ON THE LAND

Southland Times, Issue 22758, 7 December 1935, Page 7

ON THE LAND

SHEARING FORWARD KEEN INTEREST IN WOOL PROSPECTS MEAT SHIPMENTS Although the show season is claiming its full share of time and attention from farmers, there has been no lessening in general farm activity. Shearing is proceeding apace, and the indications arc that woof will be in much earlier this year than usual. Most farmers used to leave their ewes until after the New Year, when the first draft of lambs had been taken, but now many of them have the ewes shorn earlier. In weather such as Southland has been experiencing recently, there is practically no danger of a check, either to the ewe or to the lamb. All agricultural work is exceptionally well forward this season. Oat crops are looking very well indeed, and if good weather continues, there should be an early and abundant harvest. Farmers are naturally pleased with the turn the wool market has taken, and they are anticipating substantially bigger cheques than they received last year. The dairy market is fairly firm, and there have been sales at 5Jd and in one case at sjd, this being paid for a small quantity of November make. The keen inquiry for land continues, although it is out of season for selling farms. However, agents expect that after the New Year a good deal of business will be done if they can get farms to sell that are worth the money. Mutton and Lamb. So far this season heavier shipments of mutton and lamb have been made from New Zealand, but the export figures of pork and beef are reduced. During the period from October 1 to November 15, 233,463 carcasses of mutton were exported, compared with 107,368 carcasses in the corresponding period last year. The shipments of lamb were 172,051 carcasses, against 157,481 carcasses. In beef the comparative shipments were: Chilled, 10,103 (1065) quarters; frozen, 38,337 (64,211) quarters; boneless, 14,998 (15,847) bags. The export of pork amounted to 36,321 carcasses, against 59,484 carcasses. Killings of stock to date, compare with the previous season as follows:

Separate killing figures for North Island and South Island works show that as yet there has been no beef killed for export in the South Island, while the sheep and lamb killing season has barely started.

Canterbury’s Wool. Rain has so seriously interfered with shearing in Canterbury this season that until the last few days it looked as though the amount of wool to be submitted at the first Christchurch sale to be held next Wednesday would be very short of the Wool Committee’s allocation of 24,000 bales, says the Press. The prospect has now altered, and with wool coming in much more freely, it appears that there will be no serious shortage in the catalogue. Weather held up deliveries of wool to the two North Island sales, but at both Auckland and Napier there was enough wool carried over from last year to bring the offerings up nearly to the allocations. In Canterbury there was very little wool held over from last year, certainly, not enough available for the first sale to make up 40 per cent, of the offering, as was the case in Napier. Wool that has so far come into the Christchurch stores for sale next week is in general more attractive than was that offered last year. The growing season has been a good one, except in a few northern districts, where a severe storm with snow in September gave the sheep a bad check. Deliveries so far contain much bright, attractive wool, clean, and well grown, a contrast to last year’s offering, of which a big proportion was heavy in condition, and inclined to show more or less bad yolk stain. Not a great deal of really showy wool has come forward, but the general standard is good, and the clips have opened up attractively. Prices are confidently expected to be up as much as they have been at the northern sales, though the Wellington auction to-day, which will include a fair proportion of halfbreds of a type corresponding closely to that produced in Canterbury, will give a better indication than the two previous sales at which the bulk of the offering was crossbred.

1935. 1934. Chilled beef (quarters) 8,933 1,065 Frozen beef (quarters) 2,537 2,236 Wethers (carcasses) 35,549 15,288 Ewes (carcasses) 2,173 4,035 Lambs (carcasses) 187,152 241,394 Porkers (carcasses) 31,880 71,958 Baconers (carcasses) 27,027 24,203 Boneless beef (freight carcasses) 12,153 1,292 Sundries (frt, carcasses) 49,500 34,851