The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1908. THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2116, 15 February 1908, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1908. THE PRICE OF BUTTER.

The soundness of the new policy that has been followed bv the farmers of the Dominion in taking up various lines of industry is being strikingly exemplified at the present moment. For some time after the frozen meat trade started, sheepbreeding and fattening were permitted to almost monopolise their efforts. Later they commenced to make a feature of the fat lamb trade, and within recent years the dairy industry has made tremendous strides. Just now, mutton seems to be somewhat of a drug on the London market, -and if this was depended upon solely, our farmers would be having rather a had time. As it is, however, t-liey are getting very fair prices for their lamb, and also for cheese, whilst butter is realising 50 per cent, more than the usual rates. Even though the unprecedented figure of 150 s per hundred-weight be not maintained as -market value for our butter in London, it is abundantly evident that the whole of this year’s shipments will realise record prices. Thus the value of our exported products for the present season will probably be quite on a par with that of former years, for the. decrease shown on wool and mutton will, in all probability, be more than made up by the high prices realised for our dairy products. It seems a thousand pities that the long spell of dry weather which prevailed over the greater part of tie Dominion,

should have curtailed the output when the market was so favorable. It is never a wise policy to keep all one’s eggs in tile same basket, and tlie fact lias certainly been brought homo to our farmers this year, by the varying markets for ililferunt linos of produce at Home.