THE AMERICAN MEAT SUPPLY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1583, 25 March 1882, Page 7

THE AMERICAN MEAT SUPPLY.

- , The Mark Lane Express of the 2nd January ' reprints from the Times an important article on the future prospects of the supply of meat from America for the British market. The subject is one of engrossing interest to us in the Colonies at the present juncture, when „ , the success of our frozen meat shipment depends .■ upon the competition we are likely to encounter , in the British market from across the Atlantic. ' We have already on several occasions ex- « pressed the opinion that a great deal of need- ;.' less fear, is entertained on this score, and that „ our natural geographical and climatical advanf'tages more than compensate for the greater '.!-' length of the sea voyage. These opinions will be .j found, to be confirmed by the figures quoted in . The Timeß article, from which it appears that vthe lowest rate, without 'loss, at which Ameri. • can beef can be 'sold in England is s£d,per lb, ;') and that 6d and over , must be realised before J' the profits are of an encouraging nature, The following is the summing up of the Tunes : — ! ■ - English agriculturists and' food conßumersj ! •considering the question from their two dif- •. i f erent standpoints; anxiously inquire whether 1 America; with her increasing' population and her expanding manufactures, can increase or even maintain her large exports of animal food. Including bacon, hams, and canned meats, ' America nas recently contributed fully 15 per . cent., or about one-half of the total imported food supplies of the United Kingdom^ These ■ important consignments have been furnished at • less than 6d per lb; even' the live cattle and • fresh meat have not averaged 6|d per lb. Con- ■> sidering that during the past year this business - ■ has been worked without profit; and occasion't ally.'aß already stated,' with heavy losses, is it -! likely to be continued or enlarged? Recent i diminished American meat supplies depend, I m believe, on temporary conditions; the lower .- 'i prices which ruled in 1878 and 1879 somewhat .'i checked the production alike of cattle, sheep, • and hogs ; two severe winters and cholera ■ among nogs have further limited the manufac- • tu're of meat. The present remunerative prices' will, however, again stimulate its production ; more than one-half of the large influx < • of emigrants swell the ranks of agricultural t producers, and with favourable seasons a large ! surplus, not only of grain, but of animal food, will hence be raised. The best-informed cattle-breeders and shippers believe that the ■ cost of rearing and feeding cattle, sheep, and hoga will not for years be > materially increased, - ■ and that competition will prevent any considerable increase in the present moderate transport charges. There are still great plains, • parks, and prairies throughout the Western ■ States and territories adapted for cheaply rearing live stock, and yet made little use of. \ Indian conij oats, hay, and other cattle food ;.. could be widely grown in greatly increased amount. The rough and ready inexpensive '. rearing and feeding now leave considerhble . , margins of profit. Ranchmen west and south •; of the Missouri, allowing fer capital invested, I ' expenses of herding and losses, estimate that . i their cattle cost them 8s per annum. Allowing ' . the extravagant figure of half a dollar for driv- : ing from the ranch to the railroad, and adding ■ besides 50 per cent, profit, a three-year-old bullock could thus be delivered at Julesburg, ' . Cheyenne, [or Glendive, for 40s. His railway ■ transport thence— say 1000 miles to Chicago— -. ' his feeding and attendance by the way, and his . - sale at the stockyards would add 30s to his • value. The best of those Western beasts, *■* w^Jfcig 1100 to 1200 lb, in preparation for » ec^J/fi markets, or for export, aro forwarded to good grazing land in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, or Now York States, or aro placed in . autumn in the feeding yards. Allowing another 20s for transport to his new quarters, the bullock now costs £4 10s. Taking tho more expensive winter feeding, which, as at Home, costs moro than double the summer ' grazing, the ox, during five or six months, will consume 100 bushels of corn, at Is 3d per bushel, amounting to £6 ss, and a ton of hay, costing 40s ; bran, oats, and attendance may absorb another 10s. With such liberal treatment tho animal should readily weigh 1400 lb. Another 25s will carry him to New York, and defray stockyard charges and commission. The total outlay incurred is now £14 10s. Allowingthateach lOOlbof live weight yield 54 lb of beef, and that the moderate price of 5d per lb is made, he would realise £15 155. But forwarding the animal, on which £14 10s has boon actually expended, to Liverpool, sending him alive, notwithstandingthattlnsisratherthe most expensive method, a further outlay of £4 10s, as above figured, is incurred. Deducting £3 as the value of the offal, the bullock, yielding 756 b of beef, can be sold without loss at s|d per b, Any such estimate of cost of. American

meat production must, of course,' be approximate, and must vary much in different parts of a vast continent. In Now York and Pennsylvania States rearing generally costs more than double the amount it does west of the Mississippi. This extra cost is in part counterbalanced by the saving of transport charges, and by the better-bred, more carefullymanaged eastern cattle being marketable at least 12 months earlier. The Eastern and Middle States, like the Western, still fall far short of their capability to produco either meat or grain. Farm management is not always systematic or economical. Even with lands and provender much dearer than in the West, these States are still able to grow beef and mutton with profit at less than 5d per lb. As already indicated, meat in carcases can be forwarded from these American Eastern States to British ports for Id per lb. The liko modorato figure, plus the valuo of tho offal, convoys the live animal. American breodora, feoders, and exporters honce secure encouraging profits if thoy obtain at British ports an ayerago of ' CJd per lb for frosh meat. Such readily available cheap American supplies must obviously prevent any considerable accession in the price' of meat in this country. With prime qualities of meat near to markets, and better able than their foreign competitors to regulate their ( supplies according to weather and demand,' British agriculturists can average, however, about Id more than the Americans. Twentyfive years ago they grow beef and mutton profitably for 7d, and they must do so again. With moderato freights and improved ocean transport, it has been urged that British dairymen and cattle-feeders may profitably import good cows and stores. In the neighbourhoods of Toronto, London, and Ingersoll, useful dry cows, due to calve in spring, are worth £8 to £10. This a moderate figure, but before they could be landed at British ports the high Canadian shipping charges and extra winter rate of insurance would add at least £7 to their price. A stormy voyage would, moreover, damage many in-calf cows, arid under the most favourable circumstances, they would require somo weeks to recover from their trip, while, to bo made the best of, they would have to bo kept until the approach of calving. When stores are dear in Great Britain, tho importation of Canadian two-year-olds and three-year-olds might prove remunerative. Only the best, however, would pay for transport, and these are always difficult to buy, and are relatively dear. Such bullocks, weighing 900 to 1000 lb, would cost £10 to £12. Packed closer than cows, they might at present be brought over for £G per head. As the food on which they must be finished averages double the price in England that it does in America, the economy of such importations is, however, doubtful. Were British and Irish farmers to devote sufficient attention to the breeding of sound, serviceable live stock, American dairy cows and stores might readily be dispensed with.