THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1909. MARKETING OUR MEAT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9562, 7 August 1909, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1909. MARKETING OUR MEAT.

No gathering of farmers is possible just now without a reference to th« London meat market. It was, therefore, inevitable that at the conference of A and P. Associations in Wellington, the retiring and the in coming president should both deal with it in their addresses. The settling of the unoccupied lands of the Dominion ana the extension of. agricultural education are matters deserving the most earnest thought on the part of the farming community because only by such means can production be increased and improved. But these are not matters which the farmers can carry out by themselves; they can but suggest the measures to be taken, and urge the Government to adopt them. The improvement of the/conditions under which our frozen meat is marketed in London, is, however, a matter which the farmers can take in hand themselves if only they can agree upon the best course to pursue. The development of the frozen meat trade is one of the most wonderful and the most fortunate features of the history of New ■ Zealand. That development was due to the enterprise and perseverance of its tounders, who had to struggle against difficulties of which their successors have no experience. Hut in the course of time other probr lems have arisen, and it remains for those in whose hands lies the trade tu-day to face the altered conditions with determination. The questions that have now to be dealt with are purely matters of commerce, calling for businesslike treatment. It should be possible for the meat companies in New Zealand to come to some understanding so that the supiply of meat to the London market might be regulated with some regard tfor the market's powers of absorption. The present method is a most •haphazard and unscientific arrangement. There is no pretence at regulating the supply in accordance with I the state of the market, and gluts, are consequently of constant occur- / rence. Competition with New Zea- | land en the London meat market will increase a« time goes on. We are accustomed to look at Argentina as the quarter from which to expect an enormously increased output, but we are apt to overlook the possibilities of Australia in this respect. The present tombing is expected to add fifteen millions to the sheep stocks of the Commonwealth, which will then

stand at a hundred millions, as against New Zealand's twenty-three

million. 0 . From her vast flocks Aus-

tralia last year sent to London only

about two and a-half million carcases, while New Zealand sent about double as many, but Australia could easily ! add another two millions to her export, and, with the extension of settlement, will no doubt pay more attention to breeding sheep for meat, instead of for wool, as has so largely been the case hitherto. If the meat from this Dominion is to hold its own in the London market, those interested in it must study every point in the business, growing the kind of animal that the market wants, and taking all the advantage afforded by combination and co-oper-ation to secure the best price obtainable for it.