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Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 284, 16 November 1923, Page 7

uhy ou Smithfield market- we saw so many carcases with broken shanks and dirty torn wrappers. It is generally recognised by the trade that the only remedy is for the Board to appoint supervisors in Great Britain on the same lines as adopted by the Board in New Zealand, where there has been a very decided improvement during the last season in the loading of our meat and dairy produce. PREPARATION AND PACKING. “The preparation and packing of frozen sundries as shipped by some freezing companies leave much room for improvement. The American packers can teach us a lot in this respect. Take v for instance, ox livers. They freeze these in a special mould and pack in boxes, each liver being wrapped up with a special oiled paper, whereas from one of our works I saw some ox livers roughly packed in sacks. One can realise the comparison when displayed on Smithfield. Even though the quality of our goods might be better, yet a buyer would probably give 25 per cent more for the goods well packed and more likely to appeal to his customers. The returns for wellpacked goods more than compensate for the extra cost of preparation. The successful marketing of any commodity depends on the service given to the customer in the way of preparation and packing, and no one realises this axiom better than thp American. NEXV ZEALAND PIGS. “The consignment of, pigs which recently arrived in Smithfield were very favourably commented upon by the trade. They were a. pool lot from Whakatane works, and for quality, dressing, and general preparation, they reflected the greatest of credit on the consigners. They were much ahead of the average Americans pigs displayed on the market, “There is no doubt a big demand in Groat Britain for good quality baconers and porkers. In working up this new trade we have made a splendid beginning and if we continue to send only the very best wc can produce and give proper attention to preparation, there is no reason why we cannot make a name for our pigs as we have already done for our lambs. ADVICE TO FARMERS. “On Smithfield 1 was particularly struck with the appearance of several , lots of down cross lambs which came from the North Island, especially some which were fattened near Palmerston ! North. These lambs were ahead of the ■ present average Canterbury and rea- ■ lised higher prices. If the Canterbury ! farmers do not pay more attention to ; breeding and to the proper finishing : off in the fattening, they will one day awaken to the fact that the best prime Canterbury quality is now produced in th--' North Island. “I saw several lots of lambs hanging on Smithfield marked ‘prime’ which

were badly bred ami not quite finished off. They were certainly above the

second 1 quality standard but as ‘primes’ their quality had nothing to commend them to buyers. The quality of our sheep and lambs fell considerably during the war and has not yet reached the level of the pre-war standard. It is time farmers bestirred themselves, and this is a matter that should be taken up by all A. and P. Societies and Farmers’ Unions, The average farmer will probably say ‘AVhy should we worry, we are at present getting a good price for our lambs.’ This may lie so, but the position is that many of the buyers are not satisfied at all with the article that they are paying such a high, price for, and if larmers do not breed hotter quality lambs and pay mare attention to the finishing off, they may find that buyers in Great Britain arc not interested, in their lambs as they are able to get lambs of almost equal quality elsewhere and at a lower figure. The reputation of our meat in Great Britain is one of the greatest assets our Dominion possesses, and we shall surely lose it if farmers do not waken up to the importance of giving more consideration to the quality of our meat rather than to the value of wool, and also to properly finishing off lambs before sending them along to freezing works. SHIPMENTS TO AMERICA. “The shipment of frozen lambs to Boston and New York is a- matter which the Board, evey since its inception, has been endeavouring to develop. The investigations and inquiries which 1 have made show' that if we are to successfully develop this market wjien the opportunity comes, we must for a start send only small consignments and at regular intervals, taking care that our shipments do not clash with the United States’ own domestic lambs. Americans arc not partial to frozen meat but the quality of our lambs may overcome this. I noted that there is at present a campaign instituted by Swifts in the United States to try and induce people to eat more lamb, very much on the same lines as our ‘eat more beef’ campaign. The American meat diet-is principally beef and pork. The number of pigs raised is enormous, and the supply keeps pace with the increasing population, being inexhaustible.”