STOCK BREEDING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 June 1939, Page 6

STOCK BREEDING

PROGRESS IN ARGENTINA & SOUTH AFRICA QUEENSLAND MINISTER’S OBSERVATIONS. ■ INTERESTING CONCLUSIONS. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. (Received This Day, 12.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, June 13. The Queensland Minister for Agriculture, Mr F. W. Bulcock, after an extensive tour of South Africa and Argentina, told the Australian Associated Press that while he was convinced that South African sheep growers could not hope to become successful competitors with Australian growers if the Merino embargo were maintained, he felt otherwise concerning the Argentine. Mr Bulcock pointed out that South African growers were apparently breeding by sight and not from the book and they were not making any special effort to supplement or maintain the necessary blood lines and they were rapidly finding out that their rams were showing undesirable recessive characteristics. On the other hand. Argentinian conditions were different. Certain sheep growers there, of Australian nationality, having drawn their stud from some of the finest breeders in Australia and carefully maintaining their uiood lines through the constant importation of Corriedales, were producing sheep comparing favourably with those of Australia. These breeders are having some difficulty through lack of calcium phosphates in the soil, but in certain respects gained an advantage from this cause. Mr Bulcock considers that Argentinian cattle growing leads the world, although finest Argentinian processing plants are not better than finest Australian. The Argentinian cattle marketing is excellent, but the sheep marketing is wretched. He felt that the Argentinian cattle growing is at its peak and henceforth will suffer from the economic law of diminishing returns.