MEAT PRODUCTION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 48, 13 February 1945, Page 5

MEAT PRODUCTION

HIGHER AVERAGE WEIGHTS

EXPORT MEAT RETURNS

Good feed supplies in almost every district have enabled export meat producers to maintain higher weight averages in the carcases this season and thus take advantage of the revision of the buying schedules which encourage this factor, states the N.Z. Meat Producers Board. Its supervising graders, reporting on weather and feed conditions „ for the week ended February 3 state that in the Auckland district there was Ivright sunshine and no rain, and that pastures were looking and feed was not short.

"Good to excellent" is the estimate of the feed position ill West Coast and Taranakl districts, but the report from Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay mentioned the need of a good rain as the dry spell was reducing the quantity of stock becoming available for the Poverty Bay and Wairoa works.

In the Manawatu and Wairarapa districts, pastures were starting to dry up but had been good for stock so far, though rather soft for a period in the Manawatu.

Conditions in Canterbury had been warm and dry for a fortnight but rain and a cold southerly had set in, and lambs were not doing

very well particularly in the Southern part of the district. Otago and Southland had experienced a good spell of weather. Feed conditions in Southland were reported to be excellent but lambs were not doing well in Otago owing to the softness of the feed, which should improve if fine weather continued. Export meat killings at New Zealand freezing works for the season to January 27, with, comparative figures for the previous season in parentheses have been as follows: — Lambs ' 2 667,001 (2,870 797) Wethers '151',379 ( 68 983) EWes 161,214 ( 107',124) Dominion totals are: Lambs 593 (4,025,703); wethers- 156,817 (71377); ewes 174,836 (123,092); beef (quarters) 75,267 (10,858).