FARM AND MARKET

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20986, 13 December 1939, Page 15

FARM AND MARKET

(By “Stockman”)

Items of Interest, Enqurries In regard to Shows and Sales and General Comment from Readers will be welcomed. These should be addressed to “Stockman,” Waikato Times, Hamilton.

WEEKLY AGRICULTURAL REVIEW

SHOWS AND SALES

Cambridge Stock Sale: Every Monday. Hamilton Stock Sale: Every Tuesday. Hamilton Store Sheep Sale: Every Wednesday. Te Awamutu Stock Sale: Every j Thursday. Morrinsviile Stock Sale: Every Friday.

FARMERS AND HAY

FIXE SPELL WANTED j DELAY IN HARVESTING | WAIKATO MARKET REVIEWED Large entries of fat cattie make j lower to firm rates. Store cattle are usually very firm. Small entries of dairy cattle are variable of sale. Fat sheep are fully firm. Store sheep are often dearer. Fat pig values are firm to slightly higher. Store pigs sell readily at last | week’s money. While a few weeks ago the Waikato was urgently needing rain there have been not a few farmers who < had reason to regret the continued ! rain during the last week as they had i the unhappy experience of seeing ' recently mown hay being spoilt by the persistent downpours. Dairy- ’ farmers will welcome a spell of fine I weather as much as they welcomed j the first rain last month. The prob- ! lem of obtaining adequate labour for 1 the harvesting days is always a seri- ' ous one in this district and consequently farmers who had completed ; their labour arrangements have been all seriously inconvenienced by the complete upset of their plans. The harvesting labour problem now promises to be somewhat more acute as the harvesting will not now be spread over as long a period as usual and some farmers may experience no little difficulty in obtaining sufficient labour at a time to suit their convenience. Steady trade has been experienced at Waikato stock centres during the week and the large entries forward have been usually firmly received,

although lat cattle at Frankton yesterday experienced a slight setback. In some sections a slight brightening in the tone has been recorded although there have been no very substantial alteration from values current last week. With the continued pasture growth, there has been a good demand for stores and values for cattle are keeping up for a longer period than usual.

Current Beef Values Beef has continued to be absorbed at Waikato centres at prices usually very satisfactory to vendors. No better indication of the present strength of the market could have been provided than the sale at the central yards yesterday when, despite the unusually big numbers of cows and heifers forward, vatties for them at the most declined only from 10s to 15s per head. The entry was perhaps the biggest seen at the yards this year and a decline from £1 to £2 per head would not have been surprising. Butchers, however, were apparently intent on securing extra supplies for the holiday period and it was probably this that saved the market from a steeper decline. Values at the smaller sales have been well held and with Christmas little over a week away values should remain very firm at further sales this week and early in next week. Lighter entries of store cattle have been meeting with a good inquiry mainly because of the plentiful pasture growth throughout the district.

Market for Sheep Values for fat sheep have kept up particularly well during the week despite the phenomenally large entries that have continued to come forward at the central yards. There was not the same spirit about the market yesterday as there was last week, but, nevertheless, trading was usually done on a firm basis. If yesterday’s market is any indication, forthcoming sheep sales during the next few' days should command a particularly keen inquiry. A feature of the store sheep trade during the week was the animated market for an entry of some 600 stores at the Frankton yards yesterday. Values were surprisingly high in comparison with the present level for fat sheep, forward wethers yesterday selling as high as 20/6 and 20/7, while a line of 4-tooth ewes fetched 24/-. A line of ew'es with lambs sold at 14/1 all counted. There are indications that, large numbers of breeding ewes will be coming to the Waikato from the East Coast at the beginning of the New' Year. One Hamilton firm has already acquired 25,000 ewes at the Coast. A feature of the coming sales will be that more ewes will be sold at Frankton than is usually the case for between 50,000 and 60,000 are already definitely destined for sale at the central yards.

NOTES AND COMMENTS Union Membership The membership of the New Zealand Farmers’ Union has steadily grown in the Waikato during the past two years, and the organiser, Mr N. F. Taylor, considers that there are now almost 2000 members in the district. New branches have been formed, while steps are now being taken to reform the Hamilton branch. In the present times it is essential that farmers should be represented by a strong, united body that can present their views with some weight of authority, and, therefore, the increasing strength of the union in the Waikato should be gratifying to the rural community.

Novel Ensilage Stack For novelty in construction, an ensilage stack at the Ruakura Farm would be difficult to surpass. The sides of the stack, which is circular, are protected by the means of paper, specially treated to prevent mould. The paper, which cost £3 15s, is kept in place with sheep netting. However, with the sinking of the ensilage, the paper has in places become torn against the netting. The top of the stack is covered with earth and before the material was ensiled molasses was added at the rate of 301 b to each ton of material. The material in the experimental stack will be later compared with that in a control stack alongside, but the officials at the farm do not consider that this new method of ensilage stack construes on will be found of any great use on the average farm. Demand for Ryclands

For many years the Ryeland sheep did not enjoy widespread popularity in Australia but of recent years this breed has met with a more general demand. New Zealand breeders have each year made considerable sales of both ewes and rams to Australia, and it can be stated that Ryelana sheep command higher average prices than any other breed sold to Australia. A very considerable sale oi selected stud two-tooth ewes at a price well above the average has been finalised by the Stud Stock Department of Messrs Wright, Stephenson and Company, Ltd. This transaction embraces the selection from the following breeders of stud ewes for a noted New South Wales breeder. Seventy-five will be selected from the “Waipuna” stud of T. A. Stephens, forty from the. “Punchbowl" stud of H. J. Andrew, Maheno, and twenty each from Messrs Joseph and John Brooks, of Canterbury and thirty from Mr J. Ridd, of Ashhurst, for the same breeder went forward this week making a total of 185 in all.

“Eczema" Ewes It has often been contended that once a ewe has suffered from “facial eczema" that it will be of no further use except for boiling down. However, in many cases ewes that were fairly badly affected by the disease have recovered quite well and their lambs have been well up to standard. Members of the Ruakura Farm Advisory Committee when they visited the farm last Friday had the opportunity of inspecting ewes in the •‘facial eczema" experimental area that had the disease during the last outbreak. The ewes were looking well and were carrying excellent lambs. However, the ewes in this particular area at Ruakura have had the advantage of particularly good conditions.

Jersey Oaks’ Standard A reduction of the butterfat standard from 5501 b to 5201 b, the same butterfat standard as champion bulls, for heifers competing in the Dominion Oaks competition was advocated by the Whangarei Jersey Club. Word has now been received that the New Zealand Council does not intend to reduce the £SOO Oaks, it being considered that the standard now set is not too high for a national competition of this nature. In regard to the smaller Jersey Oaks, the Jersey Breeders’ Association agrees that a reduction would encourage competition and is to review the position next year. As several smaller competitions have already been inaugurated, it is not intended to make any alteration this season.

Keen Pig Values Any changes in pig values during the week have been in favour of vendors. Butter-milk buyers have continued to force the pace at many sales with £ resulting benefit to sellers. Top prices for baconers and porkers at the Frankton sale yesterday showed a further advance of 2s and this was a fairly good indication of the improvement in the market generally. Values have been equally keen in the store pig section where prices have been often in excess of those ruling the previous week. Entries at the main yards have continued to be unusually large but this fact has so far failed to be any deterrent to competition.

“ No; chewing is not a refined habit,” said the wholesaler to the reporter, with a laugh, “ but it’s going out. ’Most everybody smokes now. Where does all the tobacco come from? Why. chiefly from America, of course. But other countries contribute, and it’s astonishing what a lot of toasted New Zealand tobacco goes up in smoke! The true toasted, of course, I mean. The manufacturers turn it out by the ton, and the bigger the output the greater the demand seemingly. Why so popular? Well, to begin with the quality’s O.K. There’s nothing like it! Secondly, the toasting purifies—eliminates the nicotine, and makes these blends perfectly safe to smoke. You can’t overdo it with the genuine toasted —Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead). Navy Cut No. 3 (Bulldog), Cavendish, Riverhead Gold and Desert Gold. How is the toasting done? Sorry, but I can’t tell you. That’s the manufacturer’s secret. But I’ve seen the process at the factory. Wonderfully ingenious! ’’ The scribe, well satisfied with his “ story," shut up his note-book and vanished.