MEAT BOARD GRANT INCREASED

Southland Times, Issue 23498, 3 May 1938, Page 3

MEAT BOARD GRANT INCREASED

DISTRICT FAT LAMB COMPETITION The New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board, realizing the increasing competition from all sources in the meat export trade to the United Kingdom, again stresses to all farmers and sheep breeders the vital importance of improving the quality of their flocks to meet the situation. The premium New Zealand has always secured in the United Kingdom over that obtained by other mutton and lamb exporting countries is due to quality, and every endeavour’must be made to see that this premium is maintained or increased. Under such conditions of increased competition in respect of quality our relative superiority would tend to disappear unless further efforts are made. Our reputation on the British market has been built up and maintained on quality, and it cannot be stressed too much that we must maintain that essential factor at all costs.

It was decided by the board to communicate with the sheep breed societies in the Dominion asking them to endeavour in every way possible tq influence their members in the direction of producing a type of sheep most suitable for the production of the ideal lamb.

The annual district fat lamb competition inaugurated by the board in 1931 with the object of improving the quality of export lambs, has proved to be of great educational value to farmers and also serves as an excellent medium for advertising our lambs when displayed at Smithfield. The large gatherings of farmers at freezing works where the lambs are viewed prior to being shipped, demonstrates the interest which is now being taken in these competitions throughout the Dominion. With a view to creating still greater interest in these competitions it has now been decided by the board to supplement the amount hitherto donated for these competitions by making a grant to the controlling A. and P. association for each district, to be allocated as prize money for the competition in its district as it thinks best.