POULTRY FEED SHORTAGE

Chronicle (Levin), 20 December 1946, Page 4

POULTRY FEED SHORTAGE

GOVERNMENT POLICY BLAMED FOR PRESENT LACK OF WHEAT • Q ! ,

There would be "no shortag-e of whea£ in hTeW Zealand today if the Government gave the far'mefs more co-operatioh, said the president of the Levin Registered Poultry-Keepers' Association, and district producers representative 'on the Poultry Feed Committee, Mr..A. W. Parton, of Levin, when asked to comment on the reported acutfe shortage of poultry feed.. A niore liberal return fof their product would enshre the v planting out of a higher acreage by wheat farm'ers. At pfCsent the price offered farmers for wheat ma'd'e its grQwing ■ an uneconomical undertaking, and this situation would continue while the Government adhered t'o its_ pr'es'Cht pplicy of buying from overse'as markets a't an impoft'ation cost, whi'Ch amounted to nearly double that which they were prepared to lJ concede Dotoinfon growors.

Government representatives were at present in Australia negotiating for additional supplies of wheat, barley and flour, continued Mr. Parton. The importation of flour meant that valuable biproducts, pollard' and bran, were being lost to New Zealand. Mr. Parton added that the unsettled state of the country, which was the natural legacy of war, must be counted as an attributihg factor to . the present position. Poultry farmers were not the only ones who were feelhw the reaction. Accusatioii Refuted Referring to an accusation that the Feed Committee was solely concerned with the larger poultry establishments in regard to the distribution of existing supplies of poultry feed, and that the "ordinary backyard noultryman" was hot receiving a "fair deal," Mr. Parton said that such statements Were incorrect. No poultry .farmer, whether registered or not, was being refused whatever su^"«lies were available. The Government had decided that all supplies of poultry feed be distributed through feed committees. On these committees were three representatives of grain merchants and three producer representatives. He represented the producers in the Levin* district, and all reauisitions from this district were certified on his recommendation. • If poultrymen were not register- ( ed it was difficult to keep check of where supplies were needed most, he said, and at the sbme time guard against hoarding. "I notice that retail establishments in Levin have been receiving hourly appeals for sunplies of poultry feed. I have been receiving calls practically every m-inute, and have been gcing to consid'er- ( able trouble and personal expense to render all the assistance • possible," said Mr. Parton. During the past few days he had been called feverything from a dictator and deputy-fuehrer to a union secretary. His aim was to ensure that all those who kept poultry obtained supplies. Hq. did not want to see'fowls slaughtered unnecessarily, and he would like to know who the persons were who claime'd they were about to take so drastic a step. Every person who had over 25 , fowls was required by law to re-

gister them, yet he had received appeals from poultrymen who h-id considerable numbers of fowls, bUt who had not registered and yet expected to share in the distributibn of feed. He had, ii'evettheless, rehcfered assistance to th'es'e people as he did not Want to se'e poultry killed. He re'alise'd the importanbe of the "backyard" poultrymen to 'the industry, and he was out to help them all he could. No rationinp' schcme as proposed by the Poultry Board was instituted in the district, but some organised system had to be put into operation. Naturally, fir-st considefatibn had to be given the larger establishments, which deoended on the keepihg of poultry for their livelihood. Considerable sums of mon'ey were involved in these businesses. In this district alone there wCte approximately ten returned servic'emen, backed financially by the Rehabilitation Dbpartment. Thbir whole future was at stake. The smaller poultry-keepers did not in his opinion, have "an axe to grind." If the situation in regard to feed deteriorated, it was possible for them to keep their stock alive by feeding them scraps. this Was not possible for those operating large establishments, where many hundreds of head of poultry were ihVolVed. Nevertheless, the "backyard" operators were beine provided for. There was absolUtely no "vetoina" of anybody's ordets, and all owners of poultry were being being dealt with fairly. Where supplies were available, no poultryman was being refused. Egg Production : Regarding the present shortage, he said, that the situation had been gradually deteriorating over many months. Other parts of the North Island were in even worse ; straits than the Levin district. 'There were many districts, notably : Taranaki, where for some time now oats alone were being fed to poultry. This had a deteriorating effect ofi the stock, and resulted "in a ! marked decrease in egg production. For the seven weeks since Noveffiber, supplies to the Wellington distributing floor were down nearly 100,000 dozen against the sahie period last year. Interviewed by telephone yesterday, an authoritv in the Hutt ValTey told .a "Chronicle" representai tive that the poultry feed situation there was "most acute."