Pastures Past: Wool woes of 1934; politicians, ram breeders ‘blaming the small owner’

The wool industry had a few ups and downs in the 1900s. Photo / Nicki Harper

Kem Ormond takes a look at the world of farming back in the day.

Wool has had its ups and downs, it has always been a point of discussion, it has made some farmers wealthy, and it has made some farmers drop breeding sheep and convert their property to a beef operation.

It used to be the main income earner on farms but even back in the day, it was causing farmers headaches, as the two articles below will tell you.

One is about the deficiencies of the new season’s wool clip in Hawke’s Bay.

The second is a letter written by a gentleman from Waipukurau known as “Agricola” who complains of the Government and ram breeders blaming the small owner for the faults in wool.

Hawke’s Bay wool clip

Poorer and lighter than usual.

Poverty Bay Herald, November 29, 1919

The new season’s wool clip is now reaching Napier in large quantities, shearing being well advanced for this time of the year (states the Telegraph).

If the present pace is maintained all the Hawke’s Bay wool should be in the stores before the end of January.

A Telegraph reporter was told this morning by a competent judge that the wool this year is much lighter than usual, the deficiency being equal, roughly, to one pound per sheep.

As there are about 6,000,000 in the Napier sheep district, the loss is considerably over 2500 tons.

The average weight of wool per sheep is 91/2 lb, but this year it is not expected to exceed 81/2lb.

In addition to the lightness reported the wool is short and tender in comparison with previous years, the quality generally being poorer.

This is attributed to the dry season passed through last Autumn which has had a bad effect on the growth.

No Government interference wanted

Hawke’s Bay Tribune, January 31, 1934

(To the Agricultural Editor).

Sir, — Your column on farming is always interesting, on Saturday especially so.

With reference to the note about the man owning 20,000 sheep and supposed to know so much more about prices and sheep and wool than the smaller owner, i.e. the more sheep the greater the knowledge.

Many of these big owners hardly ever enter a sheep yard or wool shed a dozen times a year and rely on their managers or head shepherds to cull and manage their flocks, yet if the sheep farmers allow the Government to interfere with the wool business, the big owners will be selected for the wool council and probably sons as inspectors.

A letter to the Agricultural Editor of the Hawke's Bay Tribune, January 31, 1934. Image / Papers Past

Take the small owner with say 1000 to 1500 sheep, mostly old settlers or their sons, who have worked on situations for years and have saved money, invested in a farm, and probably know more about sheep and wool than 75 per cent of the big owners and ram breeders included.

Just at present fine wool is in greater demand than the coarser type, and growers are tumbling over each other to buy the finer rams and paying high prices, yet the year before the big fall in wool a few bales of my heavier and stronger wool brought 10 3/4d and the fine Romney 9 1/2d.

The brokers’ valuation before the sale was 9d for the strong and 10 1/2d for the fine Romney.

I certainly think the man who grows a medium kind of wool (I don’t mean course) and carefully culls his flock will come out best in the end, the extra weight compensating for the price of the very fine wool.

As the depression lifts, so will the demand increase for there are thousands who can pay £5 or £6 for a suit to one that pays £10 or £12.

It is a mistake to think that only the big stations get the big prices at the sales.

You only have to read the brokers’ reports in the “Tribune” after the wool sales and it will be found that the small owner compares very favourably with the big sheep farmer.

This year I shore 1078 sheep producing 9835lb wool (over 9lb per sheep) and the price was 13 ¾ hogget, 12 ¾ ewe, and 10 ¾ piece, at the first Napier sale and prices are now higher still.

I am writing this letter in the hope that it will help prevent any interference with the wool and sheep business by the Government or the Wool Council for I have no faith in the latter as one of the members said he aimed to enable the sheep farmers to discriminate between a good and a bad one so that the ram breeders would not be the only ones that possessed that knowledge.

Impertinence I call it.

Politicians, ram breeders etc. have made a lot of capital by blaming the small owner for the faults in wool, but I think many ram breeders are the worst of the lot as they try to go by the fashions and get a very bad mixture.

I am, etc.

“AGRICOLA”

Waipukurau, Jan 29.

- Source: Papers Past