SHEEP IN ARGENTINE.

Shannon News, 17 October 1922, Page 3

SHEEP IN ARGENTINE.

Slicp r;rs : iio’ ;iki r.oui production in the Argentine in recent years has been seiiouslv affected. Sheep raising, along with cattle raising, is almost the sole activity in the semi-arid regions which lie west and south of humid north-east-ern Argentina. In this latter region sheep raising has met with sharp competition from agricultural pursuits during the last two decades and the conflicts between sheep raising and crop production has resulted in a decrease in the number of sheep raised since 1900. At the present time. Argentina is the second largest wool exporting country in tbe world. The diop in the number of sheep grazing in Argentina from 74,380,000 in 1895, to 44,855,000 in 1918, and to about 30,000,000 at the present time makes it abundantly clear that the wool clip of the present season will result in the smallest Argentine clip thus far in the twentieth century. According to the “Review of the Rover Plate,'' it is not likely that this year's clip will produce more than 180,000,000 lb., or approximately 190,000 bales, of which only 13,500 bales will be first cross merino. It is held, however, that the sheep raising industry can expand considerably in the arid regions, and it is only in this territory that any increase can be reasonably expected.