POULTRY CONFERENCE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 977, 18 November 1910, Page 8

POULTRY CONFERENCE.

"EXp'ioiTING THE HOME MARKETS.The conference of .members of . the oewly-formed New Zealand Poultry; As: Eooiation was continued yesterday, Mr. O'Keilly, of Dunedin, in the chair. During the forenoon there was'a meeting of' the Executive Committee, followed by an important discussion, in , full, conference, on : the possibilities of opening up a vigor,ous export trade with the Home markets. tAlter the luncheon adjournment a paper was read'by Mr. S. H. Scott,, of One<hiinga,vwho gave an interesting address ■upon the various asnects of duck farming, and set out at length his reasons;for,' ; preferring; the duck to the hen as _an egg-producer and commercial proposition. lAt-5 o'clock the conference;had an inter-, iview with Lithe: Minister for Agriculture XHon. T. Mackenzie), who returned again 5n the- evening and' made a stateinerit! to ■the conference;in connection with' the l,representations which had .'.teen; ■■made to aiim earlier in the day. . At the meeting of the Executive Comjmittee.- of the association, held prior to fthe morning sitting of tho conference, the .following were elected to act as an organ* Ssing committee for the purpose of super-. jvising;the organising work, the formation [of egg., circles and governing bodies for 'the poultry industry '.—Messrs. R. W. 'Hawke (Papanui), W. Hodgson (Cheviot), . J. HoUiday (Christchurch), E. O'Reilly, .(Dunedin), 'and'the secretary (Mr.' J. B. fMerrett,.of Christchurch). ..•.',-. It was also resolved :— 1 "That it be a recommendation from the (Now Zealand - Poultry Association ; to the rvarious egg circles' and local governing jbodios afiiliated, that the distributing lagents of the various egg circles of ■ the Dominion be under tho direct supervision' 'of the Organising Committee of this as-' JEOciation, and .that, a uniform rate of 5 iper cent commission be charged to mem--, iers of. egg circles , by agents."; ' ■ "V It was decided-that l the next, conference i should be held at Christchurch in Noverniber nest, during Carnival week. . Supply and ■-"•:{ Opening the discussion on,the question: of inaugurating, and developing an •export trade with the' Home markets,".Mr. : . ■Bull, of Auckland, remarked that. sparsely-populated and self-contained; country like. New Zealand, the balance'' of. supply and . demand was very .sensi-~j tive,-and a slight alteration in;; either; .tipped.the beam towards profit Since the egg and poultry production of the' Dominion fluctuated ' ra ■ sympathy' •with the price. of wheat—dear feed meant- ■ fewer fowls and'cheap feed more fowls. ..The demand, however, was not affected to nearly the same extent by the price of . wheat, for although it might ,happen., that dear loaves would reduce the work- ' ing man's egg consumption, cheap loaves .would not induce him to eat fried eggs for breakfast, boiled eggs for dinner, end omelette for tea. ' He estimated that' the increase of stock since tho poultry ' census of 1907, when it was just over three millions, was over a million,' But ngainst this increase in stock there had not been. .a« corresponding increase., .in population, or in the purchasing power of money. A very,large number of, eggs had gone into the chill room for winter . use, but the eggs that' were,.not up to the:. chilling standard were more . than sufficient to supply local demands, and prices in consequence had been, lower than for four or five- years. It seemed to Eim that the poultry farmer had either to limit his production—which was absurd—or find new markets to absorb his , surplus production.

