SHEEP AND WOOL

Northern Advocate, 20 July 1933, Page 8

SHEEP AND WOOL

IMPROVEMENT SCHEME. CERTIFICATION OF SIRES. (Contributed.) From letters which have appeared in the press, and from statements made at certain meetings'of farmers, it is clear that some misconceptions exist concerning the proposals .put forward by the provisional committee of fourteen set up by the -meeting of sheep farmers held at Palmerston North on May 26th. This committee, which represented the Gisborne,’ Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington-West Coast (including Taranaki) sheep districts attempted to erystalise existing opinion as to weaknesses in the stfeep and v wool industry which urgently require attention. The proposals which it drew up were published by thirty-six newspapers in the North; Island in order to-ensure adequate pub-; licity, *but it would seem tha£ in certain cases it did not go into sufficient detail,

with a result that misconceptions have arisen in the minds of some people. The following statement has, therefore, been prepared in the’hope that it will clarify the situation. Certification of Sires. « It has been suggested that the main object of the wool levy is to finance the certification of rams and that the hill ■ country fanner is, therefore, being taxed to provide funds for the stud breeder to “put his house in .order,.” a matter which he should undertake at his own expense. Such an arrangement would, it is true, be grossly unfair. The atti tude of the committee towards the certification of sires is, on the other hand, as follows: Rapid Improvement Possible. It is firmly of the opinion that the principle of certification is sound. It believes that the quality of our sheep and wool can he more quickly raised by the elimination of the scrub rams which yearly are responsible for a further number of weak bodied sheep and addi tional hairy wool than by any other means. The principle has > been successfully' applied in other countries, notably in

Ireland, and has recently been introduced in Great Britain; therefore there should be no insuperable difficulty in working out a scheme suitable for New Zealand. Voluntary Versus Compulsory. For some time there has,been a movement in the South Island to make certification compulsory and this’'-line of action was recently endorsed at the annual conference of t the Royal .Agricultural Society. Bearing in ! mind, how-i

■'Hr ' I ■■■' ever, the success which'hps attended the ■ voluntary certification, of ryegrlss seed, ' the committee is in favour of .giving V a voluntary system-a tfiil in theVcase of sires. It believes that'eventually i the buying public would so neglect .uncertified sheep that ram breeders would find it. almost essential to ;: : hayV“their sheep inspected. v .v,’ ' The, committee considers that unsuitable scheme should involve fees'fo'r in- . spection, which once the , scheme . was soundly on its feet, would provide'sufficient i income to support it.. ; i;The ram breeders would hot, therefore, 'be -using ' the funds of ithe industry as- a Whole • for ■tlieir own; particular advantage; ft-;: ■ Buyers ■' T , . . . ■ . '••rv.' - .' r VI It is hard to-see how anyone,-. ' make out that they would’ gainvbyleertificatiqn at the expense of 'the ’buyers. • Actually :they would market their taiherid rams .at 1 ►present always find a sale t ajt?i4ipriee, * ; whereas tire buyers would, benefit of a protection' against!;guying seriously faulty sheep. It is difficult to understand jvhy a ram raise objections to, a scheme object is to give him assistance. 'Certification would only -be. concerned ‘ with glaring faults which should** diS- ‘ ' , qualify a sheep of any type or breed. Ihe finer points which constitute type would not come into the picture at all. The standard adopted to commence with could not be high since there'cOuld ,be V no question of causing' a shortage - bf rams. > ‘v ■ •

The committee has been criticised-for not putting forward a definite scheme of certification. It must -tie remembered, however, that the present committee has no authority; it therefore feels. that it should leave the details of a.scheme to the body chosen to carry out - the sheep and wool improvement scheme.