Federated Farmers' Weekly News Report

Chronicle (Levin), 16 August 1949, Page 6

Federated Farmers' Weekly News Report

Proposais for the formation of a po tato marketing board are to be exam ined and a report prepared for the Government concerning it so that the relevant legislation inight be introdueed during this season according to adviec received by Federated Farmers from the Assistant Direetor of Marketing (Mr K. B. Longmofe). The parties whieh wih consider the proposal- are Fe33hted Farmers, the New Zealand Grgip> Seed and Produce -Merchants' Fedetfa^ion and represeht' dtiyes' of the-Potato Advisory Committee."' The cliairman is the Direetor of Marlcetihg (Mr L. C. Webb). • Th'6 dat'e pf the preliminary meeting will be announcecl as soon as possible. The Government will continue the system of potato contracts for another year. v .. .. f i \ V ' ;■ L&fch Policy. The Land Committee of/ Federated Farmers laid down principies for land jSettlement '.which were adopled at the recent conference of the Federation. These took the i'orm largeiy of the advocacy , of the development of land which is at present idle and unoccupied. They laid down the principie that any holding should be large enough to enable the farmer to provide a reasonable standard of living for his family, to enable him to rear and educate his children saUs factorily, and to retire in his old age in reasonable comfort. They aiso laid down f-hat, in any stibdivision, the State should reeognise its responsibility for any hnancial discrepancy between a just priee to the Vendor and a fair price to the purchaser. They also supported the use of table mortgages. Their views on land valuation — a svstem that will ensure equitable compensation to vendors of'land and right of appeal to a Supreme Court Judge on the question of land valuations will appeal to more than the , farmers of New Zealand. The Land Valuation Gourt, the committee considers, should consist of a Judge of the Supreme Gourt, one member nomiuated by the Government, and the third appointed on the nommation of property owners. For the purpose of restricting violent speculation in land, the committee recoinmended iimiting the amount of mortgage to a fixed percentage of the Goverments valuation, and a transfer tax, heavy in the case of transfers within a short period, and diminishing and linally disappearing after an occupation period of, say, 10 years. Buch a tax, it was stated, wOuld discourage trafficking in land and endeavouring to make money out of increases in the, price of land, which practice has contributed in great measure , to many of the troubles which boom periods leave for times of recession. The committee also recommended "a progressive policy of afforestation where this is necessary to preserve or to increase the produetivity of land ' ' but opposed ' ' afforestation on good quality land capable of being farmed economically. " The final recommendatidn was that "no legislation alTeeting farm land should be introdueed into Parliament without prior consultation with Fe,derated Farmers." When the general secretary of Federated Farmers (Mr A. P. O'Sh'ea) communicated with the Marketing Department's tallow officer requesting information on the control of fats and oils, he was- informed that the disbanding of the International Emergency Food Committee could have no effect on the present tallow contract between the New Zealand Goverment and the United Kingdom Ministry of Food. Mr O'Shea also asked for the f.o.b. market prices for lirst grade tallow and mixed tallow for the 1947-48 season and the T948-49 season. The tallow officer replied that the comparisons of f.o.b. payments received under the 1947-48 contact compared with the present contract were as follows: — Fdible mutton tallow, £100 a ton in 1947-48, and £110 a ton in 1948-49; inedible good mixed tallow, £93 a ton in 1 947-48 and £103 a ton in 1948-49. Keturns from the eaxiier contract would be plus the rate of exchange then ruiing, said the tallow officer. ' The removal of contjipls on hides, skins and tallow was advocated in a resolution passed by the Council of the Meat and Wool Section of Federated Farmers in May. A copy of the resolution was sent to the Minister of Marketing and it was emphasised that it was the removal of control from ALL these by-products, and not from one onlv, that the council desired. Since the matter coneerned stabilisation policy he was referring it to the Minister in Charge of Stabilisation for his attention, said the Minister, replying to Federated Farmers.