Prospects.of Home Trade. : - It was to the Old Country, he continued, that they ; had to look principally. In 1909 2,125,252,920.egg5. wer0 imported into Great Britain, , and' the' value of eggs and '.poultry. imported about .£10,000,009.; Germany, until recently an ''exporting country, was now an importing'country." If- they desired only to find a.market for surplus'eggs and poultry, their export season would be a_>very short one. New Zealand be sent away from. Soptember to January, for eggs;.and from February to-Mny. for poultry—when the English markets were short of supplies. Biids would require to. bo well graded as , to'size, colour, age, etc. The real problem was the shipment of the egg?. It was doubtful whether the conditions in the chilling chambers of the steamers would prove •satisfactory; it had been proved that duck eggs could not be "chilled with any degree of certainty as to tho result' The demand in London was for fresh eggs, not pickled. , .' . " -.- •... There was no doubt that the Government grading depots were a step in the right direction, though apparently premature, but it'was a pity now that poultry culture was more advanced that the depots should- be closed. To he conducted satisfactorily, and profitably, the export trade must be centralised, at any Tate, or" New Zealand' producers would be cutting each other's throats. When New Zealand quality was more fully appreciated the trouble would be not to find buyers, but to find' sufficient producers. . ■ Eggs and Economics. The reports of the Agricultural Department for several years past had.stated ' that the high prices ruling locally had not left much temptation for people to export. This might be true, but thero is-as an economic problem which deserved . some attention.' Was it better to sell a . dozen eggs locaUy for Is. than to send six eggs Home and get sd. for them, selling the other six locally forTd..' In theone caso they were, merely circulating money already in New Zealand; in the other they were bringing fresh ...capital into the country and creating, more competition among local buyers for, ISew /SeaJ '.W .Broduce. The speaker concluded

with the opinion the time' was opportune for united, action A to be taken with regard 'to- the- development -of' the export trade, as upon that depended tho control of. local- prices at such a reasonahlo level as would leavo- tt margin over the ; cost of production. An export commit- ; tee of tho association'should be consti- ; tiited to collate*.(lata;'on tho subject, ] and a systematic effort made- to centralise i the sale of Xew.'Zealand. produce on tho • London market;'';. ; ' ■'■ :;. x v Fertilc -v. 'infertile Eggs. . Mr. J. B. Merrett, r of Christch'urch, in tho course of an interesting address on the same subject, supplemented the remarks of. the previo.us*'speaker, and de- i scribed the results-of his"experiments in egg preservation, giving, it as his opinion that the French system of vaporisation was to be relied, oh. Ths question oftemperature, Ihv pointed out, was of greatimportance. ■ Eggs awaiting .; shipment should be stored at temperatures not. exceeding GO'- degrees. . There Vwas -no doubt that tho infertile. egg was more reliable' for preservation purposes. - -The ■ difficulty with the fertile egg was that'incubationset in at a tery early stage,. even beforo it was laid, and if poultry-men, as they often did, allowed these eggs to lie in the nest in the heat of the day, the progress of incubation would bo much further advanced. / He himself had a cool cellar, about six feet down in the ground, where the temperature was never greater than © degrees, and he had \ stored eggs awaiting sEipineht very successfully. A-' Ministerial Visit. During the afternoon tho Minister for Agriculture (the Hon. T. Mackenzie), accompanied by Messrs. C. A. C. Hardy, M.P., W. C. Buchanan, M.P., and G. W. Forces, M.P., and C J. Eeakes (Chief Veterinarian), visited tho conference and were welcomed by the delegates. The Minister, who was received with applause, said that the' poultry was bound to come to the front. They had no export trade Worth speaking of at present, as the local demand appeared to absorb the supply. He wished to express; his appreciation of the happy relations -which existed, between his Depart-, mental officers—Messrs. C. : J.'.Reakes arid' F. Brown—and those connected.with tho industry, and also of the excellent work which had been' accomplished by tho. officers on tho experiment stations,- especially Mr.