POULTRYMEN CONFER

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2427, 5 April 1915, Page 8

POULTRYMEN CONFER

N.Z. ASSOCIATION'S CONFERENCE OPENED

:WAR AFFECTS THE INDUSTRY

S Tlie fifth annual conference of the jNew-Zealand Poultry Association, open■»ed at the Masonic Hall on Saturday, [when there was a reception of tlie delegates by the Mayor (Sir. J. P. Luke). Sir. A. G. Muniby, president of the assoiciation, was in the clrair. ■ In welcoming the delegates Mr. Luke Said he had been impressed at last [pear's conference with the progressive manner which had characterised 1 all the 'delegates in their business. The speaker jundorstood. that the conference was representative of three phases of the poultry industry—some of the delegates were . associated with the_ -work as hobbyists, "others in contributing to. the domestic supply, and others as the poultry trading industry.- They could see that the industry was well represented in these 1 ,ihreo phases. The speaker referred to :tbe great good resulting from tlie -work "of the egg circles, and went on to refer "!to the influence the war had had on ithe "poultry industry., At tho present <iay, :said Mr. Luke, the poultrykeepers * .-were; working wider _ adverse circumstances, in t-liat their'main supply and source of poultry feed had been inter- - fered with. Letters to tho papers had given evidence of the latter. The speaker, was sure, however, that British character and resource aa had heeri evidenced in other 'quarters'--' -.would '■help'tho association along.' The Mayor made eulogistic reference to ,the : work' of Mr. Brown, .Government..'Poultry Expert,in helping the'industry.. Mr. G. Finn (a member of the conference committee) thanked the Mayor for, ■his felicitous remarks. A vote of thanks' to the Mayor was carried unanimously. I Subsequently a- motion, proposed by Mr. . Finn, expressing the association's Jippreciation of the fine patriotic spirit by the officers, men, and 'nurses in going to tlie front was carried ■ unanimously, while tho National . lAnthem was sung on the proposal of the Mayor.

President's Retiring Address. The president, in .the course of his retiring. address, made some .interesting and important references bo the industry. 'Referring to' the influence the war shad had oil the poultry industry, Mr. Mumby said that it was with regret lie reported that-poultrymen in New had received the greatest setback they had possibly ever had. The iprices of poultry, foodstuffs had soared tto such heights that poultry-keepers were ihaving to pay nearly a hundred per cent, snore for wheat (the main foodstuff) jthan before the war. To give an exact •idea of the difference in prices, the following was his own experience:—On (August 1, 1914, he bought wheat at '4s. 2d. per bushel f.o.b. Lyttelton; three weeks ago it cost him 7s. 2d. f.o.b. same port. On June 18, 1914, he bought bran at £4 os. on trucks, Wellington—to-day it would cost £8 ss. On July 18 he bought pollard-at £6 18s. on trucks— to-day it would~cost about £9 Ids'. These high prices -practically meant . that the Teturns would give little oi nothing to pay for , their labour, lease of farm, or interest on capital invested. ,The prices of eggs had not increased in any proportionate measure. In "Welling- ' ton the prices for January, February, and March of 1914 and 1915 respectively had been: —January, 1914, Is. la. to Is. 4d.'; January, 1915, Is. 2d. to Is. 6d. 1914, Is. 6d. to Is. 7d. j • [February, 1915, Is. Bd. to Is. lOd. March, 1914, Is. bd. to l's. lOd.; March, d 915, Is. 7d. to 2s. 