EARLY KILLING WILL ASSIST PRODUCERS

Chronicle (Levin), 7 November 1947, Page 4

EARLY KILLING WILL ASSIST PRODUCERS

The first of the new season 's lambs to be drafted -were dealt with" at the L/ongburn freezing works yesterday .liortting and the operation marked the opening oi what should j>rove to be one of the biggest seasons in the history of rhe fat lamb industry. The belief' that creezing space will be subjected to unusual pressure at the peak of this sea? 3on is Based oh ' the lambing returns vvhich- reveal that the industry will be •alled upon to handle up to a million. aiore lambs than the tdtai dealt with ■ iast season. This fac.t, coupled with the higher schedule for the new season and ihe recent further increpient gra&ted to balance the higher prices obtaining for .vool, favours early killing and fat ^ lainb producers generally will no doubf arrange to take advantage of the prev'ailing circumstances. An earlier start with the freezing season was more or iess expected, but fhe killing at the Longburn works yesterday was quite the earliest ever provided for in thjs distriet. The lambs deaJt with were a draft from the Taonui propertv of the Estate of the late Mr A. Camphell and numbecred 250, iney were a good, even line and averaged just over 341b. The di^tinctly favourable season has influencaed the lambing and the warm sunshine, pius an abundance of feed liave combirted to promote rapid growth. With-very few exeeptions lambs are doing excepchngly well and the- early opening of the killing season will be appreciated by -breeders who wish to take advantage of the faeilities to draft early and thus avoid any risk of being held up as drafting develops. Autiioritative ' optnion antieipates that there will arise a rush for space^ early in January anvd breeders stiidying the position will no doubt realise that early killing will assist- them as it will the works organisation. The increment granted to balance the higher prices at present ruling for wool should prove an added indueement to draft early. There is also the -point regarding the matter of siiippmg to Fngland as early as possible as ;much food as can be prodneed and as smeat stores today are practicaiiy 'eiupty producers can assist by getting their lambs olf without holding back and risking the heavi.er weights. Early drafting also favours farming economy as, with the bulk of the lambs out of the way, the producer is then ready to pi-oceed with his arrangements for the summer mouths and is better able to mauage his feed position. The Cooperative Wholesale Society in auLiv.ipij.Li,tg arraugements xor eax-ly drafting is to be commended for tiie enterprise it has displayed in cooperating with producers desiring to iiavc tneir lambs- uealt with befox-e tlie heavy rush sets in and evervbody wish-

ing to draft at once. The society ;s staff and slaughtermen manifested an enthusiastic interest in yesterday 's operations which were a prelude to fuli time activities expected to commence about the middle of the month. Steady progress is being made with the treinendous job of reeonstructing the Longburn works, the plans for which provide for a greatly mcreased capacity.