CURRENT TOPICS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17233, 12 April 1930, Page 15

CURRENT TOPICS

N. Otago Fat Stock. Advice received from Oamurii is that the reduced fat stock prices for highest grades, from Monday last, are as follow: —Lambs 7L1., wethers s§d., ewes 3gd. Australian Wool. A total of 2,352,694 bales of wool were received at the principal Australian centres from duly 1 to February 28, a. decrease of 112,822 bales. The receipts at Sydney were 1,043,765 bales ami in Victoria 625,364. All states except: Western Australia showed decreases. The Fattening Season.

Though sheep farmers have suffered ‘ sp by tln> fall in wool prices this year ;n I here have been some slight eompen-j H sat ions. Not, the least is that tho-a season has been an excellent one for '■ J| fattening (states the Taranaki News.) j |j Some good drafts have been sent; from |jj the King (Jon ntry this year. j || The Ideal System. i!§

Speaking of his experiences in tho South Island, Air. (J. M. Hume, Do-

minion Herd Testing Federation supervisor, says that at O’Kain’s Bay, on A i.area Peninsula, liq found what is really the ideal system of group testing. AH charges are borne by the O’Kain’.s Bay Co-operative Dairy Co. Every herd is, therefore, under test. J£ a man will not. test, he must pay towards the testing of other men’s herds. Btandariscd Cheese.

Air. P. 0. Yeale, scientist at tho Haw era Dairy laboratory, lias been investigating the economics of .standardisation of milk for cheese-making, and he submitted an interim report to the South Taranaki Federation of Dairy Companies. Alombcrs considered that it. would allay doubts regarding tho wisdom of standardisation.

Lamb Losses. There has been a fairly heavy mortality' among lambs during the season in the Waimato district. A number of farmers have been losing lambs, which have been doing well on feed. At one time a large death rate was experienced, just before weaning time, but this year it seems to be as bad, if not worse, since the lambs have been put on to feed.

Pig Grading. 'Flic council of the New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association is organising a Dominion-wide conference of farmers’ organisations to discuss the best steps that can be taken towards achieving the compulsory grading of pigs. Grading of pigs has been mooted by various farming interests frequently during the past year or two, and yet no results have been obtained. The First Cow.

“1 believe it ‘ was in 1818 that Governor AfcQuarrie and Samuel Alarsden, in the brig Active, landed the first Jersey herd in Now Zealand,” said Air. \V. .7. Poison, Af.P., at the celebration of the opening of tho new butter factory for the Stratford Coop. Dairy Co. “This herd consisted of one bull and two cows, but think of the extraordinary development that has occurred since then, and imagine what prospects there arc for the future if the present generation can put into the work the same, patience and forethought that their forefathers did!”

The Recent Dry Spell. .Lack of rain and early frosts have created a stagnation of growth in the pastures in Manawatu and Wuirarnpn. Feed was scarce, and early frosts affected maize reserves, while in the Manawatu the usual supplies of soft turnips and rape are not available. The milk production there dropped rapidly, but in the Wairarapa milk supplies were reported to be keeping up fairly well, while the seasonal output should be above that of last year, one of the factories reporting an increase of nearly 20 per cent, over last season 's figures.

Herd Testing. As a result of a visit to the South Island recently, Mr. G. M. Hume, Dominion supeivisor of group herd testing, states that it is practically a certainty that at least, three groups will operate in Westland next year a.s well as two groups in the Buller district, which covers Westport, Scddonvillo and 1 Ivaramea. Mr. Hume is of the opinion that dairying must expand on the West Coast, with ils good land and high rainfall. Mr. Hume found 'ii.it 'n South Canterbury and North Otago a very small percentage of the i iv mid<*r 'test., as dairying is. n '•rally speaking, conducted as a -ide line. At one important centre there are S.'!2 suppliers to a factory iiroducing only <IOO tons of butter in the •year. Over a hundred of the sup]»I mill; only one cow, and at least: 100 arc milking less limn six cows, ile I'm, no Southland 1 lie brightest spot in Ihe -rutb so far as group testing