OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3590, 2 January 1923, Page 14

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) GOOD GROWING SEASON. The new year opens well for Canterbury farmers December has given a very useful rainfall that has brought the year’s total to practically 21in, and, though this is

rather below the average and well below last year’s figures, the fall has been much better spread than usual, and at the present time the crops promise well, and there is an abundance of feed in the country. Odd lots of early-sown oats are in stook, and in the next week there will be a big area reaped. For the most part the earlysown oats will be light. The wheat crops have come on remarkably well, and the useful rains of December that have been experienced have helped all crops. The warm, muggy days have brought blight to the potato crops, and some of the second early crops arc showing considerable signs of it. The later crops are generally not sufficiently advanced to be much harmed yet. RAMS FOR THE NORTH. Very long prices have been offered to Canterbury breeders of black-faced rams by northern firms. Big consignments have lately gone to the North Island, particularly to Hawke’s Bay. By the Wingatui the other day 489 were shipped. They were made up by 272 Southdowns, 185 English Lcicesters, 20 Shropehires, 10 Ryelands, and two Suffolks. Another lot of 3CO is due to go. The buying of English Leicesters is somewhat of a novelty for the North Island. One southern man who early in the year accepted 7gs for his rams lately refused lOgs for the tail end which happens to be on the place. THE WOOL CHEQUE. Just what the increase in the value of wool means to the farmers of the province is demonstrated by the figures now available showing the total value of the wool sold at the December sale compared with the December sale of a year ago. flhe average a hale in every broker’s catalogue was fully 109 per cent, more than the value cf the wool 12 months ago. The record of one firm that sold a very large proportion of good halfbred wool was particularly striking A year ago the average was £lO 18s 8d a bale. At the sale last week the average was £22 6s. The average of 18,217 bales sold at the 1921 sale was £9 19s lid, and the total value was £182,259. This year the total value was £365,373 for 17,759 bales. The figures for 1921 really represnt tewm sales, as, owing to the trouble between the buyers and banks in regard to bills of lading, the November sale in 1921 was abandoned, and the offering that in the ordinary course would have been sold at the first sale went to swell the December catalogue. There are many striking figures that serve to illustrate the improvement. One firm in December, 1921, averaged 6.1 d a lb for il s | offering, and this year the figure 13 14.24 d a lb. DISPOSAL OF WHEAT. Steps are to be taken by the North Canterbury District of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union to obtain an eaiay estimate of the prospective yield of the wheat harvest, in order that growers may know at what value they may assess their stocks when ihev are dealing with millers. On behalf of the Agricultural Committee, the president, Mr B. W. Mulholland, at a meeting of the Executive of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union, reported that it had considered the prospects of the new wheat harvest. Basing these on the published official figures of the acreage there would probably be a surplus of wheat next season. The Government, since the ommittee met, had published a return of stocks of flour and wheat. About 23. AW tons of flour were held—equal to about 1,000,099 bushels of wheat. In addition, there were 1,316,912 bushels of milling wheat, and wheat other than miffing grade comprised 467.442 bushels. There were also 72,000 bushels in stack, making a total available of nearly 3,000,000 bushels. As the consumotion of wheat in the Dominion was about. 500,000 bushels a month, there would be the equivalent of about 1,00J.00J bushels in hand at the beginning of March next when the new wheat would be agitable.’ If the same stocks of flour were carried then as now, 500,000 bushels of wheat would still be ungristed. Mr Mulholland said that the prospects of the new harvest were good, and if a yield of 30 bushels an acre were secured again, the crop would return 8,000.0.0 bushels. With a carry-over of the equivalent of at least 1.000,000 bushels m addition, farmers probably would have to accept the export value. . “The whole matter, therefore, rests on how the yield is going to turn out, said Mr Mulholland, “and early information upon the point will be of the utmost value in eivino. growers an indication as to what prices they should accept.” Mr Mulholland kid that the Government’s statistics on the subject came too late to be of full heiie.it because they took eo long to compile The committee, therefore, had decided to obtain independent information thiougn district executives of the union, who would be asked to appoint some reliable persons to supply reports He moved that this recommendation should be adopted. “It is absolutely necessary for farmers to join hands and find out what the yield is likely to be, so that they can demand a fair deal,” said Mr J. D. Hall, who seconded the motion. If farmers were “in the dark” on the subject they would have to accept what was offered —probably a price based on the value in Australia, plus shipping charges and 2s a cental duty. The motion was carried. GOVERNMENT WHEAT PURCHASES Quite 80 per cent, of the wheat offered to Government graders has been taken over by the Government on behalf of millers or for other purposes. This is an official estimate, and it is a higher percentage than many growers supposed. A total of 10,004,078 bushels has been returned as thrashed, but not all of this has been offered to the Government, which has taken over 7,135,000 bushels on its own and millers’ account. This represents 755 per cent, of the total thrashed, but this percentage is increased when certain deductions are made from the quantity disclosed as thrashed. In this quantity is included 320,700 bushels returned by thrashing millers as seconds. Moreover, it is estimated that fully 500,000 bushels did not come on the market, but were disposed of privately by growers for seed purposes. Tins conclusion is arrived at partly by reports of merchants, who claim that the Government surcharge of 9d a bushel has led to a great deal of “over the fence” trading. Approximately 72,000 bushels of wheat are still in stack, mostly in Otago. The Government already holds a large quantity of wheat, but so far it has made no announcement of its intentions in the marketing of such grain. It is unlikely to come to any decision until it is possible to ascertain what the pending harvest is likely to yield. So far, no great quantity of undergrade wheat has been exported under the regu-

lations issued by the Government. Two or three lines of smutty grain were sent to the United Kingdom, and a small quantity of fowl wheat to Australia. Official advice has been received that New South Wales will now be able to manage comfortably on its own supplies until its new harvest is garnered. In the endeavour to attract shipments of wheat to ine United Kingdom, the shipping companies have decided to defer increasing tiie freight of 37s 6d a ton for wheat until February 15.