AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 263, 9 December 1930, Page 5

AROUND HAWKE'S BAY

PAHAGRA'PHS OP INTEREST TI THE EARMER. Straying stock are a constant source of danger and a consider= able nuisance on our Hawke's Bay back=country roads, despite occasional prosecutions and con= tinual warnings. I was talking to a farmer from the other coast yesterday, and he stated that Hawke's Bay was by far the worst district in this respect in which he had ever driven a car. It is difficult to understand how any farmer can be so care* less as to run the risk which he does every minute of the day when he has his stock straying . all over the roads.

* * ¥ Tliere are still numbers of wool lorries to bfe met 011 our back eountry xoads, albliougli tlio rusli of wool into tbe Pqft Ahuriri stores has shown an abatfemeut since last week's sale allotnusnt* 'closed. The lorries witli tlieir dverhanging cargoes of bales are liasty things to meet on a sliarp bend. * * * The wool lias not shown very xuuch improvement over the past few weeks, although it was predicted earlier that tliose who sheared late would reap the henefit of extra yolk in the wool. Tliere has aetually heen no sunshine to induee such a condition, and the Hawke's Bay farmer who is phearing now is aetually in no better position tlian his colleague wlio took the wool off his flock some weeks ago. * * * "Farmers cannot possibly employ raen at 14s a day," commented Mr F. B. Logan,' chairnian of the Hawke's Bay County Council and a well-known Hawke's Bay sheepfarmer, in speaking on the subject of unemployment at the council's niontlily meeting yesterday. Mr Logan reviewed the diffieulties wliieh had faced Hawke's Bay farmers in the past few months and predicted a possible further trouble in the forin of a drouglit this Summer. * * * The feed problem has cer* tainly never assumed such seri* ous proportions in Hawke's Bay at this time of the year as it has just now. If we do not get rain and warm weather soon, not only will property owners be faced with no feed for the next few months, but also with star* vation cohditions during the Winter. Rain is continually threatening, but farmers are heginning to give up hope of a good rainfall. * * * A notieeahle featuve of the cattle fairs held at Feilding this season has heen the limited numher of full-grown and forward steers offered. The Manawatu does not breed the cattle required for its fattening paddocks, hut depends up.pn both Wairarapa and Hawke's • Bay • for filling its requirements. IJnfortunately, the drouglit of 1925-26 was responsible for the calves dropped in that season being killed at the works as vealers, and there was also a lieavy mortality in the breeding cows, and this is now making a short supply in that particular age of cattle. * ^ *

During a sitting of a Land Court in Queensland the manager of a station stated that in five years they had lost 81,000 sheep from drought. A still worse case was that of another station which during the last five years the losses from drought and wild dogs had totalled 95,000. The property had heen run at a loss during the last few years, and had not paid dividends. * * -f A sale of 400 rains of Britisli breed s was offered in Adelaide recently, and the following was the range of prices received, which were considered very good : — Dorset Horn, 5gns. to Ogns. ; English Leicesters, to ogns. ; Border Leicesters, to 52-gns. ; Suffolks, to 10 gns. ; Shropshires, to 6gns. ; Southdowns, to 7gns. ; and Corriedales, to Signs. * * * The yarding at Stortford Lodge to=morrow gives promise of being of fair size. The pres* fint sale list includes 50 fat ewes, 43 fat cows, 50 fat bullocks, 75 3 and 4=year bullocks (P.A.=H. cross), 30 weaner to 2=yr steers, and 20 weaner to 2=yr heifers. • ♦ * One of the chief factors m the improvement of Argentine hutter during the past three years is satd to have heen the great development which has taken place in the estahlishnieut of separating stations or creameries. as against home or farm separation. This development was made possible oy tlio handsome price obtainahle for good casein, and as all Argentine creameries produce casein, they were in a favourahle position to pay a satisfactorv price to the farmer in order to induee liim to abandon home separation in favour of sending liis milk to the separating stations direct. It remains to be seen whether this new development, viz., creameries as against home separation. will he affected by the considerably lower prices now obtainahle for casein.