A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3101, 20 August 1913, Page 16

A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

(From Our Ows Correspondent.)

PALMERSTON N„ August vL4

Weather of a mixed character has marked the past week. In the district radiating from Palmerston North—including Wanganui, Masterton, Hastings, Fcatherston, etc. — very heavy rain has occurred, with temporary floods. But good sunshine has filled in the intervals. One very valuable feature of the rain has been the warmness of both air and rain. If no cold spell follows there should be a notable growth of the pastures, and the outlook is even more rosy than when 1 wrote last week. We are fast passing the stage when a return to wintry conditions might reasonably be expected, and the general view among dairying men is that they have safely weathered the winter and floated into the secure haven of spring. The brightness of the outlook in this island is almost unprecedented. LIVE STOCK PRICES. A keener demand for store stock is likely to develop as the grass grows, for there arc huge areas of newly-sown burns not yet half stocked. The improving condition of the sheep also may well cater better for the keen hunger of the meat-buyers before very long, and, indeed, there are signs already of fuller pens at the sales. Prices have not yet receded in that department, and a healthy tone generally seems to have established itself for a permanency. The following are some of the average auction sale values: Carterton.—Large entry of sheep and cattle, but the sheep wore largely ewes ui lamb, which were rather neglected. Emptyewes and hoggets, on the contrary, were well competed for. Keen demand for pigs Woolly hoggets, 13s 3d; s.m. owes in lamb to iSouthdown ram, 11s 9d to 12s Id; empty owes, 13s 3d. Dairy cows, £4 10s to £6 10s; old, £2 2s to £3 7s; springing heifers, at drop, £6 2s 6d to £6 15s; yearling steers, £2. Sows in pig, £1 16s; slips, 16s 7d to 19s; weaners, 11s 6d to 15s 3d. Eeilding.—Sows in pig, £4 ss; porkers, £1 14s 6d to £1- 18s 6d; stores, 18s to £1 3s; small weaners, lie to 15s. Cheltenham (clearing sale). —Cows in milk or forward, £6 15s to £9, averaging £7 14s; uncertain dates, £4 to £6 10s; late heifers, £5; 10-mo nib heifers, £2 10s; 10-month steers, £2 se. Hamilton —Good demand except for dairy cows. Sows, £3 10s to £4 15s; porkers, £2 16s to £3 7s; slips, £1 10s to £2; weancre, 8s to £1; Heavy wethers, 28s to 355; medium fat wethers, 23s 9d to 265; heavy fat ewes, 335; medium fattening ewes, 17s 6d to 225; lat hoggets, 16s to 18s; store hoggets, 12s; forward wethers. 22s 6d; heavy fat steers, £l2 17s 6d to £l4 10s; medium-weight fat steers. £lO 15s to £ll 15s; light steers, £9 2s 6<l: well-fattened cows, £7 10s to £9 12a 6d; light-weight cows and heifers, £5 10s to £6 ss; two-year steers, £4 Is to £4 10s; yearling steers, £3 to £4; best dairv cows, £7 5s to £9 10s ; others, £5 5s to £6; best heifers, £7 15s to £9; others, £4 to £6 ss. A NEW OUTLOOK.

The striking excellence of the prevailing prices for fat stock is being regarded by graziers as presenting something in the nature of a new outlook in the- farming industry. Only a few years ago we were all very anxious over the wholesale slaughtering of calves that was going on at the dairy farms, nothing but their skins being valued. 'Then experiments were made to market this young veal on the London market, and success was there somewhat modified bv the lack of brightness of the veal after thawing. Better seasons in dairying and a keener demand for dairy heifers changed matters somewhat, and by means of prophecies that dairy heifers would become very dear we succeeded in awakening ourselves’ to the folly of destroying the calves. Accordingly we saved the heifers but continued to destroy the males. Now at, last these have come to their rights, and yearlings at £3 certainly rank as profitable as some dairy cows one knows of, and they need no milking. DO CALVES PAY? What I think needs to be considered a little more is the possible profit on young stock raised and sold. The proper basis for calculation is not the profit per head but the profit per acre. If one can raise four calvos to yearling sta.gr* (worth £5 each) on the land that would carry only one milking cow through the year the four calves are the most profitable. They compare somewhat as follows Dairv cow’s return £l2 0 0 Less” cost of milking 5 0 0 £7 0 0 Four calves return ■ Xl ‘ 2 0 0 Balance in favour of calves .. .. £5 0 0 01 course those figures are open to no end of criticism, but that is one reason why they are put forward. If they make us talk over the matter they will do some good. CALF-BREEDING AND PIGS. Of course, to make calves pay one needs to give thorn a sire of some value, and this would of itself greatly affect the future of the milk industry. Calf-raising for meat also gives a greater significance to the fattening qualities of the Holstein or short-

