LATE SHEEP-DRAFTING

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 29, 18 February 1937, Page 15

LATE SHEEP-DRAFTING

Farmers Blame Auctioneers Sinc© the comment made last week that the late drafting of sheep at Stortf'ord Lodge hampered the selling several tarmers have expiessed • the opimon that the lault was due entirely cp the auctioneers. They consider that the auetioneers had no reason to growl, as\ny.improvement was in their hands. '.'When w© have to pay for our sheep to. be iorrjed in we want them to appear m a fresh eondition," said one farmer. •'We can't be expected to send them iff the day before and have them stay overnight in'th© saleyards, which are sometimes far from being in the best order to allow sheep to show up well the. next day. The position could be easily overcome by the auctioneers putting on a- couple of extra men to help ' uithi the draitihg. Some oi them -are tr^iRg to do tbe job with .the same staff that they had 10 years ago. That is the cause of the trouble. They are making enough commission out of the big- yardings' lately to be abie to increas© their staffs and not complain about it "It is all very well," he added, "to blame the farmers for a trouble tbat we are not causing. The sooner that the auctioneers see to it and remedy the position the better. Sitting back and expecting farmers to bring in their sheep on the previous day will nofc help in the slightest." There is no doubt, since the different view-points have been expressed, that steps '. ill be taken to remove the cause for complalnt and facilitate the the selling.