EXPORT OF SHEEP.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21022, 10 May 1930, Page 25

EXPORT OF SHEEP.

tHE ARGENTINA MARKET. REQUIREMENTS OUTLINED. .Mr R. W. Graham, the stud stock representative of the New Zealand Loan Company, recently left this country for r Argentina in charge of a consignment of Lincoln, Romney, Corriedale, and Ryeland sheep consigned on behalf of several New Zealand breeders. The prime object of. Mr Graham's Visit was to get firsthand knowledge of the class of sheep required by Argentina breeders, and to advertise New Zealand sheep in the right quarters. To do so it was necessary to study local conditions, and so be in a position to select sheep most likely to suit. A study of the map of South America shows that Argentina is a very large country, and on account of its length, climatic conditions vary considerably, in the extreme south winters ar.e long and intensely cold, with heavy rain and snow falls, while north of 'Buenos Aires there is little or no winter, with tropical heat in Summer. Inland from the sea the rainfall is low, except in the bush and mountainous regions. On the plains the average in some provinces is below 16 inches. Thunderstorms are frequent in summer time, and occasionally do a great deal of damage to the wheat and linseed crops, as these storms often bring. heavy showers of hail. In the past most of the occupied land was solely given up to cattle raising, but with closer settlement many of the bigger runs have been cut up, and the best of the land cultivated for wheat, maize, linseed, and other ■ cereals, Cultivation is making rapid ' strides, and gradually driving the cattle further back. Land has increased in value, necessitating more intensive, production per acre than was'possible, from ( cattle raising alone. This does not mean that cattle are not being raised in as large numbers as formerly, but merely that stations previously given up to cattle raising only can now, through better farming conditions, grow -large areas of cereal crops, as well as fatten a large number of cattle. In recent years the Argentina fanner has been turning his attention to the production of fat lambs, and with the steady growth of cultivation previously i alluded to, this business is increasing. The live stock census of 1027 returns the number of cattle at 37,064.850 head; sheep, 30,671,841 head; pigs, 1,436,638 head. A comparison of increase in numbers killed for export in the Argentina packing houses reveals the following:—Sheep: 1921, 3,768,000; 1927, 4,600,000;. Cattle: 1921; 1,626,000; 1927, 3,233.787. A comparison of lamb shipments to the United Kingdom from,New Zealand and S.A. for 12 months from December, 1928, reveals the following:—New Zealand, 6,840,937 carcasses of lamb; BA, • 8,338,706 carcasses of lamb. From these figures it can be seen that live-stock in the Argentina Is still increasing in numbers and consequently tbs poople there will be on .the continuous lookout for bigger markets. We in New Zealand will be well advised to Improve our quality wherever possible, and endeavour to hold our trade by producing s better lamb than any other country. The Argentine is a rieh country and is backed by a lot of British capital, with experts at both ends watching their interests and keeping the Argentine producer well informed of the state of the markets and the quality of produce required. ' ' In conversation with several of the most prominent Argentina-Romney-Marsh breeders, the following points were em-' phasised with regard to the New Zealand sheep:— , The sheep shipped so far have not had sufficient bone. This is a most essential point for all South American breeders. Bone they want and bone they must have. For many years they have been importing stud animals from the best stud stock breeding countries, and one would naturally think that by now they should be able to breed their own sites and not require so much fresh blood every year. Tho trouble with most .of the Argentina at present appears to be a lack of lime and. other bone-forming properties in the soil, thus necessitating the frequent purchase of new blood to keep up the bone, constitution and general conformation. The second point emphasised was the legginess of many of our sheep. The .typo the Sonth American wants is-a big animal on a short leg with deep low set body. In the early days big, long legged animals, both cattle and sheep, sold readily, but nowadays the South American breeder has learnt that the deep-bodied, thick-set animal fattens quicker and keeps condition easier. The third and perhaps most important point to be broached was the wool.- A many of the Argentina breeders practically rely on wool as their sole source of income, and naturally they know something about, it. , Any coarseness in 8 ram, however slight, ig sufficient to condemn him so far as they are concerted. In the writer’s opinion New Zealand breeders can beat the British breeders in this respect, judging from a comparison of the sheep seen in Buenos Aires, . 'which had been exported from both countries and came into the sale yards at the same time. The English Romneys were big heavy boned, bare-headed sheep with an even covering of fair quality of wool, but this wool felt harsh and light. The New Zealand Romneys, on the Other hand, were more densely covered, stronger on the belly wool and had more quality and character. It is this latter fact which is at present making New Zealand Romneys 'Saleable. Breeders with a flock of Romney ewes founded on British blood will buy occasionally a few good New Zealand rams, with a view to increasing their wool production and improving the quality. The facts apply to Lincoln sheep. In the writer’s opinion the sheep shipped from England could not be compared with the few if New Zealand sheep exhibited, neither in conformation nor wool. It ig difficult to understand what the Argentine breeder can see in the English type of Lincoln today as they don’t conform to our standards in any respect, being big and coarse . and slow-maturing. . The principal sheep market outside the city of Beunos Aires ig Tablada, and here in January last approximately 25-30,000 head were being penned up every day of the week except Sunday. The general type_ appeared to be big. strong sheep, i nothing approaching our idea of sheep suitable for breeding fat lambs. By far the largest per cent, were Lincoln Romney cross, and most of them appeared to be ypry. coarse. There were a number of Shropshire and Hampshire cross lambs sold for freezing, and prices at the time compared favourably with ou- - prices here, ! , but perhaps fortunately for New Zealand j the Downs don’t gel much of a hearing I at present. However, the Argentine must 1 always be considered as a very dangerous i rival to our fat lamb trade, especially , now when wool prices a-e down, and the i sheep-breeders are having to turn their | attention to the production of fat lamb. So far the South American freezing companies have not discriminated sufficiently between first and second grade lambs. They certainly emphasise that a 361 b lamb is required, but in the sale ya-ds scarier lambs were making as much a' pound ns the 361 b lamb. Just how far the farmers of Argentina will progress with fat lamb production remains to be seen. Cultivation and th'e gradual splitting, up of some of the bigger runs have kept the sheep population in i check somewhat, but if ft is only neces- I sary fo» the arab’e farmer to turn his attention to the growth of catch crops to be used for fattening ns we do here, to make a lot of difference to their production. At the present timee it is only the more modern farmers, mostly places managed by Scotch or New Zealand managers, who grow wheat and linseed, and also winter green feed. Some of the runs put in very large areas of barley and -«eta for feeding off. Others drill the lin-

