STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3494, 22 February 1921, Page 9

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

WcpVlv Stock Satca. Burnside, Wednesdays Aehburton, Tuesdays Addington, Wednesdays Waiareks Rail way Junotion, Tuesdays Wallaoetown, Tuesdays Heriot, Thursdays Fortnlght’y. Clinton, Thursdays Owaka, alternate Thurdays with Clinton Baiolutlia, Fridays Sore, Tuesdays Oamaru, Tuesdays Monthly. Wallaoetown, Tuesdays Palmerston, Ist Monday WICtOD, Ist ihursday Duhtrecu, 3nd Friday

Monthly fconttnooitl. buodltmda, 2n<l i'nr.nsday last Tharsday llalJour, ?rd Thursday Ttiornbury, Ist Friday Uuntroou & Ota atari. fnd Friday Itlversdale, 3rd Friday aikaka, last Friday Clydevale. last Thurs"ay Petlodlcßlly as AdvsrUsed. Lwmsden, ilosaouin, Orepuki, Mataura, Waiaouai‘l, ati-e.r-lou, Ngapara, and utago Cenua. Sale*.

OTAGO. The weather during the week in Otago has been pleasantly warm, a few slight rain showers, with a lower temperature" at night time, and all with an absence of wind. 1 he Otago Ram and Ewe Fair has been fixed for Tuesday, April 5, and will be held at the Burnside yards. On Friday the 25th of this month (February), Mr W. A. Baxter, of Kelso, is selling oil Ins stud Romney flock, etc., the farm having been sold. The work’s price for heifer beef is the same as that quoted for secondary ox beef—viz., 5/s 6d, and not as reported in the previous week’s Otago Witness. BURNSIDE YARDS. The yarding of fat sheep at Burnside was a large one, the largest this season, owinw to the opening of the freezing works. These works opened merely to close, again owing to some grievance alleged to have iust ripened and twigged by the slaughtermen. VVhatever the cause, the practical cessation of work serves to affect prices of sheep ana another cheap sale was the result’ Values compared with the previous week’ were back a farthing per lb, wether and ewe meat making 5d and 4d per lb, or just upon freezing rates. Exporters took a lew' tots nevertheless. Fat lambs were forward in fair numbers, and although it was realised that purchases would have to be railed to works outside the province tnere w r as quite a good sale, and export buyers were paying a shade over 9d per lb wmle rape lambs were selling very well’ but backward sorts were not wanted. lhe fat cattle were of average quality, the aemand being good until well on with the. sale, when butchers seemed satisfiedprices were very similar to iast sale’s quotation—viz., 46s to 50s per 1001 b. Under 200 head of store cattle were yarded, a poor lot, half of them being poor and medium cows, and heifers in low condition, the balance small mixed young sorts in failto good order. The demand was weak, and sales were effected with difficulty and’only at a lower range of values. There were no good well bred and grown steers offered. Fat pigs were cheaper, the supply being fairly large, and baconers could not have realised much over per lb, with porkers rather better. Small sorts, some 70 being penned, were about the same as last sale. ADDINGTON YARDS. The entry of fat sheep at Addington was largo, the quality being good. Owing, in a measure, to the supply, prices receded to rates ruling a fortnight ago. A big entry of fat lambs met with keen attention of the usual buyers, but o.n a lower basis per head value, lambs selling at 9id, all sunk. The yarding of store sheep was in excess of the customary entry, and an overflow was the result. Lambs were in the majority, but wetliers and ewes were numerous. Generally, lambs were in as good a demand as at last sale, with grown sheep meeting with somewhat better inquiry, although prices cannot be deemed bettor or worse than was the case a week ago. The entry of fat cattle was better and bigger numerically ihan last week, a good clearance being effected owing to butchers being about out of beef, at prices on a par with the jirevious week. The store cattle forward were of indifferent quality, and the demand asleep, with values unchanged. Dairy cattle were for the most part of indifferent quality, and prices were low. Owing to the moderate entry of fat pigs prices were bettor than last sale’s rate 3.

