EXPORT OF MUTTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2842, 2 September 1908, Page 9

EXPORT OF MUTTON.

POOLING SUGGESTED.

(Fbom Oto Own Correspondent.) CHBISTCHURCH, August 27. There wae "farmers day" at Belfast Freezing Works to-day, when the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company entertained two large parties of farmers, on© of 70 coming from Oxf6rd, and another almost as numerous from the Darfield district. The visitors inspected every process of the works, and were entertained at lunch by the directors. Sir George Clifford, the chairman, in the course of his speech, dealt particularly with one interesting phase of the meat export trade. He pointed out that the company was sometimes t embairrafised by the number of small ' consignments. The sheep and lambs forwarded had to be divided accord, ing to their weight and quality, the result being that a consignment of 100 or 200 sheep would be divided into such, small fractions that, it would be exceedingly difficult to handle. In order to get at four or five sheep 300 or 400 might have to be moved. The handling of the meat in London was also made more expensive. The company could handle farmers* products very much better *if the farmers would consent to the '"pooling" of the different qualities. He was quite aware that farmers considered that if they pooled their products the man who farmed best lost a certain advantage, and was playing into the hands of the inferior farmers. Farmers all had vanity enough to believe that their stock was better than their neighbours. They must remember, however, that if they sent in tb.eir stock with permission to pool, the men who semt in the better quality would have a greater percentage. The advantage of pooling was that carcases of equal quality could be submitted on the Lon,cbn morket in larger lots. The company could sell the carcases in 500 lots, command a better market, and carry on their works more cheaply if that system were adopted by clients. One of the farmer guests agreed that something of the 6ort might be done with the smaller lots. It was a matter which the Farmers! Union might very well take up and educate their members through their branches. He suggested that the pooling might be done up country instead of in the works, so that mo4>s of from 300 to 400 could be sent in instead of " dribs and drabs."