seed in September, and then broadcast lucerne over it a few days afterwards. The linseed is harvested in January, and in an average season the lucerne ia well established, and about 8-12 inches high a weak or two • later. In the districts north of Buenos Aires this lucerne continues to grew most of the winter, providing feed for dry ewes, and then coming away rapidly in spring, then affording ample feed for early lambs. The possibilities, as can be seen, are unlimited. Corriedale sheep are increasing rapidly and in those districts when fewer sheep are kept per acre, mostly well south of Buenos Aires the Corriedak do very well, and are very popular. Many of our best rams have gone to Argentina and there is plenty of evidence that they have been used to good purpose. Many flocks have been graded up from coarse crossbred ewes, and to-day it is difficult to find anything but nice even-woolled sheep wherever the Corriedale ram has been extensively used. It is well known that the Corriedale, if properly bred, will breed as true as any other breed. As previously mentioned, this can be seen in Argentina, where many breeders bought Corriedale rams to • mate with really coarso-wooled' ewes, and to-day have a flock producing more wool by as much as 10 per cent, in one case at least, and wool still worth more per pound. Of course, the Argentina wool market suffered just the same aa all other markets, fine wool being much lower in price than last year or previous years, but those who used the Corredale ram. have more wool to sell than, formerly, and are still getting more per pound than the coarse wools. The Downs are not used extensively, although a few are exported from the United Kingdom every year, but they are difficult to sell, except to a few breeders. The bulk of the stock imported comprise Shorthorn, Hereford, and Polled Angus cattle, Lincoln, Romney, Corriedale, and a few Shropshire and Hampshirea down sheep. There are no disease restrictions imposed by the Argentina authorities such as we have here, with the exception of T.B, All animals go into quarantine and are quarantined for 35 days, sheep for 15, The T.B. test for all imported cattle is very thorough, ahd every precaution is taken to prevent tubercular cattle from getting into the country. Foot and mouth disease, sheep and cattle scab, and many other diseases are to be found in most parts of the country, and as far as foot and mouth is concerned, the position seems hopeless. .Some years this disease plays havoc with the cattle, sheep, and pigs, large numbers dying through .infection. , After seeing a country infected aa is Argentina, the exrta trouble and expense incurred by the owners, we in New Zealand can' be thankful that this country is clear. There is practically no foot-rot in Argentina as sheep are usually given a lai'ge area to run over, and tho bulk of the land is sandy and drains easily.