WHEAT SUPPLIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 28, 27 October 1917, Page 10

WHEAT SUPPLIES

A SEMES OF INQUIRIES

PRODUCTION, PRICE, AND DISTRIBUTION

Several questions relating to the -wheat supply usked of the Minister of Agriculture in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The frst was asked by Mr. Lee. Did the Iffiister, he asked, intend to claim any jjwers before the session ended to compd the sowing of wheat in the wheat land< of the Dominion, up to, say, 250,C(W acre»- It would bo-too late for the 191819 season to do this next session, as preparations for putting the wheat in hid to be begun in July, and the growers yished to know if any* prices were going to bo fixed so that they would know exactly where thev were. The Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald, in. reply, slated that negotiations were being made for the holding of a conference in Christchurch very shortlv dealing vith the 1917-18 wheat crop. He had drafted a memorandum which he was going l to submit to Cabinet, outlining proposals for a rruaranteed price for the 1918-19 crop. He had gone into the question as to whether it was. advisawe- for the Government to endeavour to compel certain owners of land to put in wheat, and i? in Christchurch the next week or two he would be able to definitely submit, to Cabinet proposals' to tho Government for the 1918-1!) season. Mr. Anstey asked whether the Minister suggested that farmers should V* made to put in certain areas of wheat. There were a number of gardening plots in the cities. Would the Government compel the. owners of these to grow_ vegetables, which in some cases were being retailed at prohibitive prices in the cities. The course he suggested would be much more useful than compelling the farmers to grow wheat. Mr. Mac Donald said the Government had never had under consideration the proposal to compel farmers to s,tow wheat in any shape or form, because the Government' believed that if farmers secured a. reasonable priee and useful guarantee it would be better than compulsion, and he had no doubt the <?oy. ernment would look into the matter. He would not ask Cabinet to compel anyone to grow certain things. "People with three or four-aero plots were advised to grow vegetables, and were given the best assistance and advice by Government Mr "w. Nosworthy asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, at the conference shortly to be held, the question of altering the conditions of payment for wheat would be considered. Farmers wished to bo paid for wheat on trucks, instead of fob. The farmers had kept to -heir bargain, but the middlemen were not. Mr. Mac Donald said that the pram merchants and millers had kept, faith with the 'Government. Mr. Nosworthy: What about the mix-; inn of bran and pollard, Mr. Mac Donald said that there were, exceptions to every rule. "the. »"": ers desired to bo paid on trucks instead of f.o.b. the amount, would have to be reduced by the rost of putting the.wheat on the seaboard. . Mr. Nosworthy said that farmers were not satisfied with the. f.o.b. deal at all. Th»v wished to be paid for wheat on trucks and the Government could Make p-ny ,leal it cWe-to niako with merchants and millers. ~,,,. n,„ „„ Mr B Newman asked whether the on trucks price would be the same as the ' f.o.b. price. In the North Island he contended, payment should he for wheat 1 on trucks because wheat was never shipped from flie North Island. Mr Mac Donald said he was quite willin" that payment should he on trucks, but the price would he less than the f.o.b. price by the cost of carnage, to put the wheat on shipboard. . Mr Ell said that while some mills had been closed down in Cnristchiywh, the 1 millers had to stand by while flour was ' brought into Christchurch. milled from ; Australian wheat. He asked that the Minister should see that in future a more equitable distribution of importen 1 wheat should bo made, i Mr. Mac Donald said that some millers . had neglected to buy stocks of gram at ' the beginning of tho season, hoping ,to i be able to buy more cheaply: later. > Those millers who knew their business . letter had bought up supplies for the ■ season.' ' , : M§i Ell: What about small millers who i can't A do that'? ,„,,',' , . ' < Mr. Hornsby: Virtue gobbled the lot. . Mr. Mac Donald: It is useless for the member for Wairarapa to make a statement about something which he knows nothing whatever about. • It is like his statement that he was going to buy all the butter at a shilling a pound r Ho ■went on to say that it was hoped that a shipment of wheat would come from Australia by a steamer leaving in a few days. The wheat was distributed according to the wishers of the Kourmillers' Association, without interference by the Government. It would have been, possible to get two steamers, but one was required to bring phosphates to NewZealand, which were just as important as, wheat. There was no reason for any alarm about the situation. The Eon. E: H. lthodes said that one penny per bushel more was allowed for Hunters and Pearl than for other sorts of wheat. ' He suggested that the •other sorts should be classified, because there were.other sorts of Quite as good milling properties as Hunters and Pearl. Mr. Mac Donald said that the prices were paid for in accordance with' the recommendations of the conference of growers. The question of making further classification was not then considered.