MOVE TO TRANSFER SEED STATION

Chronicle (Levin), 21 March 1946, Page 7

MOVE TO TRANSFER SEED STATION

— Press Association

CANTERBURY ORGANISATIONS AGTIVE

Bv. Telearavh

CHRISTCHURCH, March 20. Five Cauterbury organisations interested in the establishment of a seed testing ■ stat'ion- in the South Island wiib uie.et in? Christchurch soon to plau a. eoncerted effort to have the existing station at- Palmerston Nortli transferred as soon as possible. This was amiouneed at a meeting to-day of the North .Cauterbury district executive oi the Federated' Farmerg of New Zealanrl by Mr. G. C. Warren wlio, as a represeu tatiye of.-.the agriculture section at the recent . Domiuion conference, was reply ing to a lptfcer from the Minister oi Agriculture (Hon. B. Roberts). A de-cis-ion liad been made, said the Minister that the See.d Testing Station inust re main at Palmerston North. "We .matle a lot of investigation at the Dominiqn conference of the agri culture section aud about 15 of us went out to; see the station," said klr. Warren. "After seeing the station 1 am convinced that the subject niatter of the Minister 's letter is pure bunkum. We expected to see the station estab lished near. the Plant Research Bureau, but found that it was in Palmerston North itself. Tliere is no reason that such a station should not be established in oue of the otfices in Christchurch. •''It would be by 110 means an im possible task to shift the station to Ihe South Island, " Mr. Warren continued. "The time is past for individual bodies to take part; we must get con certed action and' for this reason five organisations in Cauterbury have de cided to have a conference." The organisations which would dis cass the inatter, said Mr. Warren, wero tlie Federated Farmers, the Cauterbury Chamber of Conuuerce, tlie Manufacturers' Association, the Grain and Seed Mei'chants ' Association and the Canter bury Progress League. AIl wero vitally in terested in the establishment of. tlie Seed Testing Station in tlie South Lslaiid aud would probably decide to refer the t)uestion directly to Cabinet.