AGRICULTURE

Southland Times, Issue 20793, 6 June 1929, Page 13

AGRICULTURE

A GOOD SEASON. ADDRESS BY MR W. 0. McKELLAR. OPTIMISTIC REGARDING FUTURE. (Special to the Times.) Dunedin,. June 4. Agricultural matters as they affect the Dominion generally were the subject- of interesting reference in an address delivered by Mr W. 0. McKellar, retiring president at. the annual meeting of the Otago A. and P. Society to-night. “In this province,” said Mr McKellar, "the year 1927-28 was a bounteous one so far as tho yields were concerned, and it. was hardly to be expected that 'we could have two as good seasons running, but taking everything into consideration we have come off fairly well in our fields this season. Prices in some products have shown a drop as compared with last year, and this drop was greatest in wool generally and in fine wool in particular. Fortunately, so far as we can see at present, the present downward tendency in wool appears to have been checked, although in this connection it is to be hoped the present somewhat uncertain position regarding the future of the English Government will not have a disturbing effect upon this market. If it does not, the prices now ruling cannot, be considered other than remunerative to growers. When compared with the average of wool values over a period of years, the actual drop in the South Island as compared with the 1927-28 season has been about threepence per lb on the average, but in the North Island, where the wool grown is of a coarser grade, the drop was not so great. The fluctuations that have taken place in the wool market of recent years emphasizes the necessity to aim at breeding only the best of sheep. When wool is high, any old sheep as it were, will show a profit, but when the market falls, those owners whose flocks have been carefully selected and bred to yield a high weight of good quality wool, are the only ones then in a position to show satisfactory returns per head and per acre.”

Directing his remarks to the frozen meat trade, Mr McKellar again struck a hopeful note. “In lamb, and mutton,” he said, the average price obtainable in the South Island for first grade lambs shows a drop this year up to the present time of rather less than a penny per lb compared with the 1927-28 season, and a rise of almost a penny compared with the 1926-27 season. Wether and ewe mutton both show increases over the last two seasons. With our frozen mutton and lamb, especially the latter, we are fortunate in that we cater for a first-class trade. ' By this, I mean, that the consumers in the Old World are people to whom any reasonable rise in the cost of the family joint does not matter a great deal so that, provided we continue to maintain our present high quality and maintain this trade, it would appear’ that nothing much can go wrong.” “In our beef export trade, we are not so favourably placed owing to our inability to compete with the chilled product of Argentina. This is a point we require to keep well before us. Last year a profitable outlet. was found in the United States for some of our beef, but there are at present proposals to increase the tariff against us there. Whether these finally come into operation or not it is obvious that, we should miss no opportunity of exploring markets for our surplus produce.” • “In regard to dairy produce, it can be stated that a good year is being experienced in Otago, especially by those supplying factories which sold forward f.0.b.”