The same thing happened in the store section, a small entry inducing a keen demand. NORTH ISLAND STOCK VALUES. Poor yardings and a dragging demand for all descriptions of store stock about depicts the position of the markets in the North Island. In the Auckland province, at the Westfield market, beef of best quality realised up to 51s per 1001 b, plain to medium quality from 435, forward wethers from. 24s to 275, light ewes 21s to 235, forward lambs to 20s, small from 12s. In Poverty Bay sales 6re few and far between, wethers being unsaleable at the Matawhero Yards; lambs made from 4s to 13s, fat wethers 24s 6d. In Taranaki sales are confined to small lots, no improvement in the demand being evident on our previous quotations. In the Wairarapa, woolly lam'o3 9s to 15s 6d. shorn 7s to 16s, two-tooth wethei-3 15s to 20s, culls to 14s, four-tooths to 24a, young ewes (mixed) 17s to 235, medium yearling steers £2 ss, two-year-old do £3 to £6 10s, two-year-old heifers £3 to £4 Bs, dairy cows £8 to £ls. In Hawke’s Bay, fourtooth wethers (hill sorts) to 20s and as low as 15s, good paddock mixed wethers 20s 6d to 22s 6d, lambs 12s to 15s, empty two-year-old heifers £4 to £4 10s, year-old heifers £2 to £3, dairy cows to £lB. PALMERSTON STOCK SALE. The yarding of stock at the Palmerston sale totalled some 2500 sheep and 450 cattle, the latter including some 300 station-bred Hereford, and cross cattle in thin and fair condition. A few nice fat lambs were included in the entry, which made prices comparing favourably with rates ruling in near-at-hand markets; fat lambs made from 27s to 30s 9d, rape lambs 18s to 21s 6d, paddock store lambs from 14s to 15s 6d, fat wethers 24s to 295, store station ewes (sound-moutlis) 16s, two-tooth ewes (hill) passed at 17s 6d, hill two-tooth wethers sold at 14s 4d, fat cattle sold on a par with Burnside rates. The Hereford crosses sold, considering present feed conditions, etc., fairly well, breeding cows (thin) £2 13s to £4-£5, three-year-old steers £9 6s, two-year-olds £6-£7, year-and-a-half steers £5, small year-and-a-half £3 ss, two-year-old heifers £4 ss, second pen £3 14s, year-and-j a-half heifers £3, mixed-sex calves £2 3a, 1 bulls at £1 per 1001 b. i •STOCK NOTES. Business in stock in Otago cannot yet be said to be enticing, the gradual comeback of values of “fats” having a gruelling effect on store stock prices, coupled with the fact that the weather is on the dry side. The absence of high winds has helped to conserve such rains as have fallen, and feed is holding out wonderfully well considering. The Burnside Freezing Works Company having adjusted their little difference with employee.-, killing operations in sheep, lambs, and cattle are once more in full swing. Long may it last. The hold-up at the local works must have accounted >or a few thousand head of stock being killed elsewhere—good enough for the railway revenue, but suicidal so far as pro--1 ducers and work’s employees are concerned. A dispute arose between the Dominion Sheepowners’ Federation and the Shearers' and Shed Hands’ Union, concerning the . wages to be paid to pastoral workers for the 1921 season. A conference between representatives of the parties took place, but no ' decision was arrived at, and at present the , matter is tied up. [ In consequence of an outbreak of footj and-mouth disease, the whole of Lord ' Ncrthbourne’s famous pedigree flock of Southdown sheep at Home Farm, Betteshanger, has been slaughtered by order of the Ministry of Agriculture. The flock numbered more than 890 animals. One of the best judges of live stock in Kent said they were worth nearly £3OOO. When the outbreak was reported to the Ministry no fewer than half a dozen inspectors went to Lord Northbourne’s farm to examine the flock before the decision to exterminate it was arrived at. Lord Northbourne, who is the largest breeder of Southdowns in Kent, took 20 years to roar the flock. Fortunately. he has other sheep grazing at a farm which las escaped the outbreak. No movement of sheep is being allowed to take place within a radius of five miles without a license from the Ministry. The new standard of judging Ayrshire cattle adopted by the Breed Society came into operation at their show at Ayr on February 9 and 10. Form, symmetry, and constitution count 30 points, mammary development, to include teats, shape of • udder, milk veins, etc., 35 points; authenticated milk vield in the case of a cow or authenticat' d milking pedigree in tho case : of bulls or heifers, 35 points. | In response to several requests made by the Dairymen’s Association to the Canterbury Kaleyards Company, Ltd., the proposed dairy pens with bails, for bailing up dairy ‘ cows at Addington, have been passed by the Board, and will he put in hand shortly. This should prove a great convenience to buyers, and will be appreciated.

