Australian Farmers Can Learn From New Zealand

Press, Volume C, Issue 29506, 6 May 1961, Page 14

Australian Farmers Can Learn From New Zealand

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, May 5. Australia’s daily industry could be greatly improved if farmers there adopted some of New Zealand’s methods. This is the opinion of a member of Taranaki Federated Farmers, Mr W. T. Vaughan, who led a party of 56 members on an Australian tour last month. The party arrived back in Wellington yesterday afternoon. Mr Vaughan said that New Zealand’s dairy herds were of better quality because of finer pastures, better farm management, and better husbandry. Australian farmers appreciated this fact, and were willing to adopt advice from New Zealanders on the matter, he said. However, Australia’s beef cattle were of a much higher standard than those in this country. The party agreed that the most impressive aspect of Australian farming was the vastness of the country. “Where we talk of working a few hundred acres, the

Australian farmer talks in thousands,” Mr Vaughan said. Of the Australian himself, Mr Vaughan said that be was ‘‘a man who thought big, talked big, and acted big.” Mr Vaughan said that many parts of Australia were now feeling the recent Federal Government credit squeeze, especially the tourist centres such as the Queensland coast, but farmers were not greatly affected by it. Commenting on the Royal Sydney Easter Show, Mr Vaughan said there was nothing in New Zealand which could be remotely compared with it. All the party were particularly impressed with the high standard of stock shown there, especially in the beef cattle section, where a stud bull was sold for £7OOO.