State Help in Cartage of Lime

Chronicle (Levin), 24 August 1949, Page 7

State Help in Cartage of Lime

WELLINGTON, August 23. A lime advisory committee of four ihembers drawn from the New Zealand Meat Producers' Boa'rd, New Zealand Dairy Board, Federated Farmers and Department of Agriculture, with power to co-opt a representative from the lime inilling industry, has' been appointed to investigate lime transport assistanee to farmers. This was announced tbnight by the Minister of ' Agriculture, Mr. C.ullen, -i\yho added that the first meettng of, the committee' would be held early next month. v The. Minister said the'tonnages oi lime used for agricultural purposes, inereased from 591,000 in 1910 to 1,120,000 in 1918 and further increases were anticipated, particularly when bulk delivery .methods became available. The funds for lime transport assistanee Were drawn from the meat industry stabilisatoin account (70 per centj, dairy stabilisation account (15 per sent) and consolidated fund (15 per cent), continued the Minister. "Many farmers do not appear to know how lime transport assistanee is passed on to them," he added. "The procedure is siinply that a farmer pro vides his lime supplier with a road mile age declaration. ' Then if his lime is railed his supplier arranges for the rail and road concessions due to him to be credited by the New Zealand Railways against the railage charges. lf the lime is delivered by road, the road ;eoncession is also credited by the' supplier against the cost of the lime. The cdncessions are easily followed provided the farmer does not overlook that he has to bear full transport charges on the flrst 15 miles by rail and on the ■first three'.miles by • road," said the Minister. Retailing the railways charges, Mr. Cullen said that for the first 15 miles the farmer paid the full rate of 3s 8d, but for the next 100 miles the farmer paid 6s 2d of the full rate of 13s 6d, which was subdivided to the extent of 7s 4d. Further railage was at the discretion of the Director-General of Agriculture in consultation with the

advisory committee., There was no subsidy for the first three miles on road transport to a farm after rail transport, but for each additional mile for thje uext seven miles, 4d a ton was credited by the New Zealand Railways and for each additional mile above ten miles, 6d a ton was credited. There was no subsidy for the first three miles on road transport direct to a farm from Iimewoks. but for each additional nnle for 'the next 27 uiiies, 4d a ton was credited by the lime supplier. If there were no rail facilitiek or if the distanee by rail and road was one-third greater tlian the shortest direct road' distanee, then the 4d per ton-mile applied to distances excepding .30 miles. The Minister s'aid that in 1950 it would be determined whether lime transporL assistanee,' new assured until •June 30, 1951, was to be continued foi a further period.