Killing Season Will Begin In New Year

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26637, 6 December 1947, Page 2

Killing Season Will Begin In New Year

The Farm

Although no definite dates have yet been fixed, freezing works in Otago and Southland will probably open fpr the killing season on January 5 or 6. An exception will be the Mataura works, which will open before Christmas, possibly about the middle of this month. The works opening in the New Year are Pukeuri, Burnside, Finegand, and Ocean Beach, as well as Makarewa, the additions and alterations to which will not be finished to permit opening before Christmas. Experience in past seasons has suggested that there are not normally enough stock offering in Otago to justify the opening of the works before Christmas, while in Southland it is considered that one freezing works can handle everything available before the holidays. Last season the Mataura works opened before Christmas, and only 5000 head was killed before the holiday closing, this tally representing only about one day’s killing with two ghains in operation. Admittedly, last season was backward because of the wet cold weather in the late spring and’ early summer, while all stock are much more forward this year. With high lambing percentages ana a favourable climatic season, a record kill is likely in Otago and Southland, and possibly throughout New Zealand, while weights will probably be heavy. The country in Otago and Southland is looking well at present and the feed position at the moment is good. While it is reasonable to suppose that more lambs will be ready for th; works before Christmas this year than in previous seasons, not many. farmers will be anxious to send their lambs in before the end of the year With feed available, they will be content to hold their lambs until January. Farmers, however, will be anxious to get their lambs into the works as quickly as possible after .the holidays and it is a logical conclusion that a rush will be experienced next month when the capacity of the drafters, transport facilities and tne works themselves may be severely tested. The recent rain, however, stimulated pas tures and, with the feed position ensured for some time to come, farmers will not be as determined to get their stock away as they would if continued dry weather had detrimentally affected the feed position. Earlier Start in North Works in North and Mid-Canterbury began killing last Monday—a week earlier than usual—and supplies of stock were not plentiful though in creased numbers are expected next The secretary of the Canterbury Freezing Workers’ Union, Mr H. Kilpatrick, criticised the early opening, his contention being that the man-power kept'working part tune in the freezing industry could have been better utilised working elsewhere in the meantime.” . The Canterbury Freezing Workers Union has requested that a committee comprising representatives of the workers, the companies and farmeis should be established to ensure the smooth running of the killing season. Federated Farmers in North Cantei bury welcomed the proposal because a heavy killing season was expected. The two works in South Canterbury will not open until the New Year. The lamb killing season began at the Horotiu works (Hamilton) last week and 6000 lambs * 11 h £e^ b £st handled, compared with the peak last year of 10,000 a day. The commence ment is earlier than usual and it iexpected that the rate will increase n The W Tomoana and Whakatu. works in Hawke’s Bay have been killing for the past fortnight or more and excel lent drafts of fat lambs are coming m from various parts of the One draft of 1656, taken froml2oso lambs on the property of Mr W. A. Courier of Pinecroft, Otane, killed out at an average of 41.301 b At Wairoa, however, the district fat lamb com petition, in which 84 pens were entered at Swift’s, revealed that the on-the-hoof entries were not up to the standard reached last year and this was attributed to the unusual variations in the season in the Wairoa district this year.

Demand for Labour Whether or not adequate labour, particularly butchers, will be available for Otago and Southland works this season remains to be. seen, but some managers are optimistic. It is not expected that Burnside will experience any great shortage of labour next month, and the labour position at Mataura is likely to be as good, if not better, than last year. More butchers are probably required by Finegand, while Ocean Beach has vacancies for tally solo slaughtermen. The Pareora (South Canterbury) works is seeking chain slaughtermen and labourers and Pukeuri also requires more labour. for seasonal labour at the works near Auckland, where the fat lamb killing season began last week, have met with varied responses. One large company has enough men while another needs 100 more to fill its requirements. „ . , At Hamilton, there are sufficient mien to handle the work at present, but more will be required later. No serious shortage is being experienced in Canterbury, although the season there is not yet in full swing. . . The Tomoana works has vacancies in all departments and Whakatu is calling for labourers and. boys, and has started a learners’ chain.

Statement Withdrawn The. “withdrawal of a statement by him that the premium being paid for early fat lambs by export companies was an attack upon co-opera-tive pools, has been made by Mr ft. Buckleton, of Wellington chairman of the Action Cortimittee of Federated Farmers of New Zealand. The ststement made by Mr Buckleton that the additional payment could only be construed as an attempt to smash the cooperative pools met with strong criticism in many quarters. . Mr Buckleton states that on his return to Wellington he investigated the matter of the premium being paid throughout the North Island for early lambs and found that this was general and not only in the areas where the co-operative organisation, the Primary Producers’ Co-operative Society, was operating. At present it would seem that this premium policy was not an attack upon the co-operative organisation, he said, although it might create, some difficulties for it.