Sunshine And Shadows In 1963

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30325, 28 December 1963, Page 7

Sunshine And Shadows In 1963

1963 has been an interesting year for farmers. It has had its bright spots and shadows and has been subject to the vagaries of climate and the unpredictable fluctuations of markets.

There were high hopes for the wheat harvest when the t New Year was ushered in, but for the third successive I season these hopes were not | to be realised. This time there i was a variety of circumi stances—intense heat and i dryness in December that caused crops to dry off rather than ripen, yellow ■ dwarf virus and rust For vendors, at least, there i was a happier atmosphere at i the round of ewe fairs in i North and Mid-Canterbury, ' urices for young and old ewes I being up 15s to 20s on the | previous season. The main reason for this stronger tone was the generally better feed situation in the province, and about fair time there was a good rain in North Canterbury though this district had a critical autumn drought. Just while the ewe fairs were in progress lamb prices dropped quite sharply at Smithfield and this was reflected in the local schedule, which, in the early stages of the season, had been remarkably stable, if not at unduly high prices. The inflow of cheap beef from the Argentine, unemployment in Britain, and wintery weather which prevented people from getting out to buy. all conj tributed to the downward ' turn after a very good period of marketing. But there is always a silver lining and on this occasion it was earlier than has often been the case, and local schedule prices began to rise again in April and continued that way to the end. Farmers, who the previous year had been persuaded to I hold back their stock in the face of what they considered i a not very attractive schedule, decided to quit this i year and accept the rising i prices. The end result of ■ all this was that there was a shortage of fat stock locally this winter and prices rose to remarkably high levels. In no place was this more evident than in the fat cattle pens at Addington, where steers made to more than £9O and heifers to more than £6O. Prime heavy steers, which were making from £45 to £4B at the end of May, were ranging from £66 to £7B in mid-October. prime heavy heifers over the same period advanced from £32 to £37 to £43 to £45, and cow’s from £26 to £3O to £3B to £42.

Some people had begun to think Canterbury was a land of perpetual summer after recent droughty summers and mild winters, but this winter they were in for a rude awakening. It was wet and cold and long and it had a sting in its tail—up to 14 inches of snow on coastal North Canterbury in August. That snow came at a critical time for the province’s ewe flocks, in many instances close to lambing. There was a widespread outbreak of

sleepy sickness as ewes suffered a check at this vital stage, but the resourcefulness

and energy of the province's farmers were equal to the occasion and many excellent saves were made, though there were, naturally, losses. It was not unexpected that lambing percentages were generally lower than last year, but still. in spite of the conditions, remarkably good. In Canterbury the estimate is 104.2 per cent, compared with 107.17 last year.

The trouble has been that the winter has continued almost up to Christmas this year, and in the last 10 days hundreds of ewes shorn around the longest day of the year have succumbed in a wintery blizzard. In November frosts played havoc, particularly in Mid-CanU-rbury, in some wheat and brassica seed. On this occasion it manifested itself in a new form of damage to the stem of the wheat plant calculated to break off the flow of nutriment to the head. But it is an ill wind that does no-one any good, and last week’s rains may have put thousands of pounds into the pockets of mixed farmers with their paddocks of wheat, barley and peas. While winds and rains have taken their toll of ewe flocks and lambs, there has been a brighter picture on the marketing side. The lamb schedule opened 2d to 3£d a pound higher than a year earlier, with a 321 b lamb worth 50s, and has again been notable for its stability thus far. For a time, too, exporters were paying an extra 2s 6d a head premium to help fill the early boats. On top of this, feed supplies have been mainly adequate. But it has been the golden fleece that 'ias really won all hearts and has thoroughly borne out the oft-expressed view’s of Professor B. P. Philpott, professor of agricultural economics at Lincoln College, that wool is the best bet for the farmer. The 1962-63 season ended with Canterbury farmers’ wool cheque from auctions up nearly £2m at £lflm. The new season began auspiciously in August with the average more than Is a pound better than a year earlier. At the October sale it was nearly 13d a pound better, and in a remarkably buoyant sale in December the average was probably about 15d a pound higher at about 60d.

This latter point happily coincided with the opening of the new wool exchange ' at Addington Show Grounds, designed primarily for the important role of selling wool. And while prices have just recently been tending to ease back a little, the year is closing with an optimistic message from the joint senior wool valuer of Dalgety and New Zealand Loan, Ltd., in Sydney, Mr Stuart liavis, who says that new year prospects for the wool industry are the brightest in seven years.

Growers, he said, could have confidence in the immediate future of wool. An extreme winter in the northern hemisphere had lifted the demand for woollens and helped improve the price of raw wool in the 1962-63 season. “Another harsh winter has been forecast and already vast areas of Europe and the United Kingdom have been blanketed with snow. A severe winter will ensure good clearances of woollen goods at the retail level in all major consuming countries,” he said. Around the corner in the new year the board of the International Wool Secretariat will be meeting in New Zealand to further consider its expanded programme of promotion to support wool as member countries seem prepared to provide £l3m a year to make this possible. Soon it will be the ewe fair season again and at the moment on the basis of both market and feed outlook the prospects are attractive—for the vendor at least. The storm of a few days ago may still have its repercussions then. It will enhance feed supplies and may have left more gaps to fill in flocks.