STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3803, 1 February 1927, Page 19

STOCK AND GRAZING NOTES.

Weekly »t««k SalM. Monthly (continued), .fisat 85R “ST* ™ ‘ W Uon’ k lnSdaya 3r JUUI> Woodland*, 3rd Wad- ‘ nefiday. r. T i” a T , (March, April, and Balfour, 3rd Thuridsy. ‘May). , Thornbury, lei Friday. Tuesdays. Otautau, 3nd Wadnaci? Ashburton, Tuesdays. day. tieriot, Thursdays. Biversdale, 3rd Friday Winton, Thursdays. (except March, April < .Wyndham, Thursdays. on d May). V Clinton. Thursdays. Waikaka, last Friday. - Bsloluths, Fridays. Clydevala, last ftlday Core, Tuesdays. a Monthly. Periodically as Edendale, Ist Monday. Advertised. Palmerston, 4th Thurs- Lumsden, Mossbura, day. Orepuki, Waimahaka, Winton, 4th Tuesday. Waikouaiti. Biver. Mataura, Ist Thursday. ton, Ngapara, and Tokaaui, 4th Monday. Otago Central Sales. T OTAGO. The warm weather of the past week has appreciably advanced the harvest in Otago. A good deal of hay has been saved this season, grass crops cut, etc., and generally the outlook for winter stock feed has improved. The receipt of the Chilean Nitrate Calendar, 1927, together with a fund of information aneht the various uses to which this very essential nitrogenous fertiliser may be put, is acknoweldged by the writer with thanks. f BURNSIDE MARKET. The yarding of fat cattle at Burnside totalled 268, compared with 217 the previous week, the quality (somewhat mixed) being of general utility. The demand at the commencement of the sale was not too bright at a decline of several shillings per head, and although there was some firming for light prime carcases this soon faded out owing to the weight of supplies, and on the run of the sale the opening rates were not improved upon. Beef of choicest quality made to 35s per 1001 b, prime heifers (some good consignments being yarded) realising 5s per 1001 b under this figure. The entry of fat sheep totalled 1496 ,'(as against 2059 the previous week). The proportion of plain ewes-was significant of the fact that lambs are now being slaughtered in fair nunibers. Heavy wethers and medium weights were .in moderate supply. The demand at opening was better than at the previous sale, and held practically throughout the sale for heavy wethers and medium weights at a general advance of 2s per head, but light primes and ewes showed no change in values. Butchers’ sheep sold to 4?d per lb. An entry of 777 fat lambs (453 last week) comprised fair to prime quality, some pennings being somewhat plain. The demand was brisk at rates slightly lower than the enhanced prices of a week ago, but once butchers’ requirements were met. exporters were able to operate, and secured a few lots at their limits. Top rates for lambs may be quoted at up to BJd per lb, and export sorts at Jd per lb lower. The store cattle yarded comprised 258. and included some 35 two to three-year-old steers, the balance being ordinary to very fair cows. Three-year-old steers made £8 5s to £8 10s, two-and-a-half-year-old steers £5 5s to £7 7s 6d, under very fair competition. Cows unchanged. The supply of fat pigs was above the average (145), and prices eased fully 5s per head, but porkers (85) about held their own, while stores again met with a good demand. Baconers may be quoted at around 7-’-d and porkers to 8-Jd per lb. NORTH ISLAND STORE STOCK VALUES. Best classes of stock in the North Island met with a steady demand at rates ruling the previous week, but inferior store stock are inclined to be dull. At Westfield, in the Auckland province, beef sold to 30s per 1001 b. forward steers £6 to £B, very fair wethers 225, shorn rape lambs 12s to 15s. In Poverty Bay, at the Matawhero yards, store wethers sold to 22s 6d. medium 17s 9d to 19s 6d, good lambs 14s 9d to 16s. medium 9s 6d to 12s. In the Manawatu good shorn whiteface lambs made 16s, mixed young wethers 17s to 21s 6d. In the Wairarapa, very fair prices were paid for both Romney and Southdown ewes at the ewe fair, the former making 1 to sgns, anti the latter 2 to 5-lgns. In Hawke’s Bay two-tooth wethers realised 19s 6d to 21s 6d, extra 23s 6d, wether lambs 15s to 18s, young ewes 19s to 21s 6d, small station steers £3, two-year-old station steers £5, three-year-olds £6 to £6 10s.

