MANAWATU FARMS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 101, 22 January 1921, Page 9

MANAWATU FARMS

FEED OUTLOOK BRIGHTER yyOOL GROWERS MORE SATISFIED From Our Own Correspondent.' Palmerston North, January 21. The light showers which fell on several nights during the week have still further improved blatters from the ia - mors’ point of view, and rain fell P ret generally during the whole of ihursday night. The consequence is that the outlook for feed is much brighter, and some of the pastures are again assuming an emerald tinge. Most of the hay has now been saved, and .attention is now being turned to harvesting some of the earlier crops of oats, while ploughing still continues. From a run round the district, it is evident that much mor© attention is being paid to the growing of that useful stand-by crop, and some splendid patches are to be seen in various parts. It is evident that farmers are now beginning to grow oats on Tight lines, the prolific growths going to show that the ground has been properly prepared, and most of the patches are clean and free from weeds. Store Stock Market. There is no improvement in tho store stack market, but fat sheep and lambs are plentiful, and are going to the various works in thousands, and all the factories are working full time. The better prospects for wool are giving growers more heart, as it is now becoming more evident that things will not be anything like as bad as was predicted. Most of the clips are good, and fairly clean, but many of them are light. As there are practically' no bush farms in the Manawatu, there is a general absence of seedy and burry wool. Of course, the fact that nearly all the clips are of the coarser kinds must naturally affect prices, but, on the whole, growers seem, more satisfied than they were a few weeks ago. Suppliers and shareholders in butter factories are complaining bitterly of the action of tint. Government in declining to allow the equalisation of 3d. per lb. on butter purchased by suppliers from their own factories. It appears that they can go to stores which, owing to the equalisation fund, can purchase butter from the factories at 2 s. o|d. per lb., and get their butter for 2s. 3d. However, this does not save them, as the Government takes the average sold to suppliers by each factory during tho previous years, a.nd on that no equalisation is allowed. The consequence is that if the suppliers purchase at the stores at the lower Tate, thjis reducing the amount sold to them this year, they are penalised on their returns at the factories. The Farmers’ Union has taken the matter up, and has communicated with the Prime Minister on the matter, but up to the present no satisfactory reply has been received. Land Boom at an End. So far as can be gathered, the land boom in this district has come to an end, if it has not actually burst. A few months ago farm properties were changing hand's at very high rates, and were eagerly sought after, but now a sale is almost a. rara avis, and most of the land agents who were doing a roaring business at this time last year are practically hibernating, while several of the smaller ones who started during the 'boom are going out of business. This does not augur that things are going back, but, on the other hand, that the inflated values ruling some time ago art now non-existent, and that things are coming back to normal. The fact that many of the farms were purchased by speculators did not tend to good farming, and manjJ of the farms went back while being held for speculative purposes. • Now, however, those who hold the land purchased at such high prices must work their holdings intensively in order to make them pay. and this should result in a much belter class of farming than nas been the. case in the past. For some years past endeavours have been made to supply agricultural lime to the farmers of the West Coast from the deposit in the Manawatu Gorge, but up to the present little has been done. The Government arranged to hand over an area, to be worked by a farmers’ co-opera-tive company, and the matter has now been taken up by the Manawatu SubProvincial Executive of the Farmers’ Union. They 'have had exhaustive tests made of the limestone, which proves it to be of excellent, quality for agricultural purposes, and it has been decided to call a meeting of delegates from all 'branches of the union in the Wellington provincial district on the west side of the range to go into the question of formino’ a company to work the deposit. The meeting will be held in Palmerston North on March 5. Plans and specifications for an up-to-date plant foi working the lime have been prepared, and the only matter which remains is the question of raising the necessary capital As the bulk of the land on this side of the range, although very "ood, requires lime to get the best results from i*s the matter is a most important one to farmers, as at the present time they have to secure supplies from Mauriceville or Napier.