Down Grade For South Is. Lamb Next Season

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30469, 17 June 1964, Page 1

Down Grade For South Is. Lamb Next Season

• (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 16. The New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board has reaffirmed its decision to introduce a Down grade in prime export lambs in the South Island. This will apply from the beginning of the next export lamb slaughtering season, from October 1 next, says a statement released today by the board.

The chairman of the board, Sir John Ormond, said today that the board adhered to its decision after having carefully considered the views recently stated in Christchurch.

The decision would mean that grading of export lamb would be uniform for the whole of New Zealand. It would involve introducing in

the South Island a Down grade in the D’s (prime 281 b and under) and 2’s (prime 29 to 361 b). Sir John Ormond said this alteration would bring about greater uniformity within grades in the South’ Island. There was no thought of making the Down grade a superior grade in terms of price. What this alteration would do was provide butchers in the United Kingdom with a product which had been more uniformly graded. The Prime Canterbury grade

at present contained a mixture of lambs of the Prime Down and Prime Crossbred grades. With the introduction in the South Island of Prime Down and Prime Crossbred grades, the official quotation of a Prime Canterbury grade would no longer be necessary. Nevertheless there was no suggestion that the name Canterbury need disappear from wraps and tags on lamb from Canterbury. Lamb from Canterbury could continue to be sold and advertised as Canterbury lamb.