Dear Sir,

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 87, 6 July 1945, Page 4

Dear Sir,

Letters to the Editor must be clearly written on one the paper only and where a de-plume is used the name of ' the writer mu&t be included for reference purposes. The Editor reserves the right to amend or withhold any letter or letters.

FUTURE OF AGRICULTURE

Sir ? — Someone should draw attention to the 1 economic trend in agriculture. The most useful utilisation of land is for foods grown direct for humans-, and economy of New Zealand in the early days was grain producing. This employed large numbers of and value produced per head is highest while absolute , benefit, to humanity is highest also under that system of economy. At grain growing has to be subsidised at the expense of less economic use of land. The. next most profitable use discovered is cattle and taking the long term point of "view the section devoted to dairying has been extremely valuable to the nation. With the exception of a rise of 40 (UK) cows , in milk in the year 194.1 1 here'has been a reduction in' the number of cows milked every year since. 1935. The reduction between 1943 and 1944 was and since 1935 the loss has: been no less than 159 i} 457 cows in milk. The tendency has been to put cow land to use in grazing sliecp and the next successor to that is. weeds and tea-tree. While the number of sheep shorn last year showed a slight increase the number of lambs- tailed were down by nearly half a million.

Field crops grown last year were less by 32,369 acres from the previous year. Land in grass clover etc. was down, by 131,833 acres. Unimproved occupied land is shown as having increased by acres. The most noticeable drop in smaller class utilisation of land is that in orchards, and though these have now stabilised at six acres more than the previous year, fruit being either rationed or unobtainable the drop in commercial orchards from 25 072 acres is now 5876 acres. It should be clear why apples are being rationed in a country in which they are so easily grown and from which export in the past hasi been profit-. able._ The pig production dropped last year by 31 i> 2l2 } the drop, from 800,802 of 1936 being no leSs than 227,440. Manufacture of poverty on a •wholesale, scale is at full swing in this- country. Yours etc. A. E.' ROBINSON.