FARM AND STATION NEWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22204, 6 March 1934, Page 3

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By Rusticus

1933*34 SHOW SEASON ROSTER OF DATES Agricultural shows have been arranged for the 1933-34 season as follows: March 17 Upper Clutha, at Pembroke. April 2 .. .. M .. Fairlie. April 2 Strath-Taieri at Middlemarch. April 12 Temuka and Geraldine, at Winches- : ter. ' • f •. c* _; _• 1933-34 WOOL SEASON ROSTER OF SALES Wool sales have been arranged aa follows for the 1933-34 wool-selling season m New Zealand:— Place. Dunedin .. •• March 7 Invercargill .. .. March 9 Wellington .. •• March Napier .. .. .. March 23 Auckland .. .. March 27 Christchurch .. April • Dunedin •• •• April 10 Wanganui .. .. April 17 Napier April 20 Wellington .... April 24 The April eele datas are tentative only, subject to revision, and will ue held only if sufficient wool ie available. OTAGO PROVINCIAL SHEEP DOG ASSOCIATION THIS YEAR’S TRIALS. The association has fixed the following locations and dates for the collie dog trials for 1934: Ratanui.—March 7. Wanaka.—March 10, 12. and 13. Wakatipu.—March 15, 16, and 17. Mossburn.—March 19, 20, and 21. Patearoa. —March 22, 23, and 24. Kuriwao.—March 27 and 28. Strath-Taieri.—April 3 and 4. Kyeburn.—April 5,6, and ,7. Omarama.—April 9, 10, and 1L Waitaki.—April 12, 13, and 14. Palmerston.—May 9, 10, and 11. Waihemo.—May 16, 17, and 18. Millar’s Flat-May 22, 23, and 24. Clutha.—May 26, 26, and 28, f Warepa.—May 29, 30, and.Bl: June 1 (Otago Provincial Championship). South Island Sheep Dog Association Championship (to be held at Strata Taieri). —June 19, 20, 21, and 22.

Dairy Farmers’ Conditions Attention is being directed in-many centres to the conference which will be held in Wellington shortly to consider possible' methods of helping the dairy farmers to meet their, liabilities during the depression of prices. Delegates from different parts of the Dominion will attend and branches and . councils of the Fanners’ Union are formulating proposals to form a basis of discussion. It is. anticipated that defintie Recommendations will be placed before’ the conference; and the, ultimate decisions will be brought be* forc ! the Government. , v v ' : V, 1 ' j

G2fi^'oflNaar ? ‘Zlsgiland AtV the Januarv meeting of the Wanganui Provincial Centre of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union the suggestion was made that the Meat Producers 5 Board might well permit its scheme whereby residents of the Dominion could make gifts of New Zealand lamb to people in the United Kingdom, cover quarters and half - catcasses. as well as whole carcasses. A reply has been received from the board regretting that that could not be done. It was decided to ask the board to state its reasons for refusal. > -

Possibly the difficulties and cost of distribution influenced the board in its .de. cision. If the hoard entered: the business of distributing quarters of lamb it might conceivably find itself in conflict with the retail butchers, and what might be gained by an increase of orders from residents or New Zealand to friends at Home would be more than lost if butchers became in any degree hostile to New Zealand methods of meat trading. Shaop Sals Innovation

Stud sheep were sold at a ewe fair under the auspices of city auctioneering firms held at the Christchurch Show Grounds on Friday, Before, the sale began. Mr H, S. Lawrence said that it was hoped that under the new arrangement sheep would sell better than - under ordinary conditions, for. the reason that buyers were able to inspect the offering at their leisure. It was desirable that vendors should inspect their sheep before sending them forward, to avoid a risk of rejection. The inspectors in the present case bad been lenient, as the sale was the first of its kind, but less leniency would be allowed in the future. '

The total offering was about 800, of which about 650 were Soutbdowhs. Some, good ewes were penned, but a considerable number of moderate lines made the whole display. Some rejects were maoe after the inspection. Southdown*. which opened the sale, sold well, with a keen demand for ; the best sorts. Only occasional pens were passed, and prices ranged up to five guineas, which figure was obtained by J. H. Pannett (Springston) for five oneshear. There was no interest in the longwool classes.

Dairy Factory Regulations Another board, another register, another registrar, and more fees to pay; this time bv dairy factory managers. But behind it all a purpose (says the Dominion). Dairy factory manager* have long asked some such official recognition and standing as are now to be given them. They are hopeful that the result will be to raise the general standard of their work, and in their endeavours to that end have the support of the whole industry. Power is given the Registration Board to remove from the register the name of any manager making or causing to be made “ any butter or cheese of inferior quality." In a further set of regulations, just gazetted, dairy suppliers are debarred from changing their factory unless at the end of a season. It may be hoped that a natural result of these two requirements—that suppliers shall not be allowed to run off to. another factory when their milk or cream is rejected, and that managers shall insist upon a goo.d product, may do something to even up quality by getting rid of the occasional lapses that are so harmful to reputation—and price.

For Better Pigs The Waikato Winter Show Association has decided to arrange a competition with the object,of encouraging, fanners to breed the beet and most suitable types of porkers and baconers by including a special section at its next show. The entries must be the property of the exhibitors. Each entry will comprise two live pigs, which will be judged on the opening day of the show, and one pig in each, pen will be,marked for slaughtering at the freezing works, where they will be inspected, hung in the cooling room, weighed and returned to the show. Here they will be hung over the pens containing the live pigs, so that the live and dead carcasses will ne side by side for comparison. There will be two judges, one a Govern, ment grader and the other a bacon-curer, who will be empowered to reject for competition any entry which, in their opinion, does not show sufficient quality and uniformity between the two animals. Three prizes will be awarded in each of the classes, the first of which is for two porkers, of a live. weight not exceeding 1101 b, and the second, for two baconers, not more than 2001 b live weight. i

Itenf of interest to those engaged In agricultural and pastoral pursuit!, with a view to their publication In these columns, will be welcomed. * They should be addressed to "Rusticus,” Otago Daily Times, Dunedin.

Ragwort Menace . The Te Awamutu' ‘branch of the Farmers’ Union, like other farmers’ organisations, recently;, spfent much time discussing the subject of ragwort control., Mr J. E. Duncan said the Farmers’ Union had consistently urged the Government to treat the problem as a national one, but the Government had been slack, and the Department of Agriculture also blameworthy for not taking active steps many, years ago to check .the spread of ragwort. He was confident sodium .chlorate could be produced in the Dominion at hot more than 2d per lb. The present price was beyond the purchasing power of scores of farmers. Mr Bryant said he had used the sodium over a period of nearly five years, and he had also used sheep, with more satisfactory results from sheep than from sodium. The sheep Were very useful at certain times of the year, and could well be followed by applications of lime and sodium mixture. The branch decided to ask the Waipa County Council to endeavour to arrange for a demonstration of the use of the chlorate. Objection was voiced against the local body being compelled to assume control without a subsidy from the Consolidated Fund, Mr Duncan _ believed that lowering the prije of sodium would be a big help in solving the problem. He was assured that the price was inflated, and the Government should make a special point of providing sodium at not more than 2d per lb.