MEAT BOARD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1939, Page 6

MEAT BOARD

■ REGULATION, OF SHIPMENTS i — ; AN ARDUOUS YEAR. ■ STORAGE FACILITIES IN WORKS INADEQUATE. “During the season the board has continued to exercise the greatest care in the regulation of supplies of meat going forward to the British market,” states the annual report of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board. “The work of regulating shipments has been particularly arduous this year on account of the abnormally dry season experienced. The prolonged drought extending over a great part of New Zealand caused farmers to send to the freezing works large numbers of sheep and lambs much earlier in the season than is usual. At March 15, the killings of sheep and lambs had exceeded the kill to the date in the previous year by over 1.000,000 carcases, and at April 30. this increase of 1,000,000 had still been maintained. As a result of these heavy killings, the storage capacity of many works has been severely taxed and killings had to be restricted at some works. In the allotment of shipping space special consideration was given by the hoard to | the points where the trouble was acute and the shipping companies and the Meat Board specially arranged for vessels to give early loading to ports where the position has been most serious. It is the board’s policy to keep all works in operation as it fully realises the serious position which must otherwise eventuate from the farmers' point of view. At the same lime, having regard to the stocks of frozen mutton and lamb from all sources in cold store in the United Kingdom, it - was necessary to watch the position : carefully to see that the London mar- : ket was not overloaded with meat. To allow excessive supplies to go forward , to a market already heavily loaded j would be most detrimental to the < prices received for our produce, and j the board had to avoid this at all costs. , There is no doubt that the refrigerated , storage capacity of many freezing j

works in this Dominion is not equal to the strain of an abnormal season such as the one just experienced, and the board is of the opinion that it would be in the interests of the Dominion if storage facilities were increased at a number of works . . .”

GRADING. “One of the most important functions of the Board is the close supervision of the grading of all closses of meat slaughtered for export at the various freezing works. During the year, this work has again received the usual close attention of the board’s staff of supervising graders. Tins staff was augmented last year in order to deal with the increasing quantity cf chilled beef and other classes of meat now being treated at the works in the North Island, and has enabled closer supervision to be maintained both in regard to the grading of all classes of meat and to the loading cf vessels. To ensure that the standard of grading is maintained on a uniform standard in (he various districts, the board has continued the practice of arranging for its Supervising graders to exchange visits from one district to another.

“In view of the increasing competition from all sources in the meat export trade to the United Kingdom, the board would again stress to all farmers and sheep breeders, the vital importance of improving the quality of their flocks. The premium which this Dominion has always secured in the United Kingdom over that obtained by other exporting countries, is due to quality, and every endeavour must be made to see that this premium is maintained or increased. It cannot be stressed too much that our reputation on the British market has been built up and maintained on quality and we must retain this advantage at all costs. "In this connection, the board some time ago communicated with the sheep breeders’ societies in the Dominion, asking them to endeavour in every way possible to influence their numbers in the direction of producing the type of sheep which will best suit for 1 the production of the ideal lamb. The I importance of using only the highest] quality rams and breeding from the] most .suitable type of owes, thereby raising the standard of our export. lambs, is a matter which the board ] desires to again impress on all farmers I of this Dominion,