CONFIDENT FARMERS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 36, 1 April 1942, Page 5

CONFIDENT FARMERS

PLANS FOR NEXT SEASON

SHAREMiLKERS MOVING OUT Showing their absolute faith that \ T ew Zealand will be "still going ;trong" after Hitler's "much-heralded 'spring offensive," many fanning families of Whakatane County are il ready making plans for next dairying season. A popular topic of gossip in the country just now is first-hand news regarding shareniilkcrs who ha\e 'signed up" to move to other iarms )n June 1 or July 1. Each wintci sees numerous shareniilkcrs on the move to bigger, better or biightei farms, and the. winter of l!)12i will i)e no exception. No doubt Hitler -and his Jap oflsiders will be peeved to learn (should theiy receive a copy of the Beacon from a fifth columnist) that [ocal farms show" a complete disregard for Hitler's "March to the Caucasus and India," which is also timed for June 1. If farmers believed for one moment that Hitler and Co had a ghost of a chance of making a wreck of the world then they would not be changing farms in the midst of the blitz. But there it is— the farmers do not listen to the Bcilin and Tokio radio; they arc too busy milking. Farm Land Changes Hands There are also reports of a certain number of farms being sold or leased. In such cases the farmers concerned are making long-tenu ai rangements in the confident expectation that they will get their money or income no matter what Hitler nnd the Japs may do. Another example of the sturdy faith that abouads in the country is tlie development work being carried out on blocks of partly-improved land in the Whakatane County. This steady turning of waste land into pasture indicates that the owners expect a good overseas market foi dairy produce and meat in future years, or that they are getting land in order for soldier settlers who will be coming home in the not toC'-dis-tant future. Firm Market for Cattle Values for livestock also relleci the determination of farmers tc carry on their work as usual nexl season. Owners of dairy heifeis ha\f optimistic ideas as to values ant are quite sure that prices fox then cattle will be higher next sprint than ever before. There is admitted iy a shortage of labour on the faims but somehow or other farming peo pie expect to milk as many cows a ever next season. Mobs of beef cattlc and breedin? ewes have been passing through tin Bay of Plenty at frequent interval in recent months on their way t< new pastures. This indicates the ex tent to which graziers arc stocking up in the confident expectation tha Britain will be sending out ship for more beef and lamb, no matte how much the U-boats and surfac raiders try to stop the convoys o food ships. Altogether there is a splendi spirit of confidence among the hard working people who garrison locs farms at this time when so man young farmers arc in uniform. Thi must have an encouraging effect o the boys overseas during this crit cal year—which may prove to 1: the final year of the warBut Not Over-Confident Local farmers are full of con! (lence, but not the sort of boastfi over confidence that made Hitler ai nounce the date of his arrival (no Indefinitely postponed) in Londc and Moscow. No, the farmers their Home Guard. They roll up the Home Guard parades in fi force on week-ends or week nigh nnd are now making or talking abo home-made bombs and other nas things that would stop infiltrati< tactics if thrown over a barber hedge at Jap "tourists." The fan ers are quite sure their next sc son's cheese and beef will get » London all right, but they are n taking precautions to see that th Are not caught defenceless. And so the shareniilkcrs who. f planning to move somewhere c when winter sets in are no less kc than the others on turning ouit Home Guard. In due course tl will be linked up with the Ho Guard in their new districts. Recent rains have freshened s, the pastures, much to the satisf d tion of cattle and their owne ig Equally refreshing has been »e slight relaxation of the restricts ;o on petrol sales, for most people i- more cheerful when there is a £ to lon or so in the benzine tank. T n- cheerful feeling will no doubt ic reflected in Whakatane shop taki: after the 20th.