ON THE LAND

Southland Times, Issue 22140, 7 October 1933, Page 5

ON THE LAND

WORK OF THE WEEK FAVOURABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS DAIRY PRICES EASIER The past week has been a splendid one for the farmer. The good, warm weather has had a beneficial effect on pastures and crops, and everywhere in the province farms and stations reflect the benefits of a mild spring. Merchants are very busy at the present time delivering orders of seeds and manures. There is not a great deal being sown in oats this year. This is the result of the low prices which obtained last year. Nevertheless the rotation of crops demands that a certain amount of oats require to be sown, consequently seed oats have been going out as well as can be expected. The lambing season in Southland is just about completed. Another fortnight should see it all through and provided the weather remains fine there is no doubt that the season will be one of the most successful of recent years. Fanners are in good heart as they are expecting to get the minimum of 16/- per head for their fat lambs next year, and in some instances the expectations are even higher. There is no doubt that the rise in wool, if maintained, must result in higher prices for early season lambs next year as compared with those of this year. So far there are no sales of recent date higher than s|d offered for cheese. The position seems doubtful owing to uncertainty regarding the exchange rate, but buyers are concluding their contracts on the basis that any difference in the exchange will be at the risk of the seller.

Owing to the number of cows having had vaginitis last year many of the herds are not coming in satisfactorily and some of the cows that are very late may not calve at all. The result of this is that good cows near to profit # are in demand at the present time. There is still activity in the real estate market, and one deal of note during the past week was the sale of half of Mr James Lilico’s farm (about 300 acres), near Drummond, to Mr Cuthbert Cowan, formerly of Kauana. Dairy Produce. The following is a comparison of the dairy produce prices ruling on Thursday and those of a week earlier, the mean of the prices range being given: Sept. 28. Oct. 5.

Butter— Danish 107/N.Z. (finest salted) 105/99/6 N.Z. (finest unsalted) 107/Australian (finest salted) 105/10 99/6 (finest unsalted) 105/Cheese— N.Z. (white) 52/3 49/6 N.Z. (coloured) — 49/6 Australian (white) « - ''' — Australian (coloured) — — -