A SLUMP IN SHEEP.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1008, 17 February 1912, Page 4

A SLUMP IN SHEEP.

A rumour that there is likely to be a slump in prices of sheep has been going the rounds lately, aud a representative of the Press made some enquiries regarding the matter from several of the leading auctioneers in Christchurch. From the statistics supplied by the Department of Agriculture, it appears that the sheep farmers of the Canterbury and Kaikoura district started the season with 263,025 less sheep than in the year ended April 30th, igio, and this figure also approximately represents the total shortage over the whole Dominion. The lambing season of 1911 was decidedly below the average, taking the whole Dominion, though iu a few districts it was as good, and in some isolated cases better, than last season. Obviously, this points towards the possibility ot the shortage continuing if the exports are kept up to anything like the usual standard, aud they probably will. As there is abundance of teed, the season looks as though it would be an excellent one lor fattening, and, so far, there seems little reason to imagine that the Home demand will slacken off to any marked degree. It must also be remembered that a good many stations in Canterbury have had very severe losses of sheep this winter, a loss th.il has only lately been properly realised. It has been argued that exceptionally large consignments of store sheep will be. sent into Canterbury from the North. Island, the South, and the Chathams, which will more than make up the deficiency, and tend to weaken tin; market, but up to tire present time the drafts sent in have been, if anything, rather under than over the usual quantity. On the whole, it may be said that the prospects are very good, and the worst that now seems likely to happen is that there will be a weakening, not, however, amounting to a slump, in the store market when larger quantities of this class of sheep come upon the market in the course of the next two mouths or so.