THE CATTLE TRADE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1261, 17 October 1911, Page 8

THE CATTLE TRADE.

DEMA.NI) I'OR STORES. In the annual report of tho Agricultural Department, tho .Minister states that on few. occasions has tho demand for store cattle been greater than lias boon tho •oaso during-tho past year."-Tho main cause of this has been tho largo number of calvos .slaughtered irriiediately niter birth in dairying districts, principally in the North island. The reasons responsible for this tailuro to rear the young stock aro not altogether matters to bo deplored. Dairyiarmers are paying moro attention to ilio grading of tiioir herd?, and aro therefore considering it more protitabie to rear the calves trom their best cows well than to rear a lot indifferently; pig-rearing is receiving more attention; and the increasing importance being attached to special-purpose dairy breeds, such as Jerseys, makes it quite improvable to rear tho steers of such stock. Altogether, thero is a general tendency in dairying districts to use single-purpose stock, and the opportunities the grazier has. to seenro stores from territories where milk-production is tho chief objective aro annuallv decreasing". There was a distinct shortage of beef-cattle of n good class towards tlio close of the year, and local values rose considerably—this whilo market prices in Britain were at a comparatively low level. This ■ latter fact pointed, (o tho ■.improved local values being duo to conditions operating within tho Dominion. One foetor no doubt responsible was the improved position of wool, which, had induced many farmers to stock more heavily With- sheep than had been customary. It is gratifying to bo able to report that the dairvfarmers of..the .country aro paying more attention to the culling of their herds. • They are realising that if tho business of milk-prodnction is to bo made really profitable it can only be done by grading up the herd and- having tho means of determining (by systematic testing) if each member of it is showing a profit; and by using _ only a purebred mill of a milking strain. The herd-test-ing campaign of "the Department has aroused keen interest, amounting to enthusiasm in some cases, in the important objectives of the work. • ■