PROFIT IN LAMBS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 206, 19 November 1927, Page 25 (Supplement)

PROFIT IN LAMBS

Primarily a sheep and cattle raisingcountry the Waikato owes the bulk of its prosperity to dairying. In fact, but for dairying, many of tho smaller towns scattered in all parts of Southern Auckland would not be in existence. Dairying has made intensive production possible, and been responsible for the great boost the district has had during the last quarter of a century. In that time the country has been transformed from a land of partially developed big grazing areas to one of small holdings many of which are being handled in a manner conducive to the highest state of productivity. In no district is it desirable that the farmer should stake all his energies on the one proposition. A temporary

slump in that line of business, and he is harder put than ever to make ends meet. There is much to be said in favour of mixed farming, and in this respect fat lamb rearing offers a most satisfactory comparative inducement. On a holding where there is slightly more land available than that required for dairying, or on a property of sufficient dimensions to allow sheep to be run with the dry cattle, it can be carI ried on with little extra labour and the pastures profit thereby. Mixed Farming Benefits The writer, personally, has had experience of mixing fat lamb rearing with dairying during a season when the returns of the herd did not come up to expectations. That year the lambs got a good start, and, with the greater portion of them away by Christmas at a satisfactory price on the hooks, the owner was partly compensated for the falling off in returns from the herd as the result of a drought which followed in the fall of the year. On the property in question a herd of 60 cows was milked throughout the season and, in addition to wintering all his dry stock the owner ran a flock of about 300 ewes mated to Southdown rams. The holding was run with the aid of one permanent hand and casual labour to assist on such occasions as shearing and ploughing, or when a stock of lire wood was required. After all, apart from an ocasional day in the yards and shifting from one paddock to another, ewes require little attention except, of course, at lambing time. On a small property run in conjunction with dairying they can mostly be kept under the eye while going the rounds of the cows. Southern Auckland with its wide and varying expanse of country offers enormous scope for fat lamb breeding, and thus it was particularly pleasing to see and read of the reports of the satisfactory entries at this week’s Hamilton Show. Breeding the Right Type In breeding lambs one factor of importance must be considered. Buyers ; in the Old Country will not take big 1

A WAIKATO LESSON DEMANDS OF THE TRADE A FEATURE of the Hamilton Show was the pleasingly n "umber of entries in the fat lamb section. The quality of the lambs also left little room for improvement. This, when it is considered that Hamilton is the centre of what is commonly termed the “world’s dairy farm” is particularly satisfactory and shows that Waikato farmers have not got all their eggs in the one basket.

sheep at the highest prices. Small, stocky lambs not going more than 351 b recede preference every time. In the tan of the year, when most of the lambs bred in this part of the country have grown beyond that weight, irrespective of the cry of optimists who advocate only sending the primest quality lamb Home, buyers show a decided preference for second quality lamb and m fact, pay a premium for the lighter weight grades. This is certainlv not given publicity, but nevertheless it is a fact. The lesson, therefore, is obvious Farmers must provide, the class of lamb desired by the buyers or accept a lower price. At the Waikato Show, the judge, Mr.

W. Marks, of Auckland, expressed himself as pleasingly surprised at the quality and quantity of the entries. The lambs were all the right type for the Home market —short, nuggety animals well into the down that would dress well. Coming at a time when the need for extra revenue was never more prominent the exhibition by Waikato breeders is most satisfactory. It goes to show that they have come -to realise the need of Home buyers and are making a worthwhile effort to cater for it. Last season figures of the lambs that passed over the killing floors of the works operating in the district registered a large increase over those for the previous year. Much more could be done in this direction, and it is to be hoped that, with cheaper fertilisers and fast methods of transit per the medium of the motor-truck and train, the Waikato and not Canterbury will within a few years, be the leading fat lamb producing district of New Zealand. There is nothing to check it. It only requires increased energy and enterprise among the farmers, and in other directions Waikato men have proved they possess more than their share of that.