EXODUS OF FAT LAMBS.

Putaruru Press, Volume VIII, Issue 323, 23 January 1930, Page 6

EXODUS OF FAT LAMBS.

MORRINSVILLE FIGURES. Special Train Takes 4000. Another special sheep train left Morrinsville on Sunday with 48 trucks containing about 4000 fat lambs for the Auckland freezing works. Of these 33 trucks were loaded at Morrinsville and 15 at Kiwitahi. All Sunday afternoon the lambs were being put on the sheep trucks at the railway station yards, while mobs from the Kiwitahi district were to be seen on the stock routes. The train pulled out of the station at nine o’clock on a direct run to Auckland, so that the lambs would be ready for the works first thing on Monday morning. These 4000 lambs are only a small proportion of the sheep sent off by farmers in the district between Morrinsville and Putaruru. The exodus of lambs has been going on since the end of December, and will continue for some time longer. There have been several special sheep trains to Morrinsville. Over 2000 sheep were unloaded at Morrinsville and nearby stations recently. They were mostly store ewes from Taneatua, which had been driven to the railhead from Poverty Bay, and will be used for breeding purposes. Since the East Coast railway was opened there has been a good deal of stock passing through Morrinsville to stations on the Main Trunk and branch lines. The opening of the East Coast railway has cut many of the former long drives across the ranges. Although the district around Morrinsville and Matamata is chiefly famed for its dairying, there is a surprising amount of sheep-farming carried on. The good prices ruling in past seasons for fat lambs have encouraged farmers to go in for sheep, but this year prices have dropped by as much as 6s a head. The early growth of grass and high carrying capacity of top-dressed land makes the country fell-suited for the fat-lamb trade. This year the moist weather has promoted a growth of grass that is perhaps too generous to suit sheepfarmers. One speepfarmer who at ordinary times does not keep cattle, recently purchased 100 bullocks to keep his feed down.