The Northern Advocate Daily MONDAY. NOVEMBER 30, 1936. WOOL IS UP

Northern Advocate, 30 November 1936, Page 4

The Northern Advocate Daily

MONDAY. NOVEMBER 30, 1936. WOOL IS UP

Regtatered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

Not only the shcepfarniers, who are the direct beheficiai’ies, .tint also every unit of the population who receive indirect benefit as well should be gratified at the result , of the first wool sale for this season held in Auckland on Saturday morning. The change from comparatively low prices which have' ruled for the last seven years from 1929 to 1935, inclusive, to almost the boom prices realised at the 1928 sales is like coming out. of darkness into light. Everyone is pleased and happy about it and everyone is, or should be, grateful for a change which must give a stimulus not only to the farming industry as a, whole, but to every other industry as well. We sincerely hope,, as all growers of wool will hope, that the prices realised on Saturday will be maintained throughout the season. If they are the increased revenue coming into the country from wool alone will be in the neighbourhood of £5.000,000. Northland will share very tangibly in this prosperity. Last season over 700,000 sheep were shorn in the eight counties north of, and including, Rodney. Computing 50 fleeces to the bale, this would mean a production of approximately 14,000 bales, ,The average price per bale for the first Auckland sale last year was £l2 2/-, whereas on- Saturday the realisation was in the vicinity of £2l. If the price is maintained, Northland’s wool clip this year should be worth well over £300,000. Expert observers who were present at the Auckland Town Hall, say that it was most difficult to discern from the nature of the competition whether the same high level, can be expected from later sales. Japanese interests seemed determined to get wool at almost any price, and not many buyers from other countries were able to remain in the competition. It often happened that not more than three buyers were left in the bidding for a clip . when it got up to very high counting. With an undoubted world shortage of wool, however, it may well be that other buyers will be ■ instructed to increase their limits at future auctions. The general comment at the sale was the notable improvement in the quality of Auckland wool, with particular (reference to the clips from Northland. One prominent Waikato pastoralist stated that the North was beating South Auckland hands down in the quality of its clips. This is probably due to the high percentage of fattening sheep pro- ' dueed in the Waikato, and fed on turnips and heavily top-dressed ’ country, resulting in the production of Clips which are neavily conditioned compared with those from the North, where the flocks are run on natural pasture and under free conditions. A surprisjing feature of the sale was the large amount of wool presented, considering the brokenness of the weather, which has retarded shearing this season. The high current value of wool, lamb and mutton is likely to induce a number of farmers now running herds and flocks in conjunction to concentrate more upon sheep. This is bound to have a good effect on the butter market, by withdrawing a certain amount of supply, but the transition will lie a slow one. Remembering the erratic, and at times, highly unprofitable j returns from their flocks during I: past years, farmers are not likely to relinquish their supplementary : income, from dairying altogether, ‘ and another factor will be the ■ difficulty of stocking, as sheep are < certain to rise in value in eonse- ; quence of the high returns now ] available from fleece and ear- 1 casses. ]