THE RURAL WORLD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22476, 22 January 1935, Page 3

THE RURAL WORLD.

FARM AND STATION NEWS.

By- Rtjsticus

~ WOOL SALES, 1934-35 Wool sales for the 1934-35 season have been arranged' as follows: — Jin. 22—Auckland. Mar. 9—Dunedln. Jan. 28—Chrlstehurcn. Mar. 13—Tlmaru Feb. I—lnTercargiU. Mar. 20—Wellington I Feb. ft—Dunedln. Mar. 25—Naplor. 1 Feb. 13—Wellington. Mar. 29—Auckland. Feb. 10—Napier. Apr. 1— Wanpanul. Feb. 22 Wanganul, Apr. s—Chrlstehurcn. Mar. I—Chrlstehurcn Apr. B—Dunedln. Mar. 4—lnrercargM Apr. 13—Wellington. 1934-35 SHOW SEASON ROSTER OF DATES 5 Agricultural and pastoral shows have been arranged as follows for the; 1034-35 season:— > .* • ; , .1935. ... January 25—Palmerston and Waihemo County, at Palmerston. March. 13.—Lake County, at Arrowtown. March 16.—Upper Clutha, at Pembroke. April 22 Strath-Taieri, at April 22.—Mackenzie County, at Fairhe. ' ■•*•"'•"• ' OTAGO PROVINCIAL SHEEP DOG ASSOCIATION Affiliated clubs of the Otago Provincial Sheep Dog Association have arranged trial dates'as follows: •' Waitahuna.— February 5-6. ; Tuapeka.—-February 7-8. Heriot.— February 13-14. Wakatipur-March 14-15 J 16. Warepa.—March 22-23. Kuriwao.—March 25-26. Patearoa.—March 27-28-29-30 (Otago provincial championship). Strath-Taieri.—April 1-2-3. Kyeburn.—April 4-5-6. Waitaki.—April 8-9-10-11 '. Omarama.—April 11-12-13. Tokarahi.—April 29-30, May 1. ~ Palmerston.—May, 7-8-9. .:; . ' Clutha.—May 10-11. ,'. Waihemo—May 15-18-17. Ngapara.—May 21-22-23. Miller's Flat.—May 24-25-26. A Dry Period Although not so badly affected a» many parts of North Canterbury and the'Nortb Island, where graes and bush fires have caused untold f. damage, Otago is experiencing a dry period which is occasioning no little anxiety. . The sustained scarcity of rain has seriously depleted supplies of feed, and both crop and pasture growth have been brought almost to a standstill. Oat crops will be much lighter in consequence, and the scarcity of proper feed cannot but have an effect on the output of fat lamb in the southern districts-of the island. Although the' new year brought some, welcome showers, ,the drought broke too late to be of real we'rvice to graziers who rely on early fattening .and milk lambs; , :-./.',

Water for Stock There are some parts of Otago, both to the north • and to the south of l)unedin, where farmers have lately had the dual anxiety of insufficient water for crops and pasture and not enough for stock water. Consequently for the first tithe for a good few years a lot of dairymen have found -'themselves faced during the past week or two with the necessity of carting' water out to their cows, an operation which throws a heavy additional .burden on a class of farmer Who at this time of thejrear has little enough time to spare. Factbry .intakes have reflected the shortage of stock water as well as the scarcity of proper succulent feed for dairy cows. Seasonal Operations '

Haymaking » in progress at the present time, and" farmers, have been making the beefc use of the good weather to save the beet part of the crop. An excellent growth has been recorded, and a good proportion of hay should be conserved. The grass harvest suffered through one or two days of wind, which threshed the 6eed badly when it was almost ripe, and as a result the quantity saved will be a reduced one. ' So■ far no seed has been .threshed, but' the general expectation is that the seed will 'not be of a heavy shbtty quality except in odd case«s. Farmers are already commencing to get ready,. to cut their oats, and an early oat harvest is likely.'; ~ ;

The Wool Market ' The /wool sales that have been held in the Dominion since, the New Year have done nbi more than indicate Uhe firmness of the market: at ratea . generally on a Jevel with those ruling at the final sales Of' the "■ year. There has been.no change to 1 speak'of in the market since the last auction "in,Dunedin just before, Christmas, .arjd ; at the niomeht .the best that can be hoped for is a continued, firmness on existing rates: ' The result of the • improved prices- at the Lortddn 'sales which were commenced a, week ago. tp : day has been to 'bridge the" gap. which had' existed between London parity and'New Zealand values. ' The first South . Island sale: <?f the year will be held at Christohurch next Monday,; and. will, be...followed by auctions; at Invercargill and Dunedin during tlie next few days.'- • • ' ; New Zealand Business