2d. , • "It will thus be seen," continued-the speaker,- "that the position of things is aserious to a lot of poultrymen throughout New Zealand, and incidentally to jthe community as a whole, for it. Has [already necessitated many,- poultrymen Eacrificing a great number of their hens y sending thom-to ttfe market.; This prast make eggs more scarce in time to come. ■ Those who are able to hold on •ito their usual complement of birds may, fin the future, in some measure 'regain jtwhat they aro losing now, but 'it is not Sat all certain. It will depend to a certain extent upon the purchasing power/ 'of the community at large. It seems sto me that if our Government can in 'iany way assist the poultrymen over iSthese hard times they will benefit the whole country. Our industry is a great 'one. Mr; Bull at the last conference -gave some figures stating that accordang to the census of 15)11 there were '8,693,137 birds in the Dominion, which at a, low estimate makes the total yearly value of poultry products to producers in New Zealand at £1,269,514. It would ■bo a great pity if an industry, of these dimensions should suffer any more than necessary for want of anything the ' Government might do, to prevent 'it. These are strenuous times for allj more or less—the Government of our country have more demands than they can hope to cope-with. Ido not think we should expect any assistance from them unless it is quite necessary,.and we should be quite certain that whatever our desires are they will bo for the good of our ■ country and our industiy as a- whole." The Export and Import of Eggs. Referring to the export of eggs, Mr. Mumby said that during the past season •it .hacL.proy.ed_ a. complete failure, the (principal disappointment being that instead of improved methods in the treatment of eggs during their eighteen days' 'journey on board ship, they had been far' worse. The prices netted to, suppliers in New Zealand had been about ;6cl per dozen:- They were also faced with the fact that large numbers of 'eggs were being imported into New Zealand. Last autumn and whiter many thousands arrived in the Dominion, and kiiis season it looked as if there wero going to be more than ever.. Some 19,020 dozen had arrived by the Maitai •last Thursday week. "We cannot present this," said the speaker, "but in .'Wellington we have a pastrycook who has declared that thoGovernment should remove the duty on these imported eggs. 'This would be a great injustice to poul•tryinen throughout the country, who aro at preseut finding it so hard to make hoth ends meet, and in the long run it would result in a bad bargain for the community at large. Under the present ' conditions, a big _ effort is needed to foster the poultry industry, so that consumers will get eggs at reasonable prices. Removing the duty off eggs at this critical period will give the industry a further set-back still. 1 matter that needs attention with the importation of eggs is the way they are distributed throughout _ the country on arrival. There is nothing to prevent these eggs being sold as fresh and new-laid. It is thus possible to distribute from abroad eggs several weeks old as newlaid, and°nothing to prevent New Zealand poultrymen from getting all the blame for inferior eggs. Who is to know? I think we are justified in demanding from the Government that all imported eggs bo stamped or branded in some way to denote where they come froiii." The Annual Report. 'l'lie annual report of the association's secretary (Mr. J. B. Merrett) stated: "During the year the New Zealand aafe

