How N.Z. Can Give Britain More Meat

Chronicle (Levin), 21 June 1949, Page 6

How N.Z. Can Give Britain More Meat

GISBORNE, June 20. A change in breed sires and the scrapping of the present system of grading built up on the strneture of eonsumer preference, as temporary measures, would do mueh to build up the Doininion's output of mutton and eonfcribute largely to the 50,000 ton increase in meat promised by New Zealand to the United Kingdom, aecording to Dr. C. P. McMeekan. director of the Ruakura Animal Research Station. Dr. McMeekan told the Gisborne V-eterinary Club 's f arm school, of experiments at Buakura with 500 ewes for three successive seasons. They had put eight different breeds over Romnev ewes, contrasting the progeny as fat lambs on the hooks. The br.eeds used were Southdown, Ryland, Dorset, Suffolk, Border Leicester, English Leicester, Cheviot and straight Romney. The Suffolk, Dorest and Border Leicester produced more totai meat and more nioney value per lamb than the Down, the Suffolk cross averaging hbout 4d 1b heavier on the hooks than the Down. A considerable increase in tonnage couia be obtained by the simpie experiment of a change in rarns. "That situation is a fact," declared Dr. McMeekan. "In view of the fact that the producers of the Dominion have undertaken to increase the ontpul of meat by 50,000 tons and there seems little prospect of them doing so by normal means, this method is worth considering. " In terms of existing ideas in fat lambs, and quality grading, the stan dard lambs produced by this . bretd woul'd'grade out less efiieiently than the Dowh-cross. They were bigger, leggiej and leaner lambs, ' ■ "The .grading standards adopted it

this Dominion are relatively artificial, * ' Dr. McMeekan eontinued. "They have definitely been so for 10 years for grad- : ing meat for quality based on a eonsumer preference basis, where the first grade is eonsidered better than the seeond grade. For 10 years in Britain there has been no eonsumer preference because of the rationing of meat. I believe there is very little cnance of there being any eonsumer preference in Britain for another 10 years at, least. For 10 years there has been no quality i diff erential possible« and there is no sign of a change in conditions to those ruling pre-war. Insofar as the English

housewife has to be eontent with a ration of lOd worth 6f meat a week, the amount is of much more interest than quality. The present Down-cross grade is a lousy grade. Over 10 per eent of the meat she buys is fat which she does not want. " Dr. McMeekan said it would be a relatively easy change to mqke and producers could just as easily revert back to the use of the Down when a quality earcase agaia became paramount.