Dalgety and Co.. Ltd.. report the quantities of wool offered in* New Zealand for the month of December last as 76.326 bales, of which 67,721 ..bales were sold. The,offerinsts and sales, for, the period, July 1 to .December 31, compared with those of last season, were 1 asffollows:—

Exports of -Wool for the period in review show a heavy decline, being, 112,828 bales, against 206.640 bales for the last half of 1933. . - ! Commonwealth Turnover During the : six months ended December 31 sales of wool in the principal selling centres* of the Commonwealth totalled ! 1 255,582 bales,.which realised Compared with the similar period of I 1933 the quantity sold shows a decrease of 244,513 bales, and the amount realised I a decrease of £12,779,360. The .wool sod i averaged £l2 lis 7d a bale, or 9.75 d a Mi ' creasy and scoured, the average to the i corresponding date a year before being I £l9 Is a bale, or 15.02 d a lb. During 'December the greasy wool sold averaged 9 4d a lb. compared with 1.6.47 d for De-. ' cember, 1933, and 8.43 d in- December, 1932. The following figures show the sales mide during the six months for seven seasons, the amount realised, and the average per lb obtained in Australian currency":— ' ,_ , , „ . - Bales. Value. Price per lb.

j -On December 31, 1,288,101 bales of the • season's clip were in store, unsold. Receipts of wool from January l.to June 30, 1934, were 468,404 bales. Taking those figures as a guide, approximately 1,700,000 bales are likely to be avail- ! able for marketing during the current six monthi.

Itemi of latere* to thoee engaged In agricultural tad pastoral puwnftft with a view to their publication in these columna, will be welcomed. They should be ■ddwtaed to "Roaticus," Otago Dally Timet. Dunedia.

Germany's Attitude Following on the trading agreement made between South Africa and Germany, buyers for the latter country have bought on African markets with good effects on prices. Australian growers anxiously await' similar action by the Commonwealth authorities in order to stimulate German purchasing in Australia (says die Sydney Morning Herald). As, however, South Africa has a much reduced clip this season, increased purchasing in that direction is likely to have some reflection on Australian markets, but increased direct German buying locally would have more noticeable results. England and German Trade The Anglo-German trade agreement in respect to payments for past purchases of goods in Great Britain and future business will be beneficial provided it functions with consistent ■ success and should have advantageous results on English consumption of raw material. Yorkshire turnover has felt the reduction in sales in Germany. The exports of tops from the United Kingdom to that country from January to October, 1934, were 6,762,0001 b, being 3,456,0001 b less than during the corresponding period of 1933. The shipments of worsted yarns. 6,978,7001 b. displayed a reduction of 1,150,5001 b. Exports of British grown wool, noils, and waste, in addition showed reduction. Business for a number of months was not affected appreciably ny the embargo, while old contracts were being completed, but in October the exports of tops to Germany were only 288,0001 b, compared with 1,208,0001 b in October, 1933, and the shipments of worsted yarns 595,0001 b, compared with 964,0001 b a year before. Normally German .customers are England's largest buyers of "those two semi-manufactures. Even after the trading agreement was effected British interests were cautious in supplying orders, but it is hoped that sales will gradually recover if experience proves that the financial arrangements are satisfactory. Italian Activity

Exports of wool from Australia to Italy during the first five months of this season were only 23,521 bales, being 60,274 bales less than during the similar period of 1933. Italian purchases have, therefore, been drastically curtailed in that country with the announcement made in that country some months ago, and are likely to be reduced until the trade.between Italy and the Commonwealth is more favourable to the former than it has been of recent years. Similarly to Germany, Italy hae had difficulty in financing imports, and has of late been purchasing a» much as possible from the countries which buy her products. For some years the sales of Australian wool to Italy were expanding, reaching their peak in 1932-33, when 213,962 bales were exported from the Commonwealth to that country. The appreciable loss in that competition is regrettable, and should be recovered if possible.. The Commonwealth is being given some costly lessons due to the lack of regard given for some years to reciprocal business with those who buy her raw materials. The position became unbearable for some countries, and the primary producer directly and the whole community indirectly is suffering through diminished orders for wool and other exports.

C&ttlerock Romneys ■, Interest is'being shown by sheep mea in.the dispersal sale of the noted Castlerock Romney stud which will take place on the estate, near Lumsden, on February 13. Castlsrock.is one of the oldest.and most successful studs'of the Romney breed in New Zealand, the stock from which has, won signal and consistent honours at Dominion shows for many years!