gresß, several now societies having affiliated, and many inquiries are reaching tlie association, from producers for information oil starting egg circles. Much j remains to be done, but it is gratifying !to know that marketing on improved lines is attracting the attention of producers, milch to the advantage of the public in improved quality of eggs. It is gratifying to know that the association is free of debt. The balance-sheet shows a credit of £17 18s. 4d. Over £200 has been collected by voluntary subscriptions and affiliation fees, and I indicates that the association is warmly supported. Advancement has been made by the appointment of two additional poultry instructors. .Their services will add greatly to the development of the industry. The Government has continued to give valued assistance to producers. The chief poultry expert has been in keen demand, and has done excellent work in instruction. The high price of poultry foods has proved the greatest obstacle to the welfare of the industry. While eggs haye not improved in price foods aTe now costing exactly double to that of last year. Unless the Government intends to see the industry absolutely ruined and their own work, .costing thousands of pounds, sacrificed, something will have to be done to relieve the pressure of dear foods. .The report and balance-shect were adopted.; . . ■ In the- afternoon the conference delegates paid a visit to Trentham. To-day's Programme. The business of the conference today ■will include the election of officers and the receiving of various reports during the day, while in the evening addresses will be given by the newlyappointed poultry instructors.^ On' Tuesday a deputation will wait on the Minister of Agriculture. . ANNUAL DINNER. In the evening the delegates met at the Burlington Cafe, the occasion being tho annual dinner- of the association. Mr. A. G. Mum by was in .the chair. Tho toast "The Board of Agriculture" was proposed by Mr. G. Finn, who referred to the worth of Mr. F. Brown, Government Poultry Expert for the industry. In that gentleman, said Mr. Finn, they had a man whom all had the utmost confidence in, and it was satisfactory to think he had now two assistants.Mr. Brown spoke subsequently, and referred to the work which lay before his. staff. His two assistants, he said, would go through the country teaching the ABC. of poultry-keeping. Mr. Brown went on to say that the farmer and the' utility man were now understanding one another better, and it was interesting to note that the utility man was coming to the front all the time. The speaker hoped that the egg circles would be merely stepping-stones to some ■big co-operative system under which producers would market their own produce for their mutual benefit. Numerous other toasts were honoured during the evening. N.Z. UTILITY POULTRY CLUB COMPETITIONS. The official -results of the fifty-first week of the New Zealand Utility Poultry Club's tenth laying competition for fowls for the week- ending Wednesday, March 31, are as follow:— LIGHT BREEDS. Total Total for to week. date. Verrall Bros., B.L IS 1269 J. W. Green, R.C.W.L 17 1311 T., Krarup, B.M. ...; 19 1103 W. Mercer. W.L 5 1301 Venall Bros., W.L.- 13 1206 Dominion P. Plant, W.L 9 !iB9 Heretaunga. P.C., No. 2 W.L.\ 12 1121 Glencoe Poultry Ranch, W.L. 21 • 1352' W. O. Sail, W.L 11 1019 A. E. Browne, W.L 21 1212 Mrs; J. Mills, W.L 20 1112 G. Clarke, No. 2, W:L 18 1265 Rangiuru Egg Ranch, W.L. ... 1 1209 G. Bonnett, WA. 0 1175 D. Y. Gibson. .W.L '. 18 ■. 1272 Reliable I'. I'arni, W-L 11 J361 Wainoni P. Farm; W.L 22 1256 J. Wordsworth, W.L 8 1240 H. Wooilnorth, W.L. 115 1150 H. -F. Herbert, W.L. 3 1186 H. Leger, W.L 16 1118 T. M'llwraith, W.L. 15 1212 T. White, W.L. 3 1130 T. "Vose, W.L .' 13 1283 B. P. L. Clayson, W.L 12 1393 I?,',fames, W.L 17 1322 N. Solomon, W.L 17 1211 It. A. Lazarus, W.L 10 1200 Heretaunga P.C., No. 1, W.L. Ift 1378 Wainoni P. Farm, W.L 13 1297 J. W. Green, W.L 6 1337 ■Willis and Son. W.L 11 1322 G. Clarke, W.L 17 1297 J. Corrie, W.L 8 1186 11. Stewart, W.L 8 12171 A. G. Brailey, W.L 21 1299 ' A. W. Adams, W.L 1 1281 Calder Bros., W.L 15 1345 L. T. Wright, W.L 11 1233 W. E. Green, W.L 20 1125 B. W. Hawke, W.L U 1312 W. Davey, W.L 7 1169 Totals 542 52,525 . . . . HEAVY. BREEDS. Total Total ' . for to week. date. T. Kennedy, W.W 30 1126 J. B. Merrett, W.R 20 1181 TV Fazacli'erley,' 8.0. 7 ' 807 Mrs..: J. W. Green, B.W 23 1111 W. Scull, B.W. 0 1059 K Hunger. 81.0 11 1267 Miss Rita Nixon, 81.0. '-.25 1161 Miss R. E. Laing, 81.0. . 16 978 A. R. Browne, 81.0 23 1262 15. Willis, 81.0 23 1293 J. B. Merrett, 81.0 .. 22 1127 J. B;-Merrett, S.W 21 1081 A. W. Adams, S.W 17 712 Jas. Ashton, S.W 13 1103 T. Kennedy, S.W. ■ 23 9t3 Thos.' Wilson, S.W 21 1136 W. 35. Green, S.W 26 1328 R. Roxburgh, S.W. 29 1131 Totals' 353 20,290 FOR DUCKS. The New Zealand Utility Poultry Club'a fifth egg-layin'g' test for ducks. Returns for the fifty-first week are as follow:— Total Total for to week. date. T- 'Dowkhwaite, I.R 7 991 Heretaunga P.C., I.R 0 117b Wainoni "P. Farm..l.R 20 990 Glencoe Ranch, I.R. -0 116Evans and Johnstone, I.R. ... 20 lOlra T. R. Hall, I.R 0 9 - 3 Totals MOD The letters after each entry denotes the breed as under:-B.L„ Brown Leghorns W.L., White Leghorn; R.C., W.L., Rose Comb White Leghorn; B.M. Black Minorca- W.W;, White Wyandotte; W.R.. White Rock; 8.0., Buff Orpington; 8.W., Black Wyandotte, 81.0., Black Orpington; S.W., Silver Wyandotte; 1.R,, Inuian Runner.