THE MEAT MARKET.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19906, 28 September 1926, Page 4

THE MEAT MARKET.

DEMAND FOR SMALL JOINTS THE DAY OF EARLY MATURITY. The question of early maturity again! In a recent issue of the Agricultural Gazette (London) the following paragraph appears:—“Economic conditions in England, such as smaller incomes, smaller families, the difficulty of obtaining domestic servants, together with something akin to distaste for cold meats, are causing an ever-increasing demand for the small joint. Small joints can only be produced by smaller and younger animals. Smithfield market, the hub of the meat trade, demands a small porker, a small beef carcase, and neat joints of mutton.” Not many years ago the pride of place in the cattle world was given to size, fat, and weight. The object of the cattle raiser was to produce bullocks that would, when prime, weigh from 800 to 10001 b dressed. Of course, steers had to run until four or five years old to produce these, and it was not an uncommon sight to see large drafts of bullocks up to five and six years old travelling into the saleyards. The demand now is for young, juicy, meat and small joints. In the mutton market heavy sheep are not required, heavy wethers and owes bring less per pound than the lighter sorts, while light lambs are worth more per pound than heavy ones, even though the latter may be primer. Steers, three to four years old of milking breeds, although they may be good reds and roans, are not bringing so much per head, as well-bred yearlings 2001 b lighter, while the dearest per pound and the most profitable to breed is the choice animal about eight to 12 months old. To produce these, it is not necessary to have purebred animals for both sire and dam, although if it is possible it is preferable. Many excellent vealers and yearlings find their way into our metropolitan markets that are the progeny of cows of milking breeds, crossed with bulls of pure beef breeds. For this purpose, any pure beef sire is good, but the best possible sire is the beef Shorthorn of Scotch descent. These are the finest beef cattle in the world to-day. They have a wonderful power of transmitting their depth of flesh to their progeny and having been bred to produce early maturing cattle are unequalled in the producing of baby beef. All the beef the Dominion can produce over and above local requirements will find ready sale, but it must be the right sort of choice young beef. It behoves .breeders to keep this in mind and breed the cattle that the consumer wants. Not the leggy narrowwaisted sorts that one so often sees. Each week’s London prices, as cabled by the Meat Board's representatives, show better prices obtained for light-weight “seconds’’ than tor heavy-weight “first quality.” The writing is on the wall. The demand for small joints on the English market has como to stay, and if we hope to retain our hold on the English market with our mutton and lamb, so surely must wo follow the lead already set by other producing countries our competitors, who have already adopted methods of breeding and fattening which are producing the class of carcase most is demand on tho British market. Already'our raising of beef for export has becomo an unprofitable business, and herds-throughout New Zealand are rapidly diminishing largely because we refuse to i see, as others have done, that thoonly payable price is now being given for “baby j beef.” America has adopted it, tho Argentine, Canada, and even the canny Scot has foreseen the trend of tho demand. Surely we, too. in this far part of tho Empire, can see that our very existence as a producing country depends on our forestalling our competitors with the class cf meat and wool Britain requires. We can produce the quality, and with intelligent and modern methods of farming, the quantity of meat and wool to make our country one of tho most prosperous in tho world. It only wants intelligent study of breeding and feeding of our livestock, combined with businesslike methods of transport and marketing