Longbeach Friesians Probably the finest example in New Zealand of successful breeding of pedigree dairy cattle is shown by the records of the Longbeach Friesian herd owned by Mr John H. Grigg, who was host last week to his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. . Fifty-two years ago Mr J. C. N. Gngg, son of the founder of Longbeach Station, after finishing his college career at Cambridge University, visited North Germany aud' Holland. At' Hamburg he bought- a prize-winning bull,, Tauraeau, and in North Holland he bought seven in-calf cows, Sunflower, Marigold, Rosebud,' Spot, Buttercup, May Rose, and Netherland Queen. 'All through the 50 years no other Friesian blood has been brought into the Longbeach herd, excepting that in'l92o and 1921 bulls bought from W; Barton. Featherston. were used as herd sires. Many of the Friesians at present at Longbeach are descended wholly from the original importations, and' in the case of the others there is practically no'other blood than- the pure Dutch Friesian. > , BRITISH IMPORTS DOMINION'S POSITION PROBLEM FOR NEXT MARCH •Some interesting points bearing on the country's supplies of dairy products, eggs', and bacon are brought out in a survey made by the Imperial Economic Committee (says the London Field). During the year the • United Kingdom was again the world's.largest importer of dairy produce- poultry, and'pig,;products. Butter imports by vajue., were greater than those of any other food commodity, and bacon followed wheat as the third largest item. Empire supplies have been increasing at the expense of foreign,supplies, which are subject to-tariffs or quota restrictions. There.was ; ' a further increase in imports of butter into the United Kingdom, which took over 80 per cent, of world exports in 1933. Consumption per head of the population was no less than 23ilb in 1933. Butter has been cheap, and more has been bought, partly at the expense of margarine, which has largely disappeared from the common dietary. Cheap butter should be an advantage to our national health, and it is a compensation to the consumer for having to pay rather more for fresh milk. Denmark still- held the, lead as the chief source of butter supplies, but New Zealand now runs.he'r very close, both claiming over 28 per cent, of the total imports. Between 1929 and 1933 New Zealand finest salted butter declined in price by 53 per cent, and Danish by 43' per cent., which suggests that the Dominion has yet something to learn in the butter trade. ' POSSIBILITY OF LEVY. What is likely to hapi«;n after March, 1935, when the subsidy period expires? Mr W.' Elliot, Minister of Agriculture, has told the House of Commons that it is the' opinion of the Cabinet that the best, way of dealing with the beef situation is to impose a levy of Id per lb on beef imports, with a preference for the dominions. This can only be done with the concurrence-of Argentina and the dominions, and as yet they show no eagerness to co-operate. Coupled w'ith this duty, there would have to be some form of regulation on beef imports, although it. would .not require to be so drastic as if a remunerative price for home producers depended on the quota alone. The • advantage- of the levy device is that a small duty, devoted to deficiency payments, for home producers will bp fully as-effective as a stiff duty in the ordinary way, the proceeds of % which are lost in the coffers of the Treasury. The importer can be required to make up a remunerative price to the home producer as the fee paid for the privilejze of using our market. This arrangement safeguards both home producer and consumer, but unfortunately it requires the maintenance of some such organisation as we now see for the cattle subsidy to administer the money accruing from the import levy.

, 6 inos.. 1934, : 6 mos., 1933. .. -Bales. •" Bales. Offere'd. Sold. Offered. ' Sold. Dunedin • • 17,592 16,765 33,747 33,228 Tirnani''' . • 8,957 • 8.601 -12381 12,163 Chrlstchurcli i 19,896 18,124 28,603 27,657 Blenheim* 44 44 28 25 Wellington Napier 16;780 ■ 402 .;; 17,545 13,691; 402 .14,089 ; 35,77.4 5,722 25,560 34,578 ' 5,382 24,916 Gisborne* . . 998 902 2,174 I 2,121 Auckland. . 'i9',T24 13,081 27,568 27,199 Totals .. . 101,438 85,699 171,457 157,269 -. * Oddments.

1928 .. .. 1,225,627 £27,742,899 17.1 ■ 1929 .. 1 .. 1,009,750 14,546,313 11.1 1 1930 .. .. 1,225.017 13,041,646 8.2 ; 1931 .. .. 1,307,205 15,039,299 8.9 i 1932 .. . .. 1,434.738 • 16,380,085 8.7 i1933 .. .. 1,500,095 28,574,692 15.02 1934 .. .. 1,255,582 15,795,332 9.75