-Kose.-.'The great point to be noted was that in" building upi their export trade they must do' their stuff up well, and-employ competent agents;, to secure for. their produce tho same prestige as had been attained toy .Canterbury., mutton',''.which.' lb.' more than other'brands. Speaking from experience, and observation in London, the Minister animadverted:upon ousness'of. wrongfuhihsiiranee claims and wrongful arbitration.'Wfth the operation of the Home,arbitration clause in the sale note, the producer was "had." If the market was dull' the purchasers would call for arbitration upon,any quantity-of stuff -whether, it'was up to-; the standard o.r.not.,He .feit-assuredihal:.the Government would assist in every way possible to'help.thtf ; lndu'Stry;'but th'ey must have clean methods.and no nonsense. (Applause:) -■:■'- ■"■'.'•' ."■•.'"!'". ■ '■-! Mr.. C.;'A.; .p. Hardy, M-'P..' apologised for . the unavoidable absence of Mr. Massey. . .' Mr: -W. V. .Buchanan, M.P., complimented the" "conference on its achievements, and assured members that his interest in poultry was as strong as it w;asOin sheep- : /ahd-.';-cattlei-\ 'The experi-ence;-'of the iGoverjimerlt id; connection withVthe poultry industry had not been' an;''altogetn'eri£app.y-,'ono;in the past, and ho'wished; to's'ayi that iff. this particular department ho supported the -Government, and always would do—when they were on the right track—and felt convinced of tho Minister's earnestness .of. intention in assisting to' place 'the v .indflstry. upon a proper basis.' '':-,':';; A Return Visit, In the evening the Executive Committee returned tho Ministerial visit, and waited as..a,deputation-upon,the Hon. T. Mackenzie'."""' -'•'-•'"•"-"•--■-"- •■ " •■■•■ -The-chairman (Mr. O'Reilly), on behalf of the conference, urged, firstly, that in the cabled reports of the London produce markets there';sh'ould',-be included the cotrent rates"for"ipbultry'-.'and eggs. ■ Secondly, tho publication of special articles by Mr. Brown,, the' Government Export, in the official journal" of" the Department, and- ■' of the papers read, at the conference would be of material assistance in fostering the industry. Then theto was the question of railway freight rates,on poultry and eggS. Fruitgrowers mid': received substantial. concessions in railway rates, and tho poultrymen of tho Dominion asked' for similar concessions. They..also' asked .thatrthe Government grant', a subsidy in. money, contributed to fund. ":''.'':■'.'.-j ■'■; ■ . ■ Mr'.-; Bull pointed out certain anomalies in 'th'ei freight rates for eggs,-.and- also urged, that poultry :should,;be"assessed, at per. head,"not by weighty-. It. was- also urged--that; duty-should : be placed :epgs,:„'whether ■; .in' tho dessicated-: in the; shell,, or afty. other"form.":;;'Ah'other -point was the. enumeration, of • pbultrj' appliances ; for,'Customs l 'duty, 'which' was '20 per- cent:;at : present., V:'.,. ,;.'. In his reply, the Minister stated.that he would arrange with the High Commissioner' ".'in • London.,' to'..' 'includo market prices for poultry and eggs in the cabled advices. -The.puWication.iri. the Journal of the Department of siich articles relating to the industry as had been mentioned,''would' also be' given effect to, though it-would be'necessary to -print t,hem y in a condensed form. He would confer vwith tho Minister for; Railways - the subject of freight rates, and also with the Minister for Lands with regard to the' setting aside - of small holdings for poultry tarnicrs. With regard to the question of a prohibitive duty on imported eggs,, it had to be noted that the product of .the New Zealand- industryhad to be: raised'up; to'the'.consuming capacity of-tho peoplo.'before .prohibitive duties "could : be', considered. >However, the matter'would, be .looked, into.'-As to the duty, on '-poultry-' such of • those as- could not bo. made in'- the. Dominion might bo considered when' -ihe:,.Government approached the question of tariff revision. That: would not be done this session. He would arrange to have a census of the poultry as suggested by the deputation. On the question of subsidising 'contributions -to the organising funds, he would be glad'to have before him, in writing, the basis upon which it was proposed to expend this.money. -The deputation, having thanked the Minister then. withdrew, -