FARMING AFFAIRS

Chronicle (Levin), 26 July 1946, Page 2

FARMING AFFAIRS

(This columti is supplied weekly by Federated Farmers of N.Z., Ino. Tne information gjven is oflicial, but any views expressed are tliose of tiie I Federation and are not necessarily | those of Lliis newspaper.) Serpentine Superphospliate Eax:lier difficulties coxicerning the| supply oi: suitablc serpentine rock and] the provision of proper equipment atj fertiliser xvorks have now largely beenj overcome in the North Island, reports. the Department of Agriculture. Newi sources of serpentine supply have been; developed and the installatiou of equip-! meut to proeess a high-quality product has been eompleted in most of the xvorks. As a result it is lioped that, in the present rationing year, farmers ' requirements of serpentine super will be satisfied. Under rationing, farmers can obtain 27cwt. of serpentine super for eveiy 20ewt. of straight supor to which they are entitled. fertiliser Supply In order to facilitate the manufacturc and delivery of thc increascd fertiliser tonnage to be made available for the current rationing year, farmers are asked by the Department of Agriculture to assist by placiug orders with their distributors as early as possible and to accept delivery at the time orders can be despatched, eveu if that means a period of storage 011 the farin prioi- to use. Farmers are also asked to arrange for the earliest possible unloading of railway trucks when fertiliser arrives at their local statiou. A quicli turn-rouud of trucks is a most important factor in the full-scale delivery of both fertiliser and lime.

Farm Subsidies The statislical department at head ollice of the federation has recently j itcmiscd farm subsidy payments and their source. These details xvill be made available to provinces. Total subsidies to the farming iudustry amounted, for the year ended July oi, 11)45, to £13,198,571, of which the Dairy aua j AteaL iudustry Stabilisation Accounts met £9,(577,075. Direct farming assist-" j ance from the Department of Agricul- j ture grant totalled £004,270, and thc War Expeuses Account assisted to the extent of £2,917,220. Type of Subsidies Most of the charges met from tliej Iudustry Stabilisation Accounts last! year were direct farm subsidies, such! as for cheese crales, fertilisers, pigj crops, etc. The Meat Account, howcver. paid £300,000 for the period to keep down the retail price of meat, and freezing companies were subsidisod to a total of £475,000 on account of wago increases. From the War Expeuses Account few items were direct farm subsidies. _They~-WS.Eii..V£iSt-o f-1 iving or, consumer subsidies, designed to hold prices to consumers rather Lhan help farmers. Produce Prices A table of coiuparative prices for farm produce for the years 1938 and 194(5, prepured by the statisticai department at head oflice, shows increases ranging from 8 per ceut. for xvether muttoii, the smallest iucrease, to 42 per coiit. for butterl'at, the greatest iucrease. Other items are as follow: — Fowl wheat, 28 per cent.; malted barley, 28 per ceut.; maize, 23 per cent.; cliaH', 3(5 per cent.; wool, 39 per cent.; beef, 17 per ceut.; lanib, 13 per ceut,; ewe mutton, 11 per cent.; pork, 20 per cent. An itemised list of 1(5 farm costs, however, sliows iucreases ranging from 73 per cent. to 23(5 per cent. over the same period. Towu Milk Producers The annual meeting of the Town Milk Producers' Federation will be held iu Wellington on July 31 and .\ ugust 1. Major attentiou will probably centre on the Oeutral Milk Oouncil's declared poliey of compulsorily establishing puldic utility corporations for the treatment of town milk. Etrong opposition to the proposal is certain, parLicularly from Auckland where the New Zealand Dairy Co-operative Coy., Ltd., is making a strong bid for sur\ival iu the treating tield. Christchurch and I'alnierston North are also expected to head vigorous opposition to the nationalistic plan for Lhe Central Milk Council. Sheep Plock Composition An analysis of sheep docks in lhej Dominioii made at head olliee shows' eonsiderablc changes in the eompositiou j of floeks since 11)24. Wetliers have ; dropped from 12.5 per cent. of the total j tloek to, 7.G per cent, Aleanuhile, how-j ever, breeding ewes have increascd l'rom 55.15 per ceut. to (51.2 per cent. of| the total (lock, but lambs, aUhough; showing in the aggregate an iucrease of j 1,751,014, have reiuaiued constant at 20 ! per cent. of the lotal tloek ligure. in; Ihe same period. iueidentally, land in j occupation iu N'ew Zealand has de-j creased by (505,2-13 acres.