WHEAT PRODUCTION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 199, 11 May 1918, Page 10

WHEAT PRODUCTION

CULTIVATION IN FULL SWING AN INTERESTING REVIEW Of the wheat position "Agricola" writes as follows in the current issue of the ".Farmers' Union..Advocate";—"lt is seldom that tho ground turns over better than it is doing this season. That is a very good'thing, as it is essential that any wheat which is put in shall go in well. Since tho conference on the wheat question held in Christchurch last month there is a distinct improvement in the attitude of.farmers towards the production of wheat, and teams may now be seen ploughing and cultivating with all speed. It is a matter for regret, howover, that thero are not more teams at work in tho wheat-growing areas. It is true that tho conference was held too late in the autumn for many to change their plans, but at tho same time it must ba remembered that wo cannot be -ir tain of filling our requirements from other nlaccs, and that it is thoreforo necessary that we should do our best to grow what wheat is wanted in the Domiuion. fnosc who bought sheep duriim March with the idea of going out of wheat growing into tho sheep industry are in tho position of not beine - able to change their plans easily, as there has been a drop.in storo sheep, and tho demand has dropped .off in a.very pronounced way. But if there are a few acres anywhere that ean be made to grow wheat with a reasonable chance of success it is tho duty of farmers to put it in if at all possible. Labour is short, but everyone who has grown wheat in tlw past should do his best to follow up the old style of farming as much as possible. At the same tinio, it must be recognised that there is no use in putting in wheat unless the ground is in good order and the drilling can lie done in good time. The autumn uud the early winter .sowing is the most dependable, and as much crop as possible should bo got in during the next I'cw w.eks. Tho spring crop may turn out all right, but the chances for its success are not nearly as good as those thai surround the earlier sowings, ludeed. thero are districts where it is nothing less than folly to put in crop after I his month. For a number of years the autumn and-win-ter crop has come out best, and if averages were taken over a longer periou. it would be fouud that tho early crop is far and away more reliable than the later sowings. As I have said, • there htu signs of considerable activity in tho wneat-growing areas, particularly among the smaller farmers who do most of their own work, but at the same time we cannot shut our eyes to tho fact that tho area being put under wheat is going to be a groat deal less than it has been during the last few years. The fallow land is turning over splendidly, and those who did their skim ploughing in the summer aro rewarded by the very fine condition in which their land is in at the present time. The rapo land is also ploughing vory well, and should give good crops. I notice that some wheat is going in on tho ono furrow out of grass. Of course, this system is not to be compared with tho summer fallow and tho sowing after oats, rape, turnips, or green crop, but one sees some good crops put in on the one furrow if the land is given good cultivation, is ploughed fairly deeply, and is allowed to lio up to t'lie weather long enough for it to become mellow and sweet. The digger-plough leaves the land in better condition out of tho grass than Hie ordinary plough, but it is not extensively used. If the wheat is put in on the one furpow the land must be fairly free of weeds. If the ground is infested with twitch, for instance, there is little uso in sowing wheat on tho one ploughing out of rim leas. It should be fallowed and cleaned before tho sowing. Asl lor the. price ' that hns been guaranteed for next season's crop, it is looked upon as being a fair one, provided that the crop is an averago one, or is better than that. There is, of course, the open market, and it is more than lifcely that tho guaranteed minimum will be exceeded oven if there should be more wheat grown than wo require, which is not at all likely. The import price will probably be the maximum, .with tho duty added. There is somo speculation as to what will happen when the price soars, as i£ may do. If the price of the Hour is fixed the value of the wheat will be kep f down, and the. open market condition of the agreement with the Minister will be nullified. That is a point that does not seem to havo been brought prominently forward. No one wants to see anything like famino prices ruling, and it may be permissible if wheat goes up to a higher level than seven and sixpence or eight shillings a bushel to reduce the import duties, making the reduction on a, sliding scale. "There is a feeling that the Minister of Agriculture will do what is right, and that we may safely proceed to put in wheat to tho utmost of our ability. In the past the assertion that we should sow wheat if only for patriotic reasons hns been scouted by a good many fanners, but there is certainly somo reason for the contention at this tiVnc if it did not exist before* We are at death grips with the enemy, and if the war continues it is not likely thai we shall be able to get wheat from our nearest neighbours on account of the shipping difficulty. \ Unless ws grow our own breadstuffs there is a big chance of our going hungry, and that would not be creditable if it could be proved that we failed to grow our own. wheat when wo could have done so."