KILLING THE GOOSE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 26 November 1924, Page 8

KILLING THE GOOSE.

THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGG

A NEW. POLICY WANTED

FLOCKS OF THE DOMINION

Some very trenchant observations on the sensational rise in wool wei'e made on -Saturday morning by a gentleman who is conversant with, the trade, for he maintains that we are going 1 in direct opposition to the old. proverb that warns us not to kill-the- goose that lays \the golden egg (states the Auckland Star}_ The golden'fleece is going to be worth close on £20,000,000 this season, he said, and yet the fanners and the community in general are doing their-level best to kui off the sheep' as fast as they can, instead of saving every animal for which grazing can possibly be found. In spite of the effort of the farmers to export every lamb and every sheep they can get away; in spite of the appetite of. the public, which refuses even to-day to be satisfied with anything but lamb, the flocks are slowly increasing. The last sheep census nut their number at 23,775,000,- against 23,081,000 in 1923, and 22,222,000 in 1922, : although in--1922 the farmers allowed - 4,950,000 lambs and 2,750,000 sheep to be exported. In 1923 they sent away 4,700,000 lambs and 1,500,000 sheep, and they further depleted their flocks this year by sending away another 4,500,000 lambs during the first nine months, besides 1,500,000 sheep. In less than three years, therefore, they have...exported approximately 20,000,000 sheep, a large portion of which should now be in the sheds, further increasing the wool clip, to realise the record prices that a record bench of buyers are eagerly giving. The numerous buyers who attended the Wellington and Napier sales this week, and will be rushing up and down forthe next few months, did. not come to New Zealand by chance; they came, here with -a fixed determination to give the high prices that were fully warranted by the small supply and the large demand. Everybody knows that there are less sheep in the world to-da.y than there were before the war, but that is not sufficient to cause a rise. Witness the fall in 1920, when , -farmers-could hardly give it away. The key to the position was the stock of, B.A.W.R.A. wool, and the, information on that point should have been gathered together, with a view to estimating the future of the market. At the time when wool was at its worst value, about the middle of 1921, B.A.W.R.A. had in stock the equivalent of nearly a whole year’s clip of Australian and New Zealand wool. All this was sold in a little under three l years, the first two of which were a period of About the dullest trade of modern times, and yet, in spite of the continual “feeding” of the market with this vast accumulation, the market steadily rose. Gould any assumption be more natural than that when the old stocks were sold the, market would rise faster still? By taking the - number of bales of B.A.W.R.A, wool-at certain dates, it will be seen how consistently the market absorbed this vast quantity, in addition %6 the annual clip which was continually coming into the market.

The •Wellington wool sale* last Monday and. the Napier woolsale on Friday were therefore the first sales in Ne,\v Zealand which did not have to compete against the. deadening influence of heavy stocks at Home, which B.A.W.R.A. were taking every opportunity to unload. A 3harp rise was the most natural consequence of this unique condition, the. first occasion when New Zealand has sold '■ in an absolutely free market since the close of the requisition period. The 1924 shearing season should have found the New Zealand farmers with a few million more sheep than : they have now, and one of the ways by which that desirable end. could have been accomplished was by a proper analysis of the available statistics, and the practical application of the course of action suggested thereby. “There' is no use crying, over spilt milk,” continued the expert. “It is impossible to get back the millions of sheep which have been lost, but is not too late too cut down to an absolute minimum the number that are to be destroyed during the next six months.’ The Department Of Agriculture is in possession of an army of instructors and advisers. What more; useful pui'pose could they serve during the present season than to conserve the flocks which are destined to be a veritable gold mine to the Dominion, far more valuable than any at the Thames or Waihi? It is not in the interests of the community in general, nor of the farmers in particular, that every Wednesday the fat stock market should be flooded nvitli prime young ewes and prime spring lambs u just because the /butchers arc prepared ;to buy them. They freely acknowledge that they 'make no profit on them, and that they can only keep going by the larger margin that they secure" on beef. Last year there was an “eat more beef” campaign, but this year the exact opposite is .'taking place. Beef is unreasonably high, restricting the sale of what it would he in the best interests of the producers,to get rid of ; mutton is- selling at practically cost price, inducing an inordinate ..sale of the animals that should be left in the helds to produce more wool. It is posS 1 i sound policy to kill wethers, but to kill ewes, and especially ewe lambs, should almost he prohibited. Compulsion is not necessary, hut two distinct moves c-ould be made, and it is the duty of the Government to.make them. The farmers should be persuaded to keep as many sheep as thev possibly can, and the community should be persuaded to eat beef instead of mutton, by selling them both at the same ratio of profit, raising mutton and lowering beef.” v

Australian. ' N.Z. . July 31, 1921 1,489,000 720,000 Dec. 31, 1922 -'555,000 358,000. July 31, 1923 324,000 177,000 Dec. 31, 1923 162,000 47,000 July 31, 1924 Nil. Nil.