FARMING AFFAIRS

Chronicle (Levin), 12 July 1946, Page 3

FARMING AFFAIRS

(This column is supplied weckly by Federatod Farmers of JN'.Z., Inc. Tho information given is oflicial, but any views expressed are those of the Federution and are not necessarily those of this newspaper.) F.A.O. and Farmers i Advice received from the New Zea- • land delegation to the London Gonf er- : euce iudicates that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United iAations proposes close co-operation | with organised producers. F.A.O. will ' be setting up national committees wliich will be asked to preserve close contact with organised farmers in their cpuntries either by direct representatiou or by co-opting advisers. While, at the present time of shortages, F.A.O. 1 was payiug most attention to the eon-. sunier, in drafting the long-term policy oi' the organisation, it was providod that as mue.h attention would eventuallv be paid to the interests of the producer as to those of the consumer. in un,uddress to the conference, Mr. S. L. Louwos. chief adviser to the directorgcneral of F.A.O., made that statement and said that the interests of coni sumers could uever be properly served if consideration was not given at every point to those of the producers. Dairy Faim Film TUe \ urious photugraphic sequenees to be used in the production of the iilin of dairy -'furni lii'e sponsored by the action conimittec of the federation, have now" been linulised by the producers and accepted by the committee. Filmiug will commonce next week and .most oi' the locations will probably bo in the Ilorowhenua disirict near Levin berause of its i.earness to Wellington. The, Jilm will portray a typical day's wurk on a normal dairy farm, but will express in graphic manner Ihe econ- . omic dependeuce of Fcw .Zealand on lier primary exports. Heavyweight Shcep Mr. G. G. Timbs, oi' Wanganui, is con(iiming his eainpaign for Ihe defattizig of export nieat to Britain and, with the baeking of the Wanganui executive, is approachmg the tederatiou for full support. Lord Bledisloe has taken up the pruposals with Ihe Ministry of Food, 1ml replies to liis rejirescntatious have been that it is a matter for the Now . Zealand Government and the Meat ; Board as vendors of the produce. , Master lmtchers in Britain support the proposal aud in a roccnt letter the Oxford Associution said that over-fat meat was an anatliema to the housewife at any timo, but during rationing the over-fat carcase oi' mutton was a real l.ardship. "fciend us all tlie meat you can," said Ihe letter, "but send it lean and clieap, and the more oii'al that can be sent Ihe better. " Argentine de-l'atted mutton has, for the last four months, been sold in Britain and at tlie same price as other mutton with the fut sohl separatelv. Mr. Timbs has submitted to head office that tlie i}d per lb. that lamb oxport's were now paying to keep ewe mutton • at an economic price could, if the defaltihg proposals were accepted, be rei voked. Road and Rail Transport . The diversion of many items of farm requisites from rail to road transport was not ua oasy matter, wrote the Geueral Manager of 'ltailwavs last week in reply to federation representations that sucli diversion would expedite deliveries. The partieular trafiic mentioned, l'ertilisers and fencing posts, was low rated on rail and it was not likely that even during ' occasioual peiiods of railway wagon shortage it could be diverted to road transport without subsidy, The diversion of fertiliser transpoft for distances up to 100 miles had not : given satisfaetory results, said Mr. ; Sawes, for Ihe limited labour available for loading at the works had been concent rated on road vehicles. The result was that cousignces within the 100 miles had received supplies by road, but otliers had not been supplied. D rivers of road vehicles, being on the sjiot, iusisted on immediate attention both at. fertiliser works and at lime compauies' sidings. Quality*of Tractor Tyres L'ntil tyro manufacturers coultl re ■ suiue pre-war production of tyres from imnnul supplies of raw rubber, it was not possible for New Zealand to insist that nalural rubber tractor tyres should j be supplied to lier, wrote tho Minister I of iSupply (Mr. Hulllvan) in reply to a | I'ederat iou request for the importation i of better tyres. New Zealand had, however, asked 'hat she bc given a quality product. equivalent to that pro : vided for users in mauufaeturing coun ; tries. Beyond Lliat tho Government j was unable to go at present.