FARMING AFFAIRS

Chronicle (Levin), 12 November 1946, Page 3

FARMING AFFAIRS

(This column is supplied weekly uy Federated Farniers of N.Z. Tlie iuformation given is offieial, but an.v views expressed are those of tuo Federation and aro not nceessariiy those of this newspaper.) Inquiry Into Meat Matters A full inquiry into major meat matters as tliey aft'ected New Zealand was requested by the meat and wool sectionof Federated Farniers at their conference last month. A committoe oi' inquiry should be set up to make tlie iuquiry and to make reconimeudations from their fmdings. lt was suggested tliat this committee should eonsist of four representatives of Federated Farniers seiected from the JDominion Council, one representative of the Meat Board, one dairy representative and one pignieats representative. Except in the case of the Meat Board, no representatives should be members of a slalutory • board, but these boards should be callod in in an advisory capacity. Of iirst importance in such an iiiquiry should be the tendeney of expoi't and local markets, followed by the eli'ect of schedules on production for' those markets and the eli'ect of grading 011 the local market. A full iuquiry iuto abattoir authorities, and their operatiou in comparison with the export cliain for local kill, vvas next in iniportance. Then would come an investigation into saleyard buying and seiling; tlie pros and cons of a buying schedule for local trade based 011 producers' costs of production; wliolesalers ' operations in New Zealand, and, ilnally, the eli'ect of the Government's administration of bulk purchasing contracts and stabilisation. Pig Commodity Sections With the fornmtion of a pig section in Federated Farniers independent of the dairy section and tlie meat and wool section, a recommeiulation has come from the Taranaki District Pig Council tliat the closest possible liaison be maintained between the district pig councils and the federation 's pig com.modity sections. As both these bodies will have at lea'st several joint representatives, owing to the commodity sections having been planned for nine areas with tlie same bouudaries as those eovered by the councils, liaison should not be difficult, but without it, stated I the Taranaki Council, the work of I either is likely to be nullilied. I It has been suggested that tlie meet1 ing of pig producers who are member.s of the federation be called 011 the same dav as a general meeting of the district pig councils in eacli of Ihe districts, and tliat the federation 's business be conducted at the conclusion of tlie couiij cil's work. The pig commodity sections, when formed, will each elect one representative to a Dominion pig commodity section. Still No Wire Supplies The position in resjiect of wire .supplies in this couiit ry has been eovered very i'ully iu this column before, but remits and complaints on this subject 'still come puuring iuto tlie liend ollice of Federated Farniers. In a statcment liy the managing director of Wire Distributors, Ltd., which appcared in this column oi' Ihe third week in August, he stated tliat, in sliort, the position was that New Zealand niust now rcJy 011 over.seas juarkets for all its who. The trade believed tliat. it would be at leasl two years bci'ore supplies iu any qu;inlity wero available. I'iveiy effort ap]>ears lo Jiave been imule to obtain wire from 21 1 i countries likely to bo able to.supply. t'olitact has been made with Czeehoslovakia, Beigium, Sweden, Cnuada, the l.'niled States, the L'nitcd Kingi.iom and Aus tralia. The nel resull; of these coutacts ! at tlie time of goiug to pross is tlie obtaining of J.'iOb tons of No. S plain wire from the I'nited States. Apsrf from that, the managing direetor of Wire Distribulors, now states tliat the position has beeome worse. No supplies are now available from Cnnuda or Austrulia and supplies from tlie Pnited Kingdom have not improved at all.