Farmers Urged To Draft Regularly

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31196, 21 October 1966, Page 16

Farmers Urged To Draft Regularly

If farmers held back their lambs to achieve heavier weights, there could be a problem with overfat carcases, the meat and wool executive of North Canterbury Federated Farmers was told on Wednesday.

Members agreed that farmers should be encouraged to draft their lambs regularly, even if bigger weights were aimed for. Mr A. F. Wright, who is vice-president said great concern was expressed last year about overfat lambs, and he thought that farmers could run into the same problem again this season. Meat graders were now very fat-consci-ous. Mr Wright said. He thought farmers would have have to be encouraged to draft more regularly. Mr Wright said that under the existing schedule, a 28ib carcase (excluding wool) would be worth 39s Bd. and a 341 b lamb 42s Bd. For the extra 61b weight of lamb the producer would receive 3s but he was sure that in some cases the loss through downgrading for overfatness would greatly exceed the value of the extra weight. “We must keep our members well informed on this Question,” Mr Wright said.

“I don't think there would he many farmers scratching tor feed,” said Mr D. G. McGrath, of Oxford. “So what can you do about it? We cannot budget our incomes as a dairy farmer can. We expected a drop in the schedule but not as much as this.”

Mr Wright said he was not Suggesting that farmers should not hold their lambs tip to 341 b carcase weights, but he was suggesting that

they should draft regularly to avoid overfat lambs. Mr J. H. Evans, of Hororata, said he thought farmers would be well advised to begin sending lambs to the works. “If we hold on to them, and then get a few weeks of nor’-west weather, you all know what would happen,” he said. “Some Confusion” When the president (Mr W. N. Dunlop) raised the question of the lamb schedule earlier in the meeting, several members said there appeared to be some confusion, mainly in relation to the penalty charge concerning the diversification scheme. Mr Wright said that from comments he had received, farmers appeared to have forgotten that in addition to the schedule prices for carcase weights, a payment was being made for wool. Farmers were describing it as a poor schedule when, in fact, with the value of wool added, lamb was worth more than 18d per lb.

When another member asked about "an extra charge of 3d per lb,” Mr Dunlop said this was being made under the export diversification scheme, and involved private shippers as well as the usual exporters. The levy would be payable on the weight of lamb by which exports to markets other than Britain failed to reach 10 per cent of an exporter’s total killing. This levy could be reflected

on the producer, and over the entire kill would work out at ,3d a lb.

The meeting decided to publish inf ormatai on relating to the meat schedule and the diversification levy in a newsletter to members.