THE RING SYSTEM

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 2 December 1927, Page 5

THE RING SYSTEM

FOR SELLING RAMS DISCUSSION AT A. AND P. SOCIETY. CHANGE NOT FAVOURED. “That providing the Agricul tural and Pastoral Society furnish all facilities and additional labour required to run all rams through a ring free of cost io the selling brokers, and providing the proposal meets with the approval of the vendors, trie the brokers are prepared to sell all rams through the ring of which the Society would be Justified in charging an additional entry of 1/-.” The above resolution w;<s passed by the selling brokers at the Hawke's Bay Ram Fair following a conference with a committee of the Hawke’s Bay A. and P. Society in regard to the proposal to sell all rams through the rng at the Rani •fair At to-day’s meeting, Mr Tod stated that the brokers said they could never get through in the time, such large catalogues as had been offered of recent years. Numbers of breeders had. however, supported the proposal, while others had opposed it. He was of the opinion that it should first be decided whether it would improve the fair by making the change. Mr Livingstone explained that it was never intended that all rams should go through the ring. The present way of selling rams in Hawke’s Bav was no' good, and a change must take place. Putting them through a ring would stop a lot of rubbish being offered at their fairs. , Mr Colin White: If we sell through the ring we won’t get the culls. NOT IN AGREEMENT. Mr T. Twist: I don’t agree with the suggestion at all; it is a person’s own fault if thev buy culls. If I want to buy sheep. I have to buy them in the pens. It is just a case of look and see what you are buying. The secretary: At Masterton and Feildmg they go through singly, having_ only a small number. Mr Livingstone: Would the brokers, in pens of six in which three are bad ones, give us the option of taking only the three good ones? Mr Glazebrook: 1 think that ' enlarging the pens a lor of the trouble could be got over, Mr N. Beamish: The buyer has to be considered as well as the vendor. This proposal is going: to cost something. The ring at Masterton cost about £lOOO. I should 1 say that we would want one twice that size, with greatly increased accommodation, which would cost about £2OOO. I don’t think that the society could undertake the work. There will always be culls in the pens and also alongside the good ones in the ring. After all. it is the >rokers who are doing tjie job.

A BIG ITEM. Mr. Tod: If we go in for the ring system all the pens would have to be covered, which would be a big item. The cost of handling 0000 rams is also a big item. I don’t think we could handle them on the ring system. Mr. T. A. Moody: There would be great dissatisfaction among the breeders if their rams were to be held over until the third or fourth day. Mr. Livingstone: I am satisfied now that the ring system would be too costly here, but this discussion will do a lot of good. Wo will find that we won’t be getting the rubbish like we have got in the past. Mr. Tod: It is too early to go in for ring-selling. The time may come when ways may be found by which the quality of rams can be improved and vendors limited, which means they would only enter their best. SUPPLY AND DEMAND. Mr. Bussell: It all comes back to the question of supply and demand. There are some who are willing to give good prices for flock rams, while there are others who want the thirtybob stuff. If there was no sale for such rubbish they would not be sent here. Mr. Absolum stated that a well known farmer bought a line of 10 rams at a high price, and when he got them home he was glad to quit them for £3 3/- as he wouldn’t select any of them. In reply to Mr. Glarebrook the secretary explained that to reduce the pens of five it would not be possibel to sell the flock rams to-day. MR. TOD’S MOTION. Mr. Tod then moved that the time was not opportune for the making of any alteration, and that a sub-com-mittee be appointed to consider means of improving the quality of the rams offered for sale. Mr. Beamish seconded the motion, which was carried, the committee appointed being Messrs. Tod, Russell, Averill, McNiven, Livingstone, Absolum and Moody.