A RUN THROUGH OTAGO. Cereal crops throughout the Taieri Plains are doing well. A lair area of wheat and oats has been cut and stooked, but a deal is still standing, but colouring rapidly, 'lhe crops at North Taieri are generally pretty fair, the wheat being particularly good through the plains. The crops have headed up well, and thanks to an absence of high winds are all standing. The oat crops seem a bit thin, and one has seen better prospects from the threshing point of view, but. the wheat, although not in area up to that of a couple of seasons ago, should yield well per acre and is of good colour. Threshing, by the way, has commenced out of the stook. As to the root crop, some areas are good and some fair, but at the moment of writing one cannot in fairness say that winter feed is assured. Tho weather experienced is rather of a harvesting nature, and besides there is a suspicion of the dreaded “b’ight” on some of the swedes. The position can be best explained by the phrase “not too good.” The early sown crops appear the most promising, and given some fair rain showers with a temperature lower than at present, with a frost or two to follow, and Taieri farmers will face the winter with confidence so far as feed prospects are concerned. Grass paddocks, although they still hold a good bit of rough feed, could do with some rain, as they are snowing tho effects of the dry weather and comparatively heavy stocking. Once the works are in full swing any pressure should be relieved. The area in potatoes is not up to the average, but the yield per acre and the quality of the tubers seem good. There seems little doubt about that, as sale 3 have been made of Taieri “table” potatoes at £5 per ton on trucks. Inland, Central way, the w'eather is of the “summery” nature. Pastures are dry enough in all truth, but in places the strike of turnips is a feature worth notice. Cereal crops are short, and it is a question whether some of them will repay costs of harvesting. The stock are looking well. There have been rains in the Central and in North Otago which have missed coastal lands, via Palmerston, Waikouaiti, etc., and the result is noticeable in the backward root crops and their cereal crops in the last-named districts. The writer has seen the paddocks worse, however, at this time of the year as far as feed goes, but it is bad enough, and unless rain comes soon feed prospects for the winter are by no means rosy. sStock are in good order, both sheep and cattle, but whether there is enough feed in sight to finish off all the half-fat lambs is a moot question which at present cannot be satisfactorily answered. DE-OONTROL. At last it has come ! De-control of cold stores. What a volume could be written of the fantastic phase through which the industry has passed in its shoulder-rubbing with Westminster Bumbledom. Perhaps the real side of that history may yet be told. Getting right down, in one sentence, to the root of the absurdity, for its career was little less, we would say that the unfortunate part of the whole affair was that the Ministry of Food, which from the very first was, of course, liable to public criticism, happened to conceive the idea of making its Cold Storage Department the scapegoat in all times of stress and strain. It is perfectly admissable sending a captain to sea with sealed orders, but if he is to sail for ever with the envelope closed, who i 3 to blame ? So it was with the Cold Storage “Control.” Started two years too late, closed two years too late, asked to sail Nor th and South at the same time, checked when it, made up leeway, and given an Advisory Committee which was never allowed to advise, this whole section of the Ministry of Food was in the main a screaming farce, the only thread of practicality running through it bein<j the single case of expert knowledge, which was ever consistently utilised —namely, the Chief Engineer, who for that matter might have acted without any department at all. But what do we read in the daily press which communicates the Parliamentary Secretary’s announcement of de-control? The curt message was: “He hoped that de-control would at once result in the re-establishment of competitive rates.” If that be the sense of the Minister’s remark —we hesitate to think it—then it is the most priceless example of calculated parting snub to a long-suffering trade that we have ever heard. For the cold storage industry has, throughout the period of control, been treated, ns to rates, in a most churlish manner by the authorities. At the start a pistol was levelled at their heads and a rate-cutting basis forced upon them as a co-called pre-war rate ; and ever since then it has been one wearisome procession of deputations and appeals in order either to get any portion of an | eqiii f rise as costs advanced or even to ; 3cci.“*the payment of overdue accounts. The biggest companies wore forced to borrow of their banks. Now wo are told that the Department hopes rates will be competitive. That is the seal of appreciation set on the millions of extra cubic feet

of refrigerated space which the trade was cajoled to erect “in the national interest.'' It would be a pity to say anything ui> parliamentary of these Parliamentary Bee rotaries i—London “Cold Storage.”