The Northern Daily Daily FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1937. NORTHLAND’S FREEZING INDUSTRY

Northern Advocate, 2 April 1937, Page 4

The Northern Daily Daily

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1937. NORTHLAND’S FREEZING INDUSTRY

(Uglstered for trauamisslon througb the post as a Newspaper.

The history of the meat freezing inudstry in Northland makes interesting reading. As far back a5,.1921 it was resolved that a proper outlet should be provided for the development of the pastoral industry by establishing freezing works within the territory. The Auckland Farmers’ Co-operative Freezing Company decided to erect works at M.oerewa, in the Bay of Islands County, and the fruits of the company’s farsightedness is to be seen today in the big organisation now centred upon Mherewa. In another part of today’s “Advocate ’ ’ we print a. table which shows the growth of business that has taken place since the works were established. The growth is astonishing. The table reveals that, with the exception of the variations resulting from seasonal and marketing causes, there has been steady progress and development. The peak of the lamb killings was reached in 1932, when 96,936 head were handled. Sheep killings also reached their peak in the same year, 36,599 being slaughtered. In the following year, the cattle sections of the works’ operations reached high-water mark, with

a total of 16,612 beasts. The de-' velopment of the pig section of the business is very interesting. The killing of pigs formed a small part of the turnover at the outset. In 1924 only 144 pigs were received at the works, and it was not until 1927 that the thousand! mark was reached. There wasj nothing noteworthy (about the I number of pigs dealt with until j 1935, when a great forward move- j ment was observed, the number j of pigs killed being 14,942. Fromi then onwards the growth of this j portion of the freezing works’ turnover has been phenomenal. In 1934 the number of pigs dealt with was 54,488; in 1935 the total had expanded to 59,955, while last year it had reached the great height of 72,004. Today the pig population of Northland is onetenth that of the whole of the Dominion, yet, as we have pointed out on many occasions, Northland is only in its infancy so far as development of primary and secondary industries is concerned. In 1936 the grassed lands of Northland, carried 1,327,201 head 'of stock, including lambs and pigs, but excluding bobby calves. During that year the grassed area of Northland carried on an average one farm animal to the acre. There is nothing remarkable about this, of course, but it does show that, under proper management and control, the carrying capacity of Northland is of a magnitude which the people have not yet realised. This is a matter with which the people should make themselves fully acquainted. Climate and rainfall and genial warmth make North-v land such a splendid grazing territory. The farmer who takes stock of his assets today, places his land at its true stock carrying value, and develops it properly, cannot but reap greatly increased returns. There are hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Northland which, under proper management, would carry l, without difficulty one cattle beast to the acre all the year round. Similarly, the hill country of Northland would easily carry from one and a-half million sheep .to two million sheep. What this would mean to the people of this portion of New Zealand, and to New Zealand v itself,, is self-evi-dent. It is. of the utmost importance that the fertility of the soil of Northland should be maintained at the highest efficiency by the generous use of fertilisers and the destruction of noxious weeds and all. other pests that act as a brake to the V productive value of the land. If these things are done, and farming operations made as diversified as possible, graziers in. Northland will be assured of a prosperous future.