SOUTH OTAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20583, 5 December 1928, Page 13

SOUTH OTAGO.

BALCLUTHA DISTRICT NEWS. —; ■»' —— (From Odr Own Correspondent.) BALCLUTHA, December 4. ; SPECIAL PRIZE-WINNERS. The principal special prize-winners at the Clutha and Matau A. and P. Society’s show were: —Mr T. R. Eades, of Edendale, who won the Waitaki Dairy Company’s cup, valued at 15 guineas, for most points in Friesians; Mr A. M. Galbreath (Tahakopa), Mr P. A. Watt’s rose bowl, valued at 10 guineas, for most points in Jerseys; Mr George Reid (Balclutha), rose bowl, valued at 12 guineas, for most points in light horses; Mr T. T- Rendall (Stirling), silver cup presented by Mr R.i Moffat, for most points in ' draught horse breeding classes; ,Mr -William Hastie (Dunedin), silver shield, valued at : £25," presented by Mr Simon Wright, for champion hunter. EARLY MATURED BEEF, It has recently been, demonstrated by the profitable prices realised that the fattening of younger and smaller cattle for beef means “ money in the pocket for the grazier. Formerly it was the practice with prominent district feeders to handle large numbers of big old bul--leeks, which commanded high prices sometimes, but'. in other instances, owing to the cost of fattening and : from other causes, spelt •'a heavy loss. Recently, a well-known Inchclutha' fattener of bullocks sold a line of, 24-month-old. steers to a Dunedin firrri of butchers at £2l a head. These had been bought a little over a year previously as weaned calves, and by judicious feeding, had come on amazingly. Another Inchclutha farmer is'now concentrating on “baby beef,” for which he finds a very profitable market at Addington, Christchurch. It is claimed that' not only, is the “baby beef” the more profit-able-for the producer, but froin the consumer’s point of view is also the best, owing to the superior quality of-the beef, which, when properly fattened, is tender arid juicy to a degree impossible to-find in an older animal. ' ’ .

It is interesting to recall that the first man to advocate early maturity in beef cattle in this district was Mr Alexander Reid, then managing the Clifton Estate for the New Zealand Government. In those days, when Mr Reid aired his views on. the subject to fellow-graziers, he was seldom .’listened' to . seriously. Mr Reid, however, who* is now . farming at 'Waikopaiti, has lived to see some of flioae who were inclined to scoff become ardent disciples of the new plan of beef culture. Another . anomaly in the fat' cattle market that Mr Reid did his best to set right was that relating to heifer beef. The old idea was that it was not so good as ox beef, but Mr Reid maintained all along that it was even better than ox beef, and at Addington to-day, the correspondent of the Otago Daily Times was assured by an -authority that prime heifer beef, if not too,heavy, is..worth more than ox beef by 2s ,to 3s per' IQOlb. The , general adoptiofl of the views ferred to above would be apt to revolutionise the fat cattle market, and would mean the ultimate passing of the monster heavy weights that fill show ring pens to capacity and excite the wonder and admiration of the city when exhibited as an effective background in a butcher’s shop round about Christmas.