At the Masterton sale, black-face rape lambs made to 21s, good two-tooth wethers 225. forward steers £6 19s, two-tooth ewes 22s to 235. fair yearling steers £3. two-year-olds £4 7s, forward steers £6 19s. STOCK NOTES. Store cattle of any merit have inquiry in Otago at present, owing, no doubt, to the plenitude of. stock feed rather than to their value in comparison with fat cattle prices. Southland continues to supply Burnside •with fat stock, not infrequently furnishing the cream of the market. At the moment southern cattle are chiefly in the limelight. comparatively few ’fat sheep being' railed north. There is a fair demand from the north for fine-woolied and crossbred wether Jambs, the former, in buyers’ eyes, being worth around 16s 6d, and the latter 18s 6d per head. There is in addition the railage which the buyers must face, another Is to 2s per head. Fair mouthed ewes, station lots, have also changed hands at 27s per head, but transactions have not been frequent. Some excellently well finished heifers from the south were yarded at Burnside on Wednesday, evoking good competition. Neat and evenly-fleshed animals, they were a credit to the fattener, Mr M'Hill, of Woodlands. They realised £9 10s to £ll 2s 6d. Viewing the conditions generally in the farming world in Otago, it would seem that owners of pastoral country are having, so to speak, “a very fair spin.” On -the other hand, owners of arable

country and mixed farming country are experiewng a worrying time. Prices of fat lambs and fat sheep suitable for export being more or less fixed necessitates fatteners buying stores at prices which will permit them to secure a fair “turnover.” It is too hazardous a business to buy dear stores in the circum-. stances. The growing of green crop now entails more expense than formerly, and those, who fattened stock on rape, turnips, etc., must see to it that they do not buy “too dear.” A special stock sale held in Euroa, Victoria, recently drew a yarding of 7000 sheep and 300 cattle. Lambs suitable for lucerne fatteners came in for keen competition and brought up to 14s 7d. Four and six-tooth comeback ewes made up to 275, two-tooth wethers realised 17s 3d, and four-tooth comeback wethers 20s 6d. The top price for store bullocks was £9 17s 6d, 18-month to two-year-old steers made £5 16s, and 15 to 18 months old £5 ss.

When tethering goats or other animals tying and untying the tether rope is rather troublesome, and can be eliminated if the rope is tied to an old motor tyre casing, which is simply thrown over one of several posts driven into the ground in the grazing field. Another advantage of usino- this method is that the casing will roll around the post, preventing the rope from winding around the pole, and thus bringing the animal close to it and decreasing the grazing area. An announcement was made recently that the Minister for Markets and Migration of Victoria had received a report from the Commonwealth veterinary officer in London containing satisfactory comments regarding the condition and general preparation of recent consignments of Australian bacon which had arrived in England. Notwithstanding this, the veterinary officer recommended that whereever possible frozen pork, instead of bacon, should be sent to England, as it stands the refrigeration processes much better than meat which has undergone a curing process. Some good samples of Australian frozen pigs have been marketed at Smithfield, and realised good prices. Lightning as the cause of death and injury to animals was the subject of an address given by Mr S. J. Motton at the autumn meeting of the Western Counties Veterinary Medical Association at St. Austell (says an exchange). He pointed out that animals were much more frequently struck by lightning than were human beings, and most of the cases occurred when the animals were touching wire fencing or sheltering under trees. Wire fencing being a conductor of lightning, he recommended that a circuit of such fencing round a pasture should be broken by wooden posts, or by heavy wires woven round the fencing and carried to earth beneath it.

