GRAZIER’ VIEWS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 724, 27 December 1933, Page 7

GRAZIER’ VIEWS

VISITING PASTORALIST GIYES INTERESTIN G IMPRESSION S. DANGER OF OVER-ST 0 CEIN G. Christchurch, Thursday. "We are having an extraordinarily wet season in the eastern district of New South Wales, and this has ibeen most unexpected, for many pastoralists expected that we were in for a dry ftime," said Mr. F. E>. MeMaster, one of the most prominent Merino ■she^pbreeders in Australia, who arrived in Christchurch yesterday. Mb. MeMaster owns Dalkirk Station, New South Wales, and at present is running 21,000 sheep and about 1200 heafi of cattle on his 36,000 odd acr.es. He had interesting comment to inake on both Australian and New Zealand affairs. His part of the country, he said, ;Rad had about seven big years from ~the point of view of rainfall, but the : " rainfall at present was so extreme ' that it brought trouhles in its wake. The pastoralists were having difficulty with their grass-seed, and the continual wetting of the wool made the blowfly trouble among the sheep a very real one. Chilled Beef Trade. Mr. MeMaster said that he was trying with his cattle to evolve the right sort for the chilled beef trade that was being developed in Australia. The great -trouble in Australia, it was claimed, was to find continuity of supply. It was held that droughts interfered greatly with this continuity, and that therefore the shipping companies would be unwilling to find the accomodation for chilled beef unless supplies were guaranteed. "I think that we can get continuity of supply, though," he said. "We can do this by reserved stocking of pastures. There is a big tendency in Australia to overstock pastures, and as a result many of our droughts are man-made through unwise stocking. There should be some discretion exercised in stocking all the time. A lot of pastoralists simply abuse their pastures. "I think that the pastoralists of Australia and New Zealand are to be congratulated on the way in which right through the depression they have taken all the gruel that has been coming to them. In other words, they have not squealed for assistance but kept on manfully producing all they could, in spite of the fact that they were losing pence a pound on wool.

"W(e have not, like many other sections of the community, tried to supplant God-made laws by man-made, and I think we can claihl that a good , deal of responsibiiity for the present excellent position of wool — unique j in the commercial world — rests on j this fact. "The trend of thought among the j practical men in Australia now is | that wool should ndt go any- higher, as we fear that the result would be that our artificial rivals would rear their ugly heads again. "In Australia an average of 12d a lb for wool would 'he payable, but even then the sheep would have to be ! a good one, above the average a|nd | cutting well. The price mentioned j takes into consideration the fact that i most of our pastoral land is about £5 ; ,an acre, which, capitalised at 5 per I cent. means 5s. In addition, we have j to take into consideration the over- ; heaci charges and taxation on the land | ,and the capitalisation of the value of I the sheep itself."

Australia's Recovery. Mr. MeMaster said that undouhtedly things were much better in Australia. 'New South Wlales was recovering after much political trouble, and now it had its best Government for years. The Premier (Mr. B. S. B. Stevens) had done many statesmanlike things, among thenx the reduction of the railage on stud stock by 50 per cent. This was not only a help to the studmaster, but also to those who purchased rams. Speaking personally, he said that he had found -buyers ordering mor'e rams hecause of the lower freight charge, and one man had even doubled his order. This was a wonderful help to the whole industry. "I am very impressed with what I have seen of New Zealand," concluded Mr. MeMaster. "This is my first visit to the South Island, though I have been to the North once before. The great orderliness strikes me. You seem even to manicure your paddocks! On my trip I am taldng a very special interest in your farm land."