wives from California, Wyoming, lowa, and British Columbia. During their tour of New Zealand, sponsored by the “Western Livestock Journal” of Los Angeles, they visited beef cattle studs, had an interview with the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake), and included some sight-seeing in slightly under two weeks. In the Masterton district members of the party stayed for two nights with farmers.