horn as against the Jersey and Ayrshire, and these are points that need to bo considered. Probably the rise in the price of beef will set us searching again for that will-o’-the-wisp— the dual purpose cow. Again, we have pigs up at the fabulous prices, and every warranty for expecting similar good values to rule for years to come. Worked on intensive linos, there seems to be little doubt* that pigs pay far. bettor than calves, and when we can got into the right method of fodder-feeding we may be able to make more money by piggrazing than by the production of milk. Fodder-raising, if we farmers would cease thinking we have no spare time for cropgrowing, could easily restore the pig to the place from which the cheese and casein factories have displaced them. WINTER DAIRYING. There is encouragement in the latest movement up at Wanganui. A number of dairy farmers in that famous herbage country have formed an association of which one of the main objects is to develop a better system of winter milking with a view to ensuring a regular supply to town customers during the season, and to obviate the usual shortage at that period. Directly, of course, this affects only the town mi lie supply, but it is the thin end of the wedge, and wo may look to Wanganui's practical men to find out the best way of dairying for profit all the year , round, even as applied to the back-blocks. NEW MARKETING SCHEME. The recent meeting held at Hawera to promote a co-operative concern for marketing dairy produce at Homo through the hands of four or live specially-selected firms was repeated at Palmerston North last Saturday. The meeting was held in secret, but it is announced that “ one of the proposals is to have a board in London to control Now Zealand produce, with an advisory board in New Zealand. It is understood, that similar proposals will be put before all the dairy companies in the Dominion, with a view to seeking co-operaton.” The secrecy of the proceedings has given rise to conjectures as to the nature and origin of the proposals, and some of the published reports are misleading. It is rather desirable that the real facts of the movement should bo here stated. The movement (in. which Mr Buckeridge, of Hawera, is the organiser) aims to join the various dairying factories into a huge co-operative concern to market the produce at Home at prices fixed in New Zealand. The proposal is that tho'hoad office shall bo in New Zealand and the advisory board in London. This will give the supreme say as to prices into the hands of the producers hero, instead of leaving it to the whims of the operators at Home. Thus New Zealand would market her produce on terms equal to those of the Danes. At Saturday’s meeting Mr Buckeridgo pointed out that the dairymen of Ireland were co-operated on somewhat similar lines for both selling and buying. It was his idea that the dairy factory members should organise in New Zealand to purchase requisites, etc., and sell their produce, having the head office in'Now Zealand and an advisory board in London. The head office hero would settle prices from time to time. It is not proposed to change the existing arrangements with selling agents at Home, though it is recognised that in time the corporation would have its own aaronts there. The question of working in direct touch with the wholesale organisation of the co-operative societies at Homo was favourably discussed. The name adopted for the now company here is “The New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation Society.” The shares are fixed at £lO each, and it is nroposod to register when £20,000 is raised. It is said that Taranaki is rather keen on the subject. Mr Buckeridge lias motored 3000 miles, addressing farmers on his scheme. Some of the support accorded to him is believed to be due to the impatience of some of the dairying companies with the slow development of the National Dairy Association. It is contended that this body should be based on joint stock lines, instead of remaining an unclassified society on subscriptions. Possibly the new movement may force it at least to put on more pace, if it docs not succeed in ousting it altogether. Among the companies represented by the 20 persons at Satnrdav’s Palmerston meeting were those of R-ongotea. Kairainga. Bunnythorne. (Pen Oroua. Hawera, and others. Mr Buckeridge will shortly visit Wairarapa. CO-OPERATION AT ASHHURST.

Forty dairymen at Ashhurst (near Palmerston North) on Saturday resolved to form a co-operative dairying company and to buy or build a factory. Mr J. A. Nash (Mayor of Palmerston and' a director of the Dairy Union) was present, and also Mr F. Maul, another director of the union. A committee was ap(>ointed to carry out the project, consisting of Messrs IT. M. Tagg (chairman), J. C. Williamson. P. Kerrigan, Posenhack, Thompson. J. East.her. and J. IT. Paton. The cows promised in the room numbered 400. MONEY IN MEAT WORKS. Last year the Wellington Farmers’ Cooperative Meat Company, whose works are at Waingawa (close to Masterton), paid Masterton business men £4351 10s for requisites, and made large purchases of coal, meat cloths, etc., also from Wellington, Christchurch, and Palmerston North. This is double the previous year’s expenditure. The company's output was: —

The company is also developing a large local trade in tinned goods. The employees number 200 when in full swing, and their wages (apart from the stafl’ salaries) were £22,769. BUTTER BLENDING AND MARGARINE. Messrs Mills and Sparrow, the well-known London produce merchants, have forwarded the following circular to Air J. R. Scott, secretary of the South Island Dairy Association ; “ It will he interesting for you to know that the principal firm of butter blenders, which lias been manufacturing for the past 15 years and spent thousands of pounds in advertising its commodity, lias, through the pressure of margarine, discontinued the manufacture of blended butter. This only confirms what \te have written many timee, to the effect that the blended butter business is not the menace to the butter trade that, it is generally supposed to be. You no doubt remember that when milk-blended butter is sold, it cannot be sold as ‘butter,’ and the name <if ‘butter’ must not be esso-

ciat&d with it in any way, but must ha ye a separate name of its own, and when sold in this guise up to 25 per cent, moisture is allowed. “Our opinion is, this trade is rapidly dying out, but the legitimate blending: one butter with another, so as to mate a uniform article for the weekly supply to retailers, is the trade that is growing, and, considering the largo variety of cutters that come to this market, we think it is likely to expand still further. “As regards margarine, Mr Mills formed one of the deputation to wait upon the Minister of Agriculture this week, when the claims of the butter producers were very strongly put before him, and it was shown how the selling of margarine m its present form was hampering the legitimate butter producer. The point made was to have the law altered so that it should bo sold uncoloured. The Minister promised to do his best to bring this matter along, but tho trade has assumed such cimensions that it is difficult to know whether any success can be achieved. r lhe consumption of margarine in this country now is generally looked upon as running from 2oJU to 3000 tons per week. These figures will show you how important it is to improve the quality of colonial butters, so that by selling a fine article they will get out of the range of the margarine competition. Secondary buttor will continue to ha\e a bad time in comparison with the finest, and the margin between finest and common is more likely to widen than otherwise.

Sheep (carcases) 119.925 Lambs I1C.250 Cattle '2,270 Wool (bales) 2 727 Tallow (casks) 1.625 Pelts (casks) 531 Tinned meat, export (cases) .. 1.100