RUSSIA'S SHEEP FLOCKS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 71, 10 April 1937, Page 18

RUSSIA'S SHEEP FLOCKS

g ^ t ? Soviet Intention to Have Large Increase PURCHASE OF PEDIGREES Like most countries Ruseia is seeking to make ljers'elf as far .as possible selfsupporting in regard to supplies of raw material, and the arrival of a buying eommission in New Zealand early last month with plans to purchase pedigree eheep has caused no little concern to "farmers; It has been stated that the Dominion is faced with the possibility of losing stock to a, country which would be an active competitor. Some years ago Bussia bought large numbers of merino sheep in Australia for bTeeding purposes, but the experiment was not successful. She has now turned her attention to English sheep and has purehased pedigree Lincoln stock freely. This breed is favoured because it growe a heavy fleece and is a bulky producer of mutton. The flocks of the Argentine have . largely been built np on Lincoln blood. It is the declared intention of the Soviet authorities to enlarge- their present stocks. In 1931, Ru&sia pastured 72,000,000 sheep, which produced 212,000,000111. of wool. Following the Government policy of nationalising the farms, ' stock was slaughtered in large numbers by the farmers, and flocks in 1033 declined to 45,400,000, and wool production to 138,000,0001b. Since that year the sheep numbers have recovered, the total for 1936 being 66,700,000, and the quantity of wool grown 200,000,0001b. As a result of that' recovery imports of wool by Eussia have decreased, the quantity imported from January to October, 1936, being 42,700,0001b., a reduetion of 13,200,0001b. on the 1933 total for the similar period. Russia has not resumed purchasing in Austrlia, but she continues to buy the raw material in Great Brithin. No purchases of wool have been made recently in New Zealand.