MANAWATU AFFAIRS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 244, 9 July 1921, Page 8

MANAWATU AFFAIRS

A GENERAL R - VIEW THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY (From Gur Special Correspondent.) Palmerston North, July 8. Mutters are extremely quiet in business, and there has been practically no local news worth recording during the past week. A considerable amount of rain fell during Monday and Tuesday, and some of the low-lying country, more especially in tho lower portion of the Manawatu, and between Foxton anil Shannon, where quite a number of properties were under water, but very little damage is reported. Fat and forward sheep are meeting a better demand for butchers’ purposes, but other sorts are neglected, and fat cattle are hard to quit oven at moderate prices. This is .probably duo to tho unsatisfactory news from tho London market, and the prospects of an improvement are not encouraging. Most of the freezing works are now clear of old stocks of mutton, but a good deal of beef is etill on hand and,hard to realise upon. Quite a number of graziers are turning their attention to dairying for next season, with the result that cows and heifers of good sorts coming into profit early are being eagerly sought after. However, as quite a number of farmers are already culling their herds, after testing, quite a number of inferior cows are now on the market, and some inexperienced buyers are apt to be deceived by them. Those dairymen who so arranged their affairs as to be able to carry on operations during the winter are quite satisfied with the results, and a good deal of milk from here is going to tho Wellington city milk supply, and the prices received are paying well. It is quite certain that next winter there will be a considerable amount of dairying done. It is satisfactory to. note that a number of yards and byres which were anything but sanitary are being improved, atffl perhaps before long there will not be an unpaved yard in the district. The factory managers have taken o good deal of interest in the matter, and it is partly due to their insistence that improvements have been made, but they still complain that many milking plants are not kept ill the condition, they should There is an easier tone in the oatsheaf chaff market, prices now ruling at about £6 on the farm.