SLUMP AT STOCK SALES.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 July 1920, Page 10

SLUMP AT STOCK SALES.

POSITION IN WAIRARAPA. GREAT SCARCITY OF FEED. The Wairarapa farmers are at present in a far from cheerful frame of mind. The bottom has practically .fallen out of the stock market- Store cattle are a glut on the market. At sales during last week 2 1 /»-year-old steers, which a few weeks ago would have brought from £lO to £l2, were difficult of sale at £4, while a line of forward store cattle which earlier in the season would easily have realised £lB to £2O did not find a purchaser Hundreds of head of cattle have been passed in at sales during the past week, as the bidding was not nearly up to what was considered the market vdlue. Sheep are faring but little better. Some of the best Romney ewes submitted this season only brought 25s to 35s —animals which a few weeks ago would have commanded without difficulty 40s to 60s. Several things are operating to cause this slump in the stock market. One of the principal reasons is the shipping difficulty and the uncertainty of disposing of frozen meat in Britain. Another problem would-be purchasers are faced with is the lack of feed. Grazing has not been so scarce'for many years past. Dairy farmers who during recent years have been able to obtain plenty of grazing for dairy cows at a shilling or two per head per week cannot now obtain paddocks for their stock even at an offer of six shillings per week. The dealer, who usually operates at this period, with the object of holding stock in his paddocks for a rising market, is not buying now because of the shortage of feed. Furthermore, the future outlook in connection with the meat trade is such that many Wairarapa buyers consider it would be courting disaster to touch stock for somo considerable time, even if such were purchasable at a very low figure.