CANTERBURY BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3961, 11 February 1930, Page 18

CANTERBURY BUDGET.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) MORE LIKE MID-SUMMER. Harvesting operations have progressed rapidly this week, as over practically the whole of Canterbury there has been quite settled weather, and on all sides the binder has been at work, and there are thousands of acres in stook, incuding all classes of cereals. Saturday last was the ideal for Canterbury at present—a really warm day without any wind to speak of — and the affect on many crops was particularly noticeable. The following day was threatening, and in some parts there were light showers, but the warm sun shone again before the day was out, and the indications suggest further warm weather. The cereals which have been dealt with so far show very varied returns, but on the whole the crops promise to be about the average. Odd paddocks of wheat arc exceptionally good. There will be a few that go as high as 60 bushels to the acre, hut they are the exception.

THE WOOL IMPROVEMENT. After the better market in Australia for wool and the improvement in the London sales there was a spirit of optimism abroad before the Timarn sale this week, and the rise in prices experienced there was anticipated. There is a full catalogue for the Christchurch sale this week, and the back-country pastoralists are hoping that there will be a still further movement upwards. The February sale is the back-country man’s day of realisation, and as the fall in prices has hit him hardest there is good reason for his hope. The back-country man has little to finance on if his wool returns are very little more than half what they were a year ago. Many who had their wool in for the January sale had this bitter experience, having to take down as low as half what they received for their clips last year. A moderate price for fat lambs stands to the grazier of the plains at such a time as this.

ENCOURAGING THE CITY LADS.

An experiment in connection with the back-to-the-land movement is to be tried by the Rural Vocational League during the present month. This is a summer camp for lads who it is hoped will be interested in farming. It is to be held at Canterbury Agricultural College. Lincoln, and the facilities of the college have been placed at the disposal of those organising the camp. Not much practical work is to be attempted in the first year, but it is hoped that later practical work will be carried out and the boys will be shown how they can make themselves useful and worth any farmer employing them. The proposal is being well supported, as there are in Christchurch many lads willing to take up country work but who cannot milk or do any of the things which a boy is expected to do as soon as he goes on to a farm, and the league is aiming to make such lads employable.

STORE LAMBS BRING GOOD PRICES.

Weather conditions have certainly been an improvement during the past week on anything experienced in the previous month, and there was a consequent firming in the demand for store lambs at the metropolitan yards on Wednesday. The drier weather has meant better fattening conditions and there was a decidedly spirited sale for the more forward and better bred sorts, such as the better class lambs from the Peninsula. The prices suggest a good deal of optimism among the fatteners, but most probably it is due mostly to the very natural reluctance on the part of farmers to see feed waste. The entry of lambs was very close to five figures, and the quality was better than usual with a good proportion of strong woolled lots, which would take very little finishing. For these the prices were fully Isa head better than at the previous sale, and it is doubtful if the whole of the yarding did not sell at prices which showed the same margin of advance. The fact that so far the export companies have not varied the schedule for lambs may have engendered a considerable amount of confidence in the men who engage in

fattening lambs, but, as has been remarked in this column on previous occasions lately, it is difficult to see where the margin of profit which is fly due o’ the fattener is to come from. Nearly 25 per cent, of the lambs sold touched £1 a head, and there was fully a third of them which brought 19s a head or better. Outside districts were well represented ie the consignments, and notable among them were drafts from the Chatham Islands, which were out of the wool, and several from the West Coast. The Chatham lambs sold very well indeed, making 20s 2d. but of course they were the sorts which would make heavy weights later on. Several other pens were within a few pence of £1 a head. The best price of the day was 22s for a draft of lambs sent over from Governor's Bay. In the fat lamb pens there were many lots which sold at figures which were not as good or only a few pence better than the store prices.

MANY OUTSIDE DRAFTS.

From the commencement of February onwards there are thousands of adult sheep poured into Addington yards for sale, and this week there were large consignments from the Nelson province, the Sounds, the West Coast, the Chatham Islands, and Otago. Quite a number of men who breed for the very early lamb market were operating, and the Chatham Island ewes found favour with them. As wool is under a cloud at present, the consideration which is usually given to the quality of the fleece from the ewe does not receive as much attention, and consequently it is not surprising that the coarse-skinned ewes are meeting with a» free a demand as the finer woolled sneep. The ewes from the Chatham Islands met with a very ready sale, and from 28s to 28s 6d was paid for the best of them. A useful pen of half-bred two-toothed ewes were offered and they brought 29s 3d. They were early shorn and were in good order • Lines from Otago were mainly restricted to hard wethers with tailing mouths, 'there are always buyers tor any class of sheep at Addington at a price, and they were mostly placed Forward sheep, and most of those, which fitted this description were big Romney crosses, made good money, sales being made from 24s to 25s for them. Sounds sheep were mainly small halfbreds, and they were rot specially attractive. Recently a sale has been made of a draft of the better class of Gisborne ewe privately to several Canterbury farmers, and they brought 25s on the boat at the northern port. This is equivalent to 31s landed on the farm. It happens that they are one of the most sought after drafts from the Poverty Bay country, so it appears that the northern pastoralists have modified their prices considerably. For some time they have asked prices which Canterbury dealers could not hope to pay and secure a return, anything from 30s to 35s being asked. No doubt they were encouraged to ask these figures by the fact

that the Auckland province, and the Wair'arapa bought fairly freely at high figures, but it appears that the outlet in this quarter does not give much hope for getting rid of the remaining surplus, and there is every prospect of a few good sized drafts coming to the south from Poverty Bay. Arrangements have been made for the sale of several drafts from properties, where the best of the sheep, which pass through the Addington yards from Poverty Bay are bred. It appears that the supply of two tooth ewes will not be large, but the Gisborne people are finding difficulty with their cast ewes. The chances are that a good many of this sort will be sent south.

Contrary to general anticipations there has been an absence of fluctuation hi the lamb trade, and this week there was a sound market. The basis was still from B]d to BJd. As one farmer put it on Wednesday there is nothing wrong with these prices except that on occasions the prices have been better than Is.