Farming Column

Hokitika Guardian, 22 April 1933, Page 8

Farming Column

WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS ,

GOOD MEAT ANIMALS.

In describing the lessons from recent Smitiifield displays, John Hammonu Cambridge ScJiool of Agriculture, wmes as follows to the Farmer and .Stock Breeder: — One of the objects of improving stock for meat purposes is to produce joints that the consumer wants • stcckoreeding has to keep pace with the times and alter its product to suit public demand. With the large family the large joint, and so the large animal, has gone; in place of the ton ox we now have the baby beefling. .It is by means- of the carcase competitions that the consumers’ requirements are, through the agency of the butchers "’ho judge, put befoie the breeders and feeders • It is true that many cf the meat qualities of the animal can be judged bv outward appearance, as is done in the lire classes. But, just as • with oarley, although much can be told by looking at the outside, a great deal

mere is found out when it .is cut

through. For example, public taste during the last twenty years has changed towards a type of careOewith more lean meat and less fat, and 0113 of the great difficulties in judging the live animal is to tell how much of the carcase will be lean meat and how much fat. In the old days, when nearly all the animals were fattened o:i linseed cake, one could tell what was fat by the soft touch. But now, many of our feeders have become so expert that they can, by fattening on substances rich in carbohydrates (such as oats) instead of oil cakes cr grass, produce a firm fat which outwardly feels like muscle or lean meat.

Many people will no doubt say that they can tell, by “handling’* the animal, how it is going to kill. They have their own ideas as to what are the main points of a meat animal, and some of these are mentioned below. The more of these ideas they can collect and put to the test the more efficient will be our system of live stofek judging in the future.

With all stock there is a tendency for the butchers to favour small joints and animals with a large loin in proportion to head, neck and legs. A comparatively short face and cannon bones (from the knee downwards) is generally associated with short bones throughout the body, and consequently with thick, blocky joints which the butcher requires. In such animals the meat comes well down to the liocks. It is the quality of bloekiness that makes the Southdown ram and Abcrdeen-Angus bull so useful in crossing the large, coarse-boned stock.

With all stock too, one requires a light forequarter as compared with hindquarter; an animal deep in front

and shallow behind will give a carcase with a high proportion of the lowpriced cuts, and is, therefore, not required. A good, straight underline comes second only to a good, straight too line, with great width across the loin (the mot valuable part). The hnv from hip to shoulder should be perfectly straight/ and well filled out in order to give a deep “eye” of meat on the loin.

The great difficulty is to know how much of this width cf loin in the live animal is fat and how much is lean. It can be done by touch if the fat is soft, but, as pointed out above, a good feeder can make the fat hard like muscle.

Softness of fafi is usually first apparent behind the shoulders and on the pin-bones. Others look at the tail in cattle, and say that if it is thick there will bo a good depth of lean meat, but if the tail is thin then the carcase will be liable to cut fat.

THEj WOOL TRADE.

Average prices for wool in the: Sydney market tins season have hovered round about 9d per lb. The season opened on September 3 at 8.26 d, and the following week the average was 9.19 d. For October, November; and December the highest average was 9.02 d, the lowest H.29d. For the midMarch sales 9.00 dto 9.lid was the average. Wiiichcombo, Carson and Company, Sydney, remark' on the “rapid disappearance of the nervousness which has appeared from time to time this year” a§ offering evidence that consumers’ confidence in the future is not so readily shaken as it was during the earlier years of the world depression. The firm continues: “We sec no reason to expect a rapid rise in rates during the months ahead, llecovery in world purchasing power must, prove a gradual process if it is to show permanence; but it is certain that raw materials, and particularly those in general use such as wool, will show tho first benefits; of improved cornli- j tions.” I

Wool bought lias gradually passed into consumption, and the general feeling is held that the long-looked-for expansion in trade is now not far distant. During the five months ahead very limited quantities of the staple will he available for sale in all markets. During that, fairly lengthy period wool in mill warehouses will pass into manufacture without much opportunity to replenish stocks.

FARMERS ARE WORN VETERANS.

Our business men arc raw recruits in misfortune’s army; farmers arc worn veterans. The farmer cannot forever pay a toll to the people 01 tli' cities which makes everything lie buys more costly than the tilings he sells. Nor can he go on forever with his futile fight against vast world tides which have, permanently w-e believe, swept away his -old job. There are millions more; farmers than are needed. What to do with them? One road for the farmer leads down hill. If industry doss not revive, our farmers, competing with peasants, and selling to peasants, must become peasantrv.

Where the other road leads, nobody knows. It is the road ofl permanent subsidy. That is, we may tax the city dweller to maintain a, decent standard of living on the farm. The farm problem is not entirely economic. It is social and political; there we may find strong justification. It might well seem important to us to preserve the one large class of property owners, the one stable and rooted element. It might seem worth a high cost —and it might be cheaper than t () add them to the breadlines of the cities.—The Business Week.

FEED THE DRY COW.

It cannot be repeated too often that, the only time a .cow, gets a chance to store the materials required for the next season’s milking is when she is Iry. During that period she must store up in her body and skeleton a supply of the materials she converts into milk. Experiments, often repeated show that no matter how 1 she is led after calving, calcium (lime) cannot be assimilated in sufficient quantity for her production of milk; there is always an adverse balance and unless she starts milking with a big reserve she cannot continue to milk profitably for long.

NEWS AND NOTES

/t present, claims for tariff protection are effective in proportion, not 0 the probabilities of the- industry involved becoming a source of industrial strength, hut according to the plitical pull it can exert. As long as W'C have a tn 1 iff it should lie quite divorced from contentious party politics. ' It should 'not he a political matter, hut an economic matter, and •Ivouid bo placed under isome admiuAtrative.control independent of party 'olities. The Farmers' Union would roo-ncr see tariffs placed upon a proper and intelligible basis and rationally administered, than submit to the present dangerous and accidental system f granting protection under political pressure.

During the quarter which ended on 31st March, the organisers oftheN.Z. Farmers’ Union enrolled BG2 members, and of these G 74 were new members. Notwithstanding the hard financial f -in<es amongst our farmers the membership is higher than it was at the same time last year, and the year before.

BUTTER BESTDICTION

The United Kingdom Government has found it desirable to approach the butter-exporting Dominion with a tentative enquiry as to the possibility of their entertaining the idea of a restriction of their consignments of butter to the United Kingdom. The ground for the suggestion C the heavy fall in the price of butter and cheese in the United Kingdom. Both the Australian and New Zealand Agreements with the United Kingdom contain the following provision : “As regards eggs, poultry, blitter, clr-O'C and other milk products, free entry for produce of Australia will be continued for throe:yeans certain. Hi* Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, however, reserve to themselves the right after the expiration of the three years, if they consider i* necessary in the interests of the United Kingdom producer to do so, to review the basis of preference, so far as relates to the articles enumerated, and after notifying His Majesty’s Government in the Commonwealth of Australia either to impose a p:eferential duty in produce of Australia while maintaining existing preferential margins, or in consultation with the Commonwealth Government to bring stub produce within any system which may

be put into operation for the quantitative regulation of supplies from all sources in the United Kingdom market.”

On this question the New Zealand Dairy Board declares that it is impossible to restrict dairy production in New Zealand and that it therefore cannot agree to restrictions on dairy exports to the United Kingdom. The British desire to protect home producers from glutted markets wax recognised, but it was urged that N'wv Zealand’s special needs, as distinct from those of more fully developed countries had to he taken info account.