OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 14

OUR CANTERBURY AGRICULTURAL BUDGET.

(I som Ocb Own Corißesi’Oxdent.) A RETURN TO MILD WEATHER the U i\°T h th ? le ! ,ave bee» a few frosts in tnc past week the days have been unusually inild for May. Some of them have been quite unseasonable, such is the temperature of the clays. A good May helps > eak thß back of the winter, and the V, 111U ! 1 who 15 working land; and the weather nas certainly been kind t-o le agneuUurist and much drilling has :?,v d r-■ A - g , reater variatlol ‘ could of laO veL n gl "u d . J ]e b v cen this month so far al , lr "bat has been experienced rainfall ‘fi ' BSt was . thl ? Epriod when the pacin IQ?i ' PS i , such a boost, pia.ing 1923 a t the head of the list of The Mn S ’ - he countryside was flooded -the lgin of ram at the beginning of (he month was very beneficial, and crops that fair 0 !?" 1 fl sfanclstill have shown a very fan growth since then. It is only to be expected that the frosts will soon check the meantime; b “ 18 g °° J to have ,L in ANOTHER WINTER SHO... was boH ] , apSe H of ? 3 y° ai ; s a Winter Show a,fd -f b T l h ° Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoial Association this week. The location on tins occasion was the Addington Snow Grounds, and though the venture swol| P fh ba f y I llot f pr u° vide a ' ,y surplus to swell the funds of the association, it is a tho lU i°elT 11 7' t u lth what is vel 'y Properly the held of the metropolitan body: to demonstrate the products of Canterbury, ihe last show of the kind was held in 1901 m the Canterbury Hall. The cutting out ot the function from the itinerary of the association was due to the lack of support accorded by farmers. Exhibits in son" of the classes were heavy this week, and the general standard was very high, but in?nnnd of 800 «‘tnes there should have been 2000 ihe fat stock were very fine—well worth going a long way to see,—but they paled into numerical insignificance compared with what the double market at the Addington Yards, before the National Week Carnival, brings forth. Canterbury farmers are losing an opportunity in advertismg then- ivares, and it is to be hoped that die association will persevere with the experiment, though it must be admitted that the committee is somewhat shortsighted in not giving their ventures the publicity that they deserve. The association, too, is hampered from the want of a large building to house the exhibits, but probably the erection of a large cattle pavilion, which will have to be provided ere long for the Spring Show, will remedy this defect. Ihe show, especially of the fruit and home industry classes, formed an attractive display, and if the firms that display dairy machinery and such like could be provided with space there is nothing wanting to make the show as attractn e as those of other centres of the Dominion. r lhe fine display of fat stock that could be gathered together would make the Canterbury Show unique in this connection. Rracticaliy all the exhibits were from North Canterbury, with the exception of butter and cheese, and if the whole province was carefully combed for entries the display resulting would be more commensurate with the importance of the agricultural and pastoral industries to the province. EXTRAOR DINA R Y Y A RHINOS. For a sale in May the number of sheep that went through the gates of the Addington Yards this week was extraordinary. Ihe store sheep filled a very large number of pens, and the fact that the auction lasted from 10.30 a.m, until 4 p.m. showed how many lots vvere dealt with. For the most part the sheep were aged ewes, and it was remarkable how many cf them were fine in the wool. They were very largely halfbreds, and included large numbers of dealers’ lines. In the other sections there were large entries also, and the supply of mutton ran to fully 14 races and the strong buying of the freezing buyers meant that the big yarding went off at prices that were equal to what have ruled m the past few weeks. A plethora of low-grade cow beef sent the prices down to what may be described as store prices for this class, and the potting buyers were able to take them out of the fat pens. Ihe large offerings of this class in recent weeks have been very hard to disoose of, but the better prices for meat has meant that there is now a little more demand for tinned goods, and this has naturally helped the cheaper grades of meat. Had it not bee" 'or the buying of p otters the prices of the rough cows would have been very low. 'As it was. the salesmen engaged at the beef auction had a very busy time in placing all that were offering, and the task of handling cows that have to be hawked round at from 30s to 60s is certainly not an enviable one. The job is monotonous, and the auctioneers will be glad when the old cows disappear from the market. All the good class steers made very fair values, and from 32s to 34s was the prevailing rate for the best of the cattle. A nice truck of steers, on account of Mr R. E. M'Dougall (Bi'ookdale), sold at from £ls 17s 6d to £l6 17s 6d. FORWARD LAMBS STILT. WANTED. Farmers who are the fortunate possessors of feed suitable for topping off lambs are still anxious to secure forward lambs, and this class met with an excellent sale this week. As for that, the prices for all classes of lambs were good. For instance, some very nice halfbred wethers went to 25s 3d, which is a big figure for lambs in May. With good treatment until the end of the month or a littl-j later half of them may have been ready for the works.