PRODUCERS (LTD.). Though little has been heard of. the activities of the promoters of the company which will be Known as Producers (Ltd.). and which is the outcome of the desire of farmers for a better system of disposing of fat stock, progress has been made, and a great many obstacles in connection with the flotation of tlu company have been overcome. A meeting of directors was held on Wednesday, the following being present:—Messrs E. H. Hurney (Tapanui) , R. G. Stiell (Berwick), J. Preston (Flag Swamp), R. J., E. Smith (Wedderburn), D. M. Reid (Milton), and John Clarke (Dunedin). An apology for absence was received from Mr J. D. Revie (Crookston) . The Manager (Mr Chas. E. Pryce) reported on the progress made since the last meeting on November 25 and submitted various proposals which met with the approval of the directors. It is confidently. anticipated that a start will be made in about two months’ time. N.Z. FRIESIAN CHAMPIONS, 1926. Timaru A. and P. Asosciation—Thomas Sherriff, Clandeboye; Manawatu and West Coast A. and P. Association—Central Development Farm, Weraroa; Wairarapa and East Coast A. and P. Association—O. A. Cadwallader. Greytown, Wairarapa; Whangarei A. and P. Association, November 24-25—Hobson Farm Ltd., Wharepapa; Egmont A. and P. Association, November 24-25 —J. E. O’Shea, Ohangai; North Island champion (cow), Stratford—J. E. O’Shea, Ohangai; North Island champion (bull), Stratford—J. E. O’Shea, Ohangai; North Otago A. and P. Association, Oamaru —H. Allnutt. Morven; Canterbury A. and P. Association—J. I. Royds, Fendalton; Royal N.Z. Show, Auckland — Piri Land Co., Taupiri; Otago A. and P. Asociation—H. North and Sons, Omimi; Nelson A. and P. Association —H. T. Cook, Appleby, Nelson; Wyndham A. and P. Association —T. R. Fades, Edendale South; Southland A. and P. Association—H. North and Sons. Omimi; Stratford A. and P. Association. H. Johnson and Son, Stratford; Thames Valley A. and P. Association —H. W. Reeve, Waitoa; South Island champion (bull), Southland—J. G. Oates, Greenhills; South Island champion (cow), Southland —T. R. Fades, Edendale South. EXPORT DAY-OLD CALVES. In reporting to the New Zealand Dairy Produce Export Control Board that there would be no call in connection with the board’s guarantee facilitating the export of a trial shipment of “day-old” veal, the Patea Farmers’ Co-operative Freezing Company, Ltd., indicated that the good demand experienced for the veal suggested a promising future for the use of -what had been a waste, says the New Zealand Dairy Produce Exporter. The result had been financially satisfactory, and also gave employment at a slack period. Messrs Winks and Corrigan, in giving supplementary information, stated that 15,000 calves had been put through, and another 8000 or 10,000 would have been handled except for a local strike. Calves were collected at dairy companies at one —or two —days old, and railed or motored to the works. Farmers had received 5s net a head, and it was possible the final return would be 8s or 9s a head. Approximately 120,000 calves would be available . in Taranaki alone, and if the support warranted the installation of a gelatine plant for treating bones, costing £lO,OOO, each calf would be worth from 15s to 17s 6d. That was a possibility of the future, but even at present there was such a keen demand for the veal that the future seemed

very promising, and it was likely other freezing companies would take up the work. The efforts to open up this outlet for the industry had begun in 1922, and it was satisfactory that on permission at last being given by the Department of Agriculture for a trial shipment, results had turned out so satisfactorily. POPULARITY OF BABY BEEF. The past 50 years have seen a great, change in the methods adopted -for the speedy fattening of most farm stock, until early maturity and quick returns have now become general. With pigs and sheep, the modern method of growing and fattening simultaneously is found in its most intensive form, but with cattle an intervening store period is still very common. In the former cases it would appear that the public demand for lamb and pork met with a ready response from the farmer, who doubtless found the new system economically advantageous; in the latter case developments have been much slower. The position has, however, now been reached when the public shows in an unmistakable manner a definite partiality for a particular type of beef. Small joints constitute modern requirements, and the neat little animals which can supply them are everywhere in request. The reasons for the change in demand, which has occurred at the same time in several countries, are doubtless many and varied, and need not be dealt with here. The object of this article (says London Live Stock Journal) is, rather, to try to impress on the farmer the importance of recognising the state of the market for; his beef products, and at the same time to present some results and figures which appear to indicate that, as in the case of pork and lamb, the changed demand may be capable of being turned to the producer’s advantage. For some years “baby beef” production has been much talked about, but the writer is not aware of any definite data on the subject. It is true that a few farmers here and there have made a specialty of “baby beef,” but neither their methods nor the extent of their financial success appears to be known. It seems, therefore, appropriate to raise the subject in a concrete form by means of this and similar articles in the press. It is hoped in this way to focus the farmers’ attention on modern tendencies in beef production, and to open up a subject which merits much more detailed investigation. The bulk of the beef produced in Great Britain arises from two sources:—(l) From animals bought in as stores to be fattened off in yards on arable farms. (2) From cattle fattened on grass on the grass farms in the Midlands and elsewhere. These animals are usually from 21 to 3J years of age when marketed. They provide excellent beef of the largejoint type, which, though of better quality than imported meat, is still greatly affected in selling price by foreign competition.

Perhaps the best quality beef producer in quantity in this country comes from farms in the North of England and East of Scotland. The native Aberdeen-Angus or a cross of this breed provides the best foundation for meat production, resulting in a special trade of considerable dimensions. The animals are usually marketed at about 21 months of age, and supply a produce of great uniformity and of the highest quality. Without a definite organisation, a graded material is supplied which is much sought after, and commands a special market. More recently, however, attention nas been given to the production of still younger beef under the name of “baby beef.” This class of product is obtained from animals which have been intensively fed from birth, and which reach a weight of 8 9cwt at from 12 to 18 months of age. From the point of view of public taste there is no doubt of the popularity of meat of this kind; it supplies small joints, and the meat is tender and juicy. One criticism offered by the connoisseur in meat is that baby beef lacks the real flavour of beef; he cals it neither good veal nor good beef. On the other hand., there is always plenty of competition for beasts of this kind, indicating acceptability of the meat to the majority of consumers.