Frozen Meat Trade.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 416, 2 November 1889, Page 6

Frozen Meat Trade.

Tin: following paper was read by Mr F. Hicks at the Waikato Farmers' Club :— For statistical and other information bearing on this subject, I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr M. R. Miller, of Hawke's Bay, the Auckland Harbour Board, and to our Secretary, Mr Tuck. With regard to the Harbour Board, I may heie say that, with a view to gaining all the information I could in favour of establishing a trade in frozen meat, I wrote asking it the Board would, tor a year or two, make all possible concessions in favour of such an undertaking. The answer to which is as follows :—: — "In reply I beg to inform you that your letter was read at a meeting of the Board, held yesterday, when it was resolved that Mr Hicks be informed that the Board will be prepared to grant any reasonable concession to ' Encourage the Frozen Meat Trade.'" I will assume that Nelson Bros., or some other firm with a guarantee of say 60,000 sheep yearly, for three years, will erect freezing works in Waikato, and that they will guarantee the same price jJ6r' lb as is being done elsewhere. You,;"are aware, no doubt, that freezing works *a3SS,* being established inland in Hawke's^-Bay^ 33 miles from the port. There is,, there-" fore, no reason why the same thing would not be equally practicable , in this district. Now, the question is, are we in a position to give such a guarantee? My object in bringing the subject before you is to show that we are not only in a position to give such a , guarantee, but that no district in the colony can do so with greater safety. This statement is based on the fact that Nature has 'endowed this district with one great feature wholly wanting in the great sheep- breeding district of Hawke's Bay, that is its suitableness regardless of seasons for growing and feeding off turnips. By this district is meant the counties of Waipa, , Waikato, and Piakb. Now, let , us .see what we are doing in turnip culture as compared- with what the -district is capable of doing. Last year we grew 12,907 acres oufof a total area, more or less under cultivation, of 253,C00 acres. Supposing this vvas. all brought under turnips, within four years we should have a_ yearly average nearly five times as great as we have at present. It is quite true some of this is unsuitable for turnips, but against this must be reckoned, if , sufficient inducement offered, the immense extent of country that • would come immediately into cultivation. I belieye I am' quite within the mark in saying that every acre of land put in grass immediately after turnips, or where suitable grassed with turnips, would produce double the amount of feed throughput the year that we get after growing intervening crops. It is quite true that we cannot grow turnips without the aid of artificial manures, j but so far from this being' a disadvantage it is a, guarantee of success. Experience has shown us that with properly prepared manures we can grow turnips regardless of 'Ssea^^ns, with- absolute certainty ; the full significance,,.^ which can only^e understood by realising the position it -would' •place us iri in dealing with Hawke's Bay dn a large scale. That there is ample room' there for operation is shown by the fact* that last year they exported nearly half a million of sheep, and that their net increase for the year was close on 60,000. Auckland, took 73,387 ; the West Coast, 80,393 ; Wellington and Poverty Bay, 38,000 between them. The total number of sheep there on 31st May, 1889, was 2,682,424, which are mainly carried on ], 122,290 acres of .improved land, but 2,000,000 acres more or' less occupied. It must be very clear to anyone that where so much stock is carried on a comparatively small piece of country, with a large annual increase from lambing and is subject to heavy droughts as Hawke's Bay is, stock-owners would readily avail themselves of a market offered them, at current rates, before the season was sufficiently advanced for them to judge whether drought or plenty was before them. In support ot this view, Mr, Milletr in his annual report says :—": — " Immediately from the shears this past, season sbeep were in large demand, and scarce, but some apprehension of drought < for a short time caused, a large number tol'be offered, and prices became easier. However, plentiful rain fell, and sheep of any class were almost , unobtainable." Now, sir, I contend that I have shown that we have at our command all the elements necessary for the successful development of a frozen meat trade. .We may rest assured that, so long as we are dependent on a market a hundred miles away from us as the only outlet for our stock, which , neither ourselves nor, the

auctioneers can control (and 1 am quite sure that every effort is used by them in xmr interests), the country muajt; remain undeveloped^ by ourselves and. unattractive to others. With a Jreezing company operating in our midst, tens- of- thousands of acres now .lying uselees would .become valuable and saleable. One other important result would quickly follow a freezing works here and the consequent development of the district both a? regards sheep and cat/tie, that is the establishment, of fab cattle sales here instead of their being sold in Auckland, and in all probability slaughtering would be done here as well. This in itself would be no small boon, seeing that stock would alwa}B be under the control of owners, and more especially, with freezing works to fall back upon. We shall probably be told that buyers would not deal here, and that the West Coast would do the trade. We know perfectly well that Auckland could nob depend upon the West Coast for supplies, with such uncertain means of communication, and consequently buyers would have no choice but to buy where it suit* ua.to sell. No doubt the change would do away with the small buyers of live stock ; they would have to take dead meatas many are doing now. The present .way we market our stock is not alone bad for us,' but in frequently attended with considerable loss to the butelfe'r-^'^fif^lh .-It* Jqoking through the shops in -Auckland one could nob help but notice that a great" many. of bhe prime ipintsaie more or less injured, .which is a direct loss, to bhe butcher.* ' Then, again, when the market is over-stocked, butchers are almost forced to buy against their judgment when prices are ruling low, and being without proper paddock accommodation, stock necessarily suffers more or less. Before concluding this paper I, wish to say^ that the same arguments were used when the Freezing Company was started here six years ago. and, as you are aware, steps were taken- to put^-them in practice, bub were abandoned in favour of works being established at Waitara, the result of which you are all a.ware. Now, .supposing the Waitara wprks had proved a financial success, what was there in them calculated to; benefit, the country ? Under any circumstances .itjs doubtful if such a step would be desirable, but in abandoning the only possible scheme that could give us a frozen meat trade, it rendered our position worse instead of better, because, instead of being able to jexport the prime joints, they were thrust on our already depressed market. Instead of placing us in a position to do justice to our rich succulent pastures by exhibiting to consumers our best meat in its most attractive forms, we were brought into competition in tinned meats with the whole world. The Chairman told us, in reviewing the history of the Company, that its failure wa3 principally owing to the abandonment of .large works, which, if carried out, would have given the Company the necessary stock. Now, as a matter of fact, the -reverse was the cause. The completion of those works and a hundred others was, and is, dependent upon the existence of a Freezing Company in active operation. As a proof of which those who were chiefly interested in those works were the first to recognise the necessi&y we were under to draw our supplies from Hawke's Bay. — N.Z. Farmer.