A good many lambs from tho West Coast were sold in the store pens, and they made good figures, several mixed sexed lots going to 255. They were well-bred Romneys, with a fair proportion of ewea

among them, and the ewes would have made a good figure iiad they been drafted off and sold separately. Some good farmers have an aversion to Coast lambs on account of foot-rot among them, though with the use of weil-bred Romneys the hoof of the Coast sheep is better able to 6tand the wetness of the Coast. The Coast sheep walk a good deal better in consequence. What ewe lambs w-ere offered sold well, though there w T as nothing exceptional among them. The good pens that were fine in the wool sold at 26s to 28s. Anything of the same sex that were coarse w r ere very weedy. Some vendors had quite exalted ideas as to the values of their lines. One man, with a fair-conditioned pen of lambs that wanted three weeks good finishing to make haif of them fit for the factory, asked for more than 24s lOd for his line. At that figure they were passed FUTURE OF STORE SHEEP PRICES. It is interesting to speculate upon the future of store sheep prices, but such speculations are always subject to the weather. At ihe present time there is every indication that, given a mild winter, the prices of all classes of store sheep will go very high in the spring, for there are not wanting signs that there is a distinct shortage of sheep throughout the province. The capacity of the market to absorb very large yardings at this time of year is a sure indication that farmers are short, and had it not been that the turnip crops in so many districts are, at least, disappointing, it is difficult to say where the price of store wethers would stay. On Wednesday up to 33s 8d was paid for fine-woolled wethers, and 32s was common enough. This class of sheep was bought very freely, and some lines from the Central Otago districts met with a good sale. A good sized line that were n#t very early shorn made 27s 4d, and some other sheep of the same draft that did not appear to have as good mouths sold correspondingly well. It will not be at all surprising that hoggets will be making big money with the turn of the season. Anything that promises to clip well commands a good price now. On the other hand, should there be a hard winter, the chances are that sheep will be lower in July than they are now. So much depends upon the weather. We are well into May now, and the conditions have been very fine, with a fair growth yet. The way in which paddocks of Italian rye have been coming along is quite surprising. KEEN LAMB BUYERS. This week the buyers of fat lambs were keener than ever to secure supplies, and the offering was well over 3000 head, which is a good entry considering the advance of the season. A full lid a lb was paid for the good lambs, and some pens must have been a shade better than this. It has been noticeable lately that the black-faced lambs are more numerous than one would expect so late in the season. Probably the shortage of feed in the earlier part of the season accounts for the lateness with which the more early maturing sorts are reaching the works. MUTTON KEEPS VERY FIRM. Notwithstanding the extraordinary supply of mutton on Wednesday, the values left nothing to be desired from the point of view of the vendor, for the best of the wethers sold at a lb; but the high value of skins has to be considered when the price .per jiound is mentioned. Anything between 12s and 16 s is common enough now for butchers’ skins, and many good-sized lines have gone above that figure, with fellmongers very anxious to get them. The auctioneers were more than six hours in selling the fat sheep this last sale day, and the prices kept firm until the conclusion. For wethers the best price of the day went to Messrs ,7. and P. Clinton (Darfield), who probably sell the highest priced sheep at Addington on more occasions during the year than any other graziers who sell sheep in the open market. On this occasion there were 72 in the consignment, which sold at from 46s 6d to 553 fid. For ewes an outstanding draft was sold on account of Mr J. F. Coonev (Morven). A one-truck consignment sold at 37S 6d to 43s 6d. They were easily the best lot of ewes that have passed through the sale in the past month.” South Canterbury was better represented in the fat sheep than has been the rule of late.

BETTER FIGURES FOR BACON. Brices of Tiacon pigs have improved lately, and buyers are offering 7j-d a lb on the farms for goou baconers. and this fill**} c” r.* 'rriitm, wiui some lines a shade better. \S ith the better prices there is not talk of the establishment of more bacon companies. When prices like this can be obtained there is a profitable return from the gintleman that pays the rint.”