HEAVY BRANDS LOWER PRICES

Te Ao Hou, June 1959, Page 75

HEAVY BRANDS LOWER PRICES The action of wool buyers at the Auckland sale recently in not bidding for excessively branded wool should be a warning to sheep farmers to take greater care in branding their sheep. In their own interests farmers should not brand heavily, should use only approved wool-marking preparations, and should not dilute branding fluids with unscourable substances such as engine oil. All wool-marking preparations must be submitted to the Department of Agriculture for approval before they can be sold. Though the sheep farmer has a guarantee that the branding fluid he buys is scourable, wool buyers remain suspicious of over-branded wools and they either do not bid for those lines or get them at a very much lower price. If a branding fluid must be diluted, it should only be with a substance recommended by the manufacturer. Safe diluents are usually indicated on the label of the container. The Department of Agriculture advises farmers to brand sheep only on places where the wool is less valuable, such as far back on the rump, and not on the shoulders, back, or flanks, where the better wool grows.