A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

Otago Witness, Issue 3102, 27 August 1913, Page 16

A NORTH ISLAND TALK.

(From Our Own* Correspondent.) t PALMERSTON N., August 23. \\ iiat is bothering me to-day is the disappearance of rny juicy beef steak. There are various explanations given as to where it has gone, why it has gone, and how long it will stay away Personally, I don't over expect to see it again—that it, tho same beef steak at tho same price, with tho same moo juice and the same bit of tasty fat attached. ‘‘The opening up of the Vancouver marker,” says a writer in tho Dominion, and tho activity of American buyers operating from San Francisco are expected to have a considerable effect on the New Zealand meat trade, and some very important developments are expected in tho near future.’ This is all very interesting and very encouraging, but it' doosn'f tell exactly everything about the future of my beef steak.

THE DYING BEEF INDUSTRY. I. here are many things conspiring to make lioef scarce on the one hand and dear on the other, and very soon, I think, beef will , katsy luxury in New Zealand, nought by the ounce a-nd used only on special occasions, like Christmas and birthr'ri 1,6 U P on our fingers some or the causes Ihe recent Auckland scarcity, due to the droughty autumn, was only temporary, of course, and if that alone hail caused the boom, things would get right soon. But. there is a keen demand from outside New Zealand constantly growing more persistent, emanating from no particular quarter, and therefore perhaps all the more threatening. There is a very active lirm in New Zealand now catering for this outside demand allied to no one corporation, but buying continually, freezing at tno nearest works, and selling to all-comers Possibly this is the origin of the Dominion’s reference to the Vancouver and ’Frisco markets. for this local firm supplies them extensively ; and they, of course, are not alone in tins class of work. The same developments which recently aroused alarm among because an exporting firm was depleting- New Zealand of her cowhides, is now similarly " undermining ” the beef supply—if i may use that term to something that is improving our prices. BONED BEEF. Bight into the hands of this now class of business, and cutting into the very vitals of the beef markets, is the now sturdy, expanding inquiry for boned beef. This trade captures the store cattle. It takes the old bulls and the lean cows by the thousand before they have over been thought of as beef. The dairy-farmer, culling his herd and sending his culls to the sales, usually saw them mobbed off to (ho hills or elsewhere, to return later as passable beef. To-day the bonod-beef industry steps iu, captures the cows as stores, and converts them straight into boned beef to nourish the brnv Scotch sinews of Glasgow or the millions of Manchester. In its special sphere tins confection is said to satisfy its narticular customers bettor than British fresh beef; and the demand is growing. I hat this feature of the trade is a real menace is shown by the fact that within one mouth recently a dealing firm secured 600 head of store cattle in Manawaatu, and shipped them straight away ns boned beef to till an order. Such buyers, of course, do not compete against the butchers. 1 heir only runners-up are the graziers; but they effectually prevent those 600 cattle from ever becoming butchers’ beef. I a in authoritatively assured that this trade is going to grow rapidly. HAPPY HUNTING-GROUND OF BONED BEEPERS. 'I he natural academical question to ask is, “ U ill not the increasing dearness of beef right itself by encouraging greater production?’’ I asked the question of a prominent butcher buyer to-day, and ho answered with a straightout negative. Ilig view is that heavy land taxation, increasingly dear land, and the demand for dairying lots is cutting up the big estates. The big estates are the beef estates; but beef land is milk land, and the buyers of small kits turn them into milk. After all.” said this man philosophically, “ isn’t it better to have 50 acres carrying a big dairy herd and maintaining half a dozen people than to be grazing a score or two of meat cattle employing nobody?” Of course, of course.

But then (ono asked him) when beef steaks become fabulously dear, won’t these small farmers grow crops and raise beef as they do in Britain?

“Not much,” said he. “They will grow crops and turn them into milk. It will still pay best. When they get culls or calveS L they won't waste the elements of milk by giving them their precious grass. They will toll them as stores —to the bonedbeef man,—and go on milking. I tell you this, dairying country is going to be a happy hunting-ground for the boned-heef operators.”

But the butchers’ shops? How soon shall we bo importing frozen beef from Argentine?

“Oh, well,” said ho, “there arc still Jots of country that won’t grow milk. It will grow capital mutton and lamb.” WHERE THE BUTTER GOES. I see that Mr Prouee, chairman of directors of the Levin Dairy Company, i« righteously indignant with the traducers of the useful milking machine, alleging that the troubles prevalent are due, not to the machine, but to the unwashed man behind it. lie points out also the steady rise in the price and quality of New Zealand butter as contra evidence of any damage

by the machines. He points out tho importance of encouraging tho introduction mto dairying operations of machines which can do a lot of work in a short time. But I was chiefly interested in h : a little side issue about what happens to Now Zealand’s machine-drawn butter at Home.

“ I read the other day,” he says, “ that it would take 300 cows per acre to produce all the butter that comes from Devonshire. Mr Prouse seems to leave it to us to infer that 299 of the Devonshire cows per acre arc grazing in New Zealand. Moreover, he adds; “I believe that for some years the bulk of our butter went to Normandy. Now, ‘ Normandy ’ butter will soil up to Is 6d >anywhere from 25 to 60 per cent, over what we got in London.” Personally, I think it would save trouble—and I don’t think it would be illegal—if some of the people who brand butter boxes in New Zealand were to learn how to spell tho word ‘‘Normandy” out hero. DAIRY FACTORY FIGURES.

Ballance Dairy Company last season made 527 tons of butter and sold it for £6O 480 - an increase of live tons and £1220 18s. Part of tho output was consigned Homo, part sold to Vancouver, and tho rest sold in Now Zealand. Tho total output averaged 12.29 d, as compared with 12.16 d the previous year. The year's payments to suppliers averaged 123 d. The company is forming a testing association, with dreams of raising tho output by £15,000 per annum from tho same number of cows.

Mauneovillo Dairy Company has decided to pay id extra for 'home-separated cream. Kumcroa Ghees© hactory has sold the season's output at a price equivalent to 14d per lb for butter-fat. Ohee,se men arc watchuig for the removal of the American duty of 14s per cwt., which would mean an increase of per lb on New Zealand cheese. Waver!cy Butter Factory reports a record season, having paid 13.187 d per !b for butter-fat. They sold on open consignment. It is claimed that this is top price in N< w Zealand.

Dunnevirko Co-operative Dairy Company received during the year 3.262,731!1> of milk, containing 124,6461 b fat- The test averaged 3.84. The cheese made was 330,678ib. It took 9.£61b of milk to make lib of cheese, and lib of butter-fat was equivalent to 2.651 b cheese. A pound of cheese- cost .6d to make. Last season the company sold to Wright, Stephenson, and Co. at and the Home price was about 62s per cwt, so that the company made a gain on the transaction of at least 7s per cwt. The suppliers received Is 2d per lb of butter-fat, and drew £IOOO more than in the previous season. Mata man’s cheese output increased by SO tons. 'Plic milk producer! was 2.951,7791 b, butter-fat 109.2561 b, cheese made 291,2851 b, test 3.7; milk per lb of cheese, 10.13; cheese per Jb of fat, 2.66; cost, of cheese f.o.b. railway, ,55d ner lb; uavment, 12£d per lb. CO OPERATION WAVE They are terrors for co-operating up at Auckland. The Trading Association of the Farmers’ Union there has formed a branch for the marketing of eggs. They will deduct marketing charges (packing, carting, etc.), and get ly per cent, commission and one-tenth of the profits. The remaining nine-tenths of the profits will go as a bonus to the suppliers of first-grade eggs. There will bo a great scramble to be in the first grade. The Auckland Milk Suppliers’ Co-opera-tive Association, mentioned last week, is up against the city milk vendors for sure. The latter, seeking possibly greater supplies, lias asked that the suburban Sunday train service shall go as ar ns Papakura. The new suppliers, combined in real fighting trim, interviewed the Mayor of Auckland and urged that ho oppose the request. They declared they could gt 4000 gallons of milk and urged that ho oppose the request. They declared they could get 4000 gallons of milk merits. The Mayor gently put it to the deputation that they wanted to oust their rivals and keep up the price; but their spokesman (Mr Gray) declared thrv would reduce the price. “Last year.” ho said, “the vendors paid us 7d per gallon for milk thev sold at. Is 6d per gallon. During the spring season of abundance Auckland neoplo should not have been asked to pay 4d per quart for m ; lk.” The Mayor: “I quite agree with you. Are you going to make milk cheaper?” Mr Grav: “Yes: we give you that assurance absolutely.” The Mayor promised to forward their objection pro forma.