INCREASE IMPERATIVE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Issue 2, 8 July 1940, Page 5

INCREASE IMPERATIVE

;15,000 TONS MORE CHEESE „ On the motioii of-.Mr J; Mulliiis, "Mr J. L. Burnett [was voted to the • chair and he .Mr }JTalie'^o ? 'the-Meetiiji^.;-;-'." Mt Hale said it... was a pleasure to the farmers of, the Wbak;ii-» :.ante district, though he regretted the necessity of having to do so. Outlining the reasons for his apthe calling of the meeting, Mr Hale said/that an urgent appeal had been made by th-o "United Kingdom Government to the "Government of the Dominion for "the forwarding of all kinds of produce, but particularly cheese and ihacon. The Department of Agriculture asked the Dairy Board to organise the drive for the increase in production/ specially of cheese, -of -which an extra 15,000 tons was needed. Mr Murdoch arrived at this stage, :and on the introduction of Mr Hale, itook over the address. Problems in Production. Mr Murdoch said that the United Kingdom's appeal had an order of preference, which was, wool, cheese. , pig meat, .meat and eggs,, with the request that the , concentration" made on cheese and pig jmeat. As far as butter \Vas concern--ed, the. Dominion was asked to keep up the normal supply. It was estimated that the Auckland province's production of butter would show an increase, due to various factors, of -about nine or ten per cent. On the figures available the country should produce from 120,000 to 130,000 tons of butter this year but that woul'd ■still be about 20,000 tons below peak iproduction. "Therefore,"' said Mr Murdoch, "if "it is found necessary to transfer some of those supplying butter factories to cheese factories to enable the increase in cheese output to be made, those remaining in butter will have to increase their production sufficiently to make up that loss." "In the case of those people who ■say, 'We have got more butter than we want now' or 'If we produce more, how can we get it away/ the answer is t'hat that is not our job. We have to make sure that we have it here when it is wanted. We have the British Navy," said Mr Murdoch, ■"and you heard this morning how •capable it is in dealing, with any I matter that might arise." The Question of Pig Meat. Ten htousand tons was the extra .amount of pig meat asked for,, continued Mr Murdoch, and the law , .concerning baconer weights had amended so that it was now possible for farmers to send pigs .away up to 2001bs. The question of increasing the production of pig meat led naturally to the problem of pig food and those in the position to do so should extend their areas in maize. Carrying Cows Through Autumn. Returning to the subjcct of increasing the butterfa.t supply. Mr Murdoch said that two methods which should assist in accomplishing-; this were the growing of spring supplementary feed and carrying the cows later into the autumn. Statistics supplied to him by Mr Ward, of the Herd Recording Council, Wellington, showed that with those herds returning 200 Ibs or less, the cows Avere in milk for only days, while- those in the 4001b class

milked for 290 days. Mr .Ward was of the opinion that if farmers could be impressed sufficiently with the idea of keeping their herds on longer, the increase asked for would result. Obstacles in the Way. Mr Murdoch said that cheese factory directors were up against many Obstacles; and many . details would have to be worked out, particularly where suppliers were transferred from one factory to another. ( . • < Regarding the. financing of dairy farmers so that they could ally increase their butterfat output, Mr Murdoch said it had been suggested that money be made available, through tlie only „ logical source, the Reserve Bank, at a .low interest rate; .not exceeding 2V 2 per cent, for the purchase of fertilisers, etc. The money could be advanced through the dairy companies and that would meet ! the urgiency of the, ' While addressing meetings in North Auckland during the previous few days, continued Miv Mur'doeh, he had been/ sttdwn a letter, froiu the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance which indicated, that money would be advanced and if production was not up . to. the figure the Government would -'carry; He had been in touch with officers of the Departments concerned and-had learned that that was not so. It would be suggested to the Government next week that money be made available to farmers at. per cent interest, on a reasonably long term, and that it should be advanced through the dairy companies. The Empire in Dire Need. Mr Hale continued at the conclusion of Mx Murdoch's address, saying tbat the meeting would be more constructive if questions were asked. "We want you to organise your own districts in your own way,' 1 he said. "One point that needs attention is farm machinery, lying idle in. many places, and by setting up small committees with practical men of organising ability, you can look after that part." "The Empire is in dire need. The flower of our manhood is overseas and 4 we. have to feed them to the best of our ability. That's our job. It has been said that the. farmers were looking for a lead. Here is the lead." Effect of Increase on Guaranteed Price. Mr W. H. Lambert put the first question. He said that the initial butterfat price fixed by the Government, 12 /^>d, was based on a t'eniyear average but the farmers also had pigs as a source of revenue. For the second year the Minister of Finance, seeking a means of reducing the price, had taken that fact into account. To increase production would involve the outlay of con siderable capital expenditure. Could Mr Hale give an assurance that an increase in pig production would not mean a proportionate penalty by way of an altered price? Mr Hale said that he was* not in a position to make a statement concerning pig meat, but before the Dairy Board undertook the task of Herd Recording, the matter of the price had been thrashed out and the Minister had been quite definite that there would be no alteration until all herds were brought up to a 2aGlbs standard. Later in the meeting Mr Lambert that in order to engender confidence that the farmers would not be penalised for extra production there should be an assurance from the Minister that there would be no variation in the price.

Possible Scramble for Livestock. Mr Lambert then suggested that the call for increased production -might lead to a 'scramble for livestock/ In replying, Mr Murdoch said the chairman of the Northern Pig Council was hopeful that thei;e would be no exaggerated prices for sows or exaggerated rush for housing. In regard to thle latter, the Hon. R. Semple had been approached and in effect he said he was prepared to s>et up colonies of labour and! a system of sectional building of pig | houses was how in operation. j The Matter of a Premium. J Mr F. J. Reynolds said h;e thought the most logical way of increasing pig meats was by offering a premium over lGOlbs, but Mr W. J. Law was of the opinion that it would be vbetter to offer a 'premium on the 120 to 16(jlbs class, as this was thq most profitable from all points. Mr Hale answered by pointing out that the lifting of -the 16'01bs limit to 2001bs in' itself constituted a premium Discretionary Powers Wanted. Mr I. Withy said that the problem of seed maize was brought up at the recent, meeting of the local branch of the Farmers' Union; The quality last year was poor and it was the opinion of his branch that the Maize Committee recently formthe Primary Production Coun cil Should have powers to control ,the supply of ,: §eed. He moved tihat the Minister of Agriculture be approached with a view to granting discretionary powers to the. committee, td enable it to exercise the necessary control, the powers to be as wide as the committee should think fit. The motion, was seconded and carried unanimously. , Farm Labour. Discussing the question of farm labour, Mr Hale said: "We regret to ,have to admit that farm labour was seriously depleted during the time of voluntary enlistment. At the present: time approximately 4000 farm workers are; either overt seas qr in camp. The Government is endeavouring to meet the position by taking a survey of Ptiblic Works Department labour. Up' to date, out of 5000 men questioned, 3000 have signified their willingness to work -on farms, under farm conditions. Fifty cent of that total have had previous farming experience and the Government is paying a subsidy to farmers who engage inexperienced men." Mr Hale said that as some of those willing to work on farms were married men, some provision had to be made for their, housing and the Government was making available P.W.D. huts at a charge of 5/- per week. In answer to a question dealing with the matter, a Departmental officer present at the meeting said that the cost of transporting and assembling the huts would be borne by the Public Works Department. The meeting closed shortly afterwards.