CANTERBURY BUDGET.

Otago Witness, Issue 4049, 20 October 1931, Page 18

CANTERBURY BUDGET.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) 1 i MARKETING OF WHEAT. CHRISTCHURCH, October 17. 1 Steps are being taken by the “free” 1 wheatgrowers in Canterbury (those who 1 are not connected with the Wheat Pool) ‘ to secure equal representation on the I ; marketing board that is to be set up to ' control the disposal of next season’s wheat crop. At a meeting held in Ashburton this week the following resolution was carried: — “ That this meeting resolves that it is necessary, in the interests of all wheatgrowers, that if a board is to be established to manage the affairs in connection with next season’s wheat crop, such board shall consist of an equal number of representatives of the pool members and of the free wheatgrowers, also that two members of the stock and station agents should be added to such board of management, in order that the wheatgrowers should at all times have the benefit of their business experience, the millers to have equal representation on the board with the allied interests.” In advancing arguments in favour of the idea, one speaker stated that the pool controlled 100,000 acres, and the “free”' growers 200,000 acres. Meetings are to be held in other districts, and the appointment of representatives to the board is to be left to a committee, consisting of three members, set up at each of these meetings. The whole will constitute an electoral committee. The committee elected at Ashburton consists of Messrs H. F. Nicoll, G. W. Leadley, and P. F. Ryan. ADDINGTON MARKET. Though the entry was not of the biggest for this time of the year, buyers of store sheep at Addington this week had a little more to pick and choose from than they have lately. There were more ewes with lambs forward, and they were a. fairly mixed collection, ranging from soundmouth sheep down to shabby old ewes that looked their age. A big consignment of dry young halfbred ewes from the Blenheim district —the first from this source for .some months—added a little more interest to the sale, though they were nothing out of the way in quality. With feed prospects a good deal better than they were a fortnight ago as a result of the recent spell of warm weather, which has brought pastures in many places away with a rush, buyers were not so disposed to sit hard on their limits, and compared with some of the recent sales, the market was a comparatively free one. There was quite an active demand for ewes with lambs, the popular lines being those that would make up about a truck-lot. Everything that was offered in the way of this class of sheep was sold at auction, and in many cases the prices paid for them were hardly justified in the view of the present outlook for lamb, wool, and mutton. One would have thought that last year’s experience would not have been forgotten. As much as Ils was paid for a line of halfbred ewes and lambs. The ewes were of a little better class than most that have been seen in these yards, and though their mouths were worn they were in fair condition. The lambs, which were by Southdown rams, were quite healthy, but at this figure it is difficult to see what margin there will be in it for the purchaser by the time he has his lambs away and the ewes shorn and finished off. For a line of threequarterbred ewes, a little younger, 10s lid was paid. On relative values they looked a much better buy than the line just quoted. The ewes had been treated well, and the lambs, which were by Border Leicester rams, were a promising-looking lot, some of them being very well grown. Just as in the other case, there were one or two buyers who were anxious to get them. They were not to be stopped for a penny or two, with the result that the purchase price was more or less a false value. Still another line of second cross ewes, described as six and eight'-tooths, made 10s lOd. They were in reasonably good order, and had lambed early. The best of the Blenheim ewes, chiefly two- ’ tooths, made from 12s to 13s. : Considering the excellent prices that . were obtained in the fat sheep pens last ’ week, the influx of supplies on Wednesday ’ was not at all unexpected. In fact, it j was inevitable. Almost anything that ’ looked like a fat sheep was bundled off the farm and shipped away to market, and ’ the result was that the mixture of quality 1 this week was more pronounced than has : been for .some time. Nevertheless there . were again many splendidly-finished pens ’ of both wethers and ewes forward, and the money they brought was quite satisfactory, despite the all-round drop in price. This, of course, was the obvious outcome of the over supply, and it resulted , in the general level of prices coming back ’ to where it was a fortnight ago, the drop | averaging from about 2s to 3s 6d a head. , Up to 30s Id was paid for the best of ’ the wethers, a Southland vendor secur- . ing this price for a line of five sent up ‘ with a truck lot of ewes. The ewes also I topped the market in that section, 45 of them making from 20s lOd to 265, the latter figure being paid for 10. The better class of wether mutton appeared to be selling on a basis of from 4d to 4Ad per lb, with ewe mutton bringing 4d at the outside, and in many cases a little under that. This is a good deal 1 better than the prices ruling for. mutton ! at the end of the last export season, when 1 wethers were fetching 31d per lb, and ewes ; just a shade off 2d. Judging by the way the offering of spring lambs was absorbed thia week, the . demand for this class of meat must be , improving. The entry totalled 354 head, , as compared with 247 last week, and as is , usually the case when the yardings start to get bigger a larger number of second grade lambs start to creep in. This was i the case on Wednesday, when there were , many lambs that would have looked better , for a longer spell with the ewes. These were apt. to be neglected for a little, and w-ere, if anything, a little cheaper than they have been. Good lambs with some bloom about them were easily saleable on a basis of round about 9d per lb. With prospects as they are, farmers would be advised to get rid of as many lambs as they can at round about that figure, which can hardly hold for much The pick of the offering made over 28s, the top figure being 28s 4d. From about 20s to 24s appeared to be the average

range for the bulk of the medium andl good-class sorts. . With the big shrinkage that has takeiii place in the weekly demand, it does not; take much to upset the fat cattle market; these days. After keeping fairly. steady at improved levels for the previous couple’ of weeks, as a result of the supplies beingmore in keeping with the demand, the’; market on Wednesday slipped back a littleagain, because of it being a little overloaded. The entry of 375 head w.ag only--36 head more than it was the previous: ’ week. A fair proportion of the steerbeef made round about 30s per 1001 b,, with as high as 34g being reached ini several instances. The best of the heiferbeef made up to the former figure, and for cow beef the average price was somewhere about 255. The best of the steers made up to £l7 7s 6d, and quite a num--ber of pens brought over £l2. The top. price for heifers was £l3 7s 6d, and for a show cow £l4 2s 6d was paid. The tops; of several lines of cows and heifers made over £lO. STOCK IMPROVEMENTS. The desirability of introducing legislaU°u that will bring about the elimination of ‘ scrub ” stock was discussed at a meeting of the Canterbury A. and P. Association, which has been engaged on an active ’ campaign in this direction for some time this week. It was decided, however, tC» wait until a'copy of the British- Stock Improvement Act had come to hand, so that the regulations embodied in that could be used as a guide. It was stated by the secretary (Mr M. E. Lyons) that the committee setup, to go into the question had decided to recommend that legislation be passed on the lines of the British Act, with provision for the establishment of central committees. The need for local organisation to supervise the scheme was mentioned, and it was further pointed out that the standard set at first should not be too high. “ BOBBY ” CALF PRODUCTION. If anticipations prove correct, the number of “ bobby ” calves that will be exported from the South Canterbury district this season will exceed last, season’s . by about 1000. Up to the end of September 2240 had been collected in and around . Temuka, and there are still some weeks to go. The number collected last season was 2651. An advance of 3s is being made on good calves, and 1 on and . cheques are to be sent out about the ; middle of next month. COLLEGE LAMBING RETURNS. , An average lambing return of 116 per i cent, was secured over all studs at Lini coin College this season. The total loss ; of ewes was’under 2 per cent., the causes • being accidents and septic poisoning, so > that there were no unaccountable losses. 1 One feature of the lambing was that in : many cases of twins the second was a - weakling and died. The following table ! shows the returns from the different studs:— • Per cent. Border Le’cesters 144 l Suffolk .. 129 > Romneys 121 . English Leicesters 110 Shropshires no Southdowns . 102 Corriedales 102 9 Average of all studs 116 1 s CHEVIOT A. AND P. ASSOCIATION. At its annual meeting this week, the I Cheviot A. and P. Association decided to 1 hold its annual show next year, the date t being fixed for March 12. The association > did not hold its show this year because r of the existing conditions. Fuancially the ’ association is in a good position, the • balance at the bank, according to the “ balance sheet, being over £72, and the c value of the assets £655. ' The following officers were elected for ; the coming year:—Patrons, Rt. Hon. G. 3 M 7. Forbes, Sir Charles Clifford, Messrs R. E. M’Dougall, and Robert Sloss; presi- ’ dent, Mr E. Winskill; vice-presidents—-a Messrs J. T. Read, G. J. Crampton, and ; A. M. Hyde; committee—Messrs J. Beckett, P. F. Childs. W. G. Dickson, W. A. I Douglas, A. H. Gibson. E. A. Harrison, C. F. Holton, R. IV. Hughes, John , M'Adam, R. M'Adam, jun., B. Smith, B. . Stevenson, G. Telfer, J. Stevenson, W. ; Walls, A. Wilkinson. F. S. Wilson, J. ? W’alton, J. M’Adam, W. D. Stewart, and [ P. A. Barnes; auditor, Mr D. C. Down. ’ HERD TESTING. ; The Canterbury Herd-testing Associal tion’s average returns for the month of ■ September show that the monthly group i average for the three groups—Peninsula, > Plains, and Rangiora—was 8521 b of milk, a _ test 3,8 and 32.191 b of fat. from • 778 cows. The Peninsula group led in ’ butter-fat production, the average from ; 268 cows being 33.361 b, with a test of 3.7. In the Plains group there was a test of 3.8 and a production of 30.051 b 1 fat, and in the Rangiora group the re- ! spective figures were 3.8 and 33.28. The ’ highest herd average was recorded among • the Rangiora group, the quantity of butter-fat being 46.771 b for 22 cows. In , the Plains group it was 42.66 for nine . cows and in the Peninsula group 39.60 for 15 cows. The Plains group produced the highest individual cow return—6slb fat.