ENGLISH VISITOR IS IMPRESSED BY N.Z. FARM LANDS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 25, 24 April 1950, Page 7

ENGLISH VISITOR IS IMPRESSED BY N.Z. FARM LANDS

Keen enthusiasm for New Zealand as an agricultural country was expressed by Mr M. Passmore chairman of the Small Seeds Committee of the National Farmers’ Union of Great Britain, during a recent visit to North Island farming centres.

Mr Passmore, who is touring New Zealand under a Nuffield Foundation Fellowship, said that there was nowhere in the world to compare with New Zealand for dairy farming and fat stock raising. Beautiful sunshine, well-bal-anced rainfall, and easy conditions made this a farmers’ paradise. Sun’s Effect Mr Passmore was convinced that the sun had some effect on the grass in this part of the world which resulted in greater production. He found the clovers taking nitrogen for ten months of the year whereas in England it was only for about five or seven months, and then on a lower level.

“The capillary action of your soil is the best I have ever seen,” he added. “One has only to break the earth and there is nearly always moisture.”

Another aspect of New Zealand farming compared with England was the ease with which land could be broken in, said Mr Passmore. In Britain much poorer marginal land was being developed at far greater cost than would be the case in the Dominion.

He expressed some amazement that with such natural food resources, there had not been further land development in this country. Food was going to be at a premium and New Zealand had a very bright agricultural future, contended Mr Passmore.

Referring to the land development scheme at Mangakino, he said it was extraordinary to an Englishman that scrub country could be brought into production in such a way. If grass seed were sown in such loose condition in Britain much of the take would be lost from frost and dryness. Hill Lands Neglected

The hill" lands of England had been neglected, he continued. Only the best had been cultivated, but now it was realised how important all this land could be. Mr Passmore advised all farmers to travel if possible so that they might see the manner of doing things in other parts of the world. He hoped many farmers would have the same opportunities that he had been given.