MUTTON BREEDS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4579, 27 June 1923, Page 4

MUTTON BREEDS.

ADVICE TO AUSTRALIAN MEATGROWERS* Some pertinent advice to Australian meat-growers, to follow the example of New Zealand graziers, was given by Mr L. F. Swift, president of the Union Stock Yards, Chicago, in a letter ifo the chairman of the Australion Meat Council who wrote to Mr Swift asking for his views on Australia, as seen during his tour. Mr Swift repeated in Sydney, the advice tendered to New Zealand growers in his interview with “The Dominion”—that they should dehorn cattle, and get them ready for market earlier. “As regards mutton,” said the visitor, “the price of wool is high now - / it may not always be so high. From a meatworks standpoint I very strongly advise when you depart from the pure merino to breed fr,om the merino ewes crossed by the very best long-woolled rams procurable, and get all your lambs fat enough to kill as milk lambs, the same as New Zealand does. This will not cut down the wool yield of the ewes and will develop and help your fat lamb export trade, which is going to be a very live and profitable trade in the near future, and one you should go out after. “Look at the English and Atoerican farmer. By forcing the feeding they can sell their beef catftje at between one and two years old for baby beef and realise, say, £2O per head at least alive, while in Australia steers of five years, slightly heavier in the carcase. can be bought at £3, and. SO' poor are not fit foi; export. "Look at the Argentine. They market their beef at three years old and realise a greater price per head than if held until four or five yeas old. You say, but England, 'America, and South America do npt have droughts as Australia has,, and have feed more plentiful. To this I but that is all the. more reason why Australia must change its present policy and find something which will